7 Tips for Creating an Effective Email Newsletter

This article is contributed by Heather Johnson, a freelance writer as well as a regular commentator on the topic of airline miles cards. She invites your questions, comments and freelancing job inquiries at her email address heatherjohnson2323@gmail.com.

One of the best ways to market your online business is with an email newsletter, also known as an e-newsletter. You will be able to connect with your visitors on a more personal level with an email newsletter, making it an important extension of your site. However, a poorly executed newsletter can quickly cost you a customer, which is why your approach must be carefully planned. Below are seven tips for creating an effective email newsletter.

1. Establish a Tone – Do you want the newsletter to be humorous, playful or serious? You need to establish a newsletter's "voice" before you begin to design or write it.
2. Consider Hiring Professionals – When it comes to your newsletter's writing and design, nothing should appear amateurish. If you can write well and if you have experience with design, then by all means you should do it all yourself. However, hiring a few freelancers is not that expensive and it could be the difference between an effective newsletter and a disastrous one. If you are looking for some hired help, try posting a wanted ad on Get A Freelancer, Rent A Coder or Craigslist.
3. Ask for Volunteers – Always give people an option to subscribe to your newletter, as you don't want to become a spammer. You can offer the subscription on your site's homepage, as well as when a client purchases something through the site. It might take longer to build a list of subscribers this way, but you will be sending the newsletter to interested parties.
4. Personalize the Emails – You don't want your newsletter to feel as if it was generated by a machine, so always address your subscribers by name. If you are using enewsletter software, make sure you use a program that will personalize the emails for you.
5. Create an Interesting Subject Line – Rather than emailing a newsletter with a subject line that says, "June Newsletter: Volume II," you should create something more enticing that will connect with people on an intimate level.
6. Test the Newsletter – Before you send out a newsletter to all of your subscribers, test it out by mailing it to yourself first. You will want to make sure that everything is executed properly before you commit to exposing the final product to the public.
7. Establish a Reasonable Schedule – You will want to mail out newsletters with regularity. However, don't send out too many or people will begin to regard them as a nuisance. Also, you don't want to put together a newsletter just so you can get one out to people "on time." If you don't have anything interesting to say, wait until you do.

Various online marketing techniques seem to come and go, but email newsletters appear to be here to stay. They are growing increasingly popular, as they can be effective at both creating and retaining customers. Also, they are fairly inexpensive to create. By following the tips above, you should be able to construct a successful email newsletter that reaches a wide audience.