02 Sep Newsletter-Marketing – How you can successfully address your target group
Every day you receive several e-mails from companies about new products, offers or blog entries. And on many websites you visit, you are also asked to subscribe to a newsletter. A large number of companies make use of newsletter marketing to seek constant customer contact and to inform about news. This week, we would therefore like to explain in more detail the advantages of newsletter marketing, why it is so popular and what you need to bear in mind when running a mailing campaign.
Newsletter marketing offers many possibilities
With newsletter marketing, attention can be drawn to very different aspects. For example, the latest article is promoted on the corporate blog or customers are informed about innovations. But perhaps special offers for online stores are also sent by e-mail. Newsletters are versatile and can be designed individually. The design and layout of the mails can be adapted to the corporate identity and it is possible to increase the recognition value.
And precisely because it offers so many different options, newsletter marketing is very widespread and, for cost reasons, is used primarily by small and medium-sized companies. In 2018, around 742,000 companies used e-mail marketing [1] and almost 95% of all online stores regularly send out newsletters about new products and offers. [2]
To create newsletters, you can use various email marketing software and tools, which vary in size and price. These often allow a very simple compilation of the respective mails via drag and drop, send them out completely automatically and allow recipient management. In addition, these softwares promise a privacy-compliant and secure way of working. What else you need to know about legally compliant newsletter marketing, you can read here.
Why is Newsletter-Marketing so popular?
In addition to the freedom in design and content mentioned above, there are other reasons for the popularity of e-mail marketing:
Low costs
Compared to other media, sending newsletters is a very cost-effective way to reach the target group. This is why it is not only interesting for large companies.
Customer loyalty through target group approach
Valuable conversions can be achieved through a direct and individual target group approach, as the content reaches exactly those people who show interest in the product. In addition, personalized e-mails ensure that customers are bound to the company for the long term, which is of enormous importance for the success of a company in today’s world.
Time & Flexibility
Compared to print media, newsletters reach the customer much faster. In this case, the flexibility also offers an enormous advantage. Because only a few minutes before the mails are sent, slight adjustments can be made and statements can be adjusted.
Measurability
With the help of a mailing campaign a clear analysis is possible and very different key figures can be measured and compared. This also allows for further development and improvement of the newsletter.
Carrying out a mailing campaign
A successful mailing campaign must be planned and also followed up. Basically 4 steps are followed: First, a strategy must be developed, which is then implemented in the subsequent conception. After successful mailing, the campaign should be analyzed on the basis of various key figures for a possible improvement.
Strategy
During development, the goals should first be clearly defined: Should a white paper be downloaded, a blog post read or a purchase made? In addition to these goals, it is just as important to know the target group – and if there are different target groups, different mail alternatives must also be discussed in order to enable an individual approach.
Based on the goals, content can then be determined, but this should always only serve as a foretaste and lead the customer on as desired (e.g. to the website).
It must also be clarified whether sufficient data is available, or whether and how more must be procured.
A further important point is the decision between the use of a software/tool or the own programming, whereby a larger expenditure can arise with the latter. Finally, one should also discuss the time and frequency of sending: For example, should the newsletters be sent out regularly and on which days/on which occasions. In the course of this, you can also think about creating an editorial plan.
Creation/ Conception
The first impression counts: The first thing the customer sees when he receives an e-mail is the subject line and possibly part of the first sentence. So these should be particularly appealing – and in short: Usually only about 40 characters are displayed in the preview. Make you want more here, but don’t give away too much yet. And above all, don’t make any false promises (clickbait), these are more likely to disappoint and possibly lead to unsubscriptions from the newsletter.
If possible, try to address your customers personally on the basis of stored data and refrain from generic formulations such as „Dear Sir or Madam“. This will make them feel appreciated and will help to build an emotional bond with the company.
Based on your goals, list call-to-actions (CTA) that are clearly visible. For example, if you want to get your customers to download a white paper, you could add a button with the words ‚Download‘ here, which will finally carry out this action when they click on it.
Above all, make sure that your content offers real added value in order to stand out from the flood of newsletters. For example, offer free eBooks, send discount codes or provide content that is only available in the mails.
The design should always be clear and straightened out with subheadings and graphics. Most mails nowadays are only skimmed, so the CTA and the added value for the customer should be obvious at first glance.
Similar to websites, most users look at mails on their mobile devices – so make sure that your newsletter is optimized for different formats and is perfectly readable.
Shipping
At this point you should think again about the time of dispatch and the frequency. It is also advisable to send internal test mails before the actual sending to ensure the smooth functioning of the links/buttons for example and to be able to correct any typing errors in time.
Analysis
One of the reasons, as described above, why newsletter marketing is so popular is that it can be precisely measured. A variety of key figures can be examined to make further decisions and determine the success of the mailing campaign:
Delivery rate/ bounce rate: The delivery rate indicates, for example, to how many recipients the mail was delivered at all, because it happens from time to time that some mail addresses no longer exist. The bounce rate indicates the counterpart, i.e. how many mails could not be delivered – these ‚bounce‘ back. With this data you can adjust the recipient list in the long run.
Opening rate: The opening rate goes one step further: As the name suggests, this key figure indicates how many people finally open the mails. But beware: opening does not mean reading immediately, because even after a short click on the mail, it is already considered read.
Click rate: Compared to the opening rate, the click rate is an enormously important indicator, because it tells you how high the percentage of those who have clicked at least one link is. It therefore shows whether there is actual interest in the advertised product/news and whether the mail has been read.
Conversion rate: This indicator reflects how successful the newsletter was, as it shows how many conversions were achieved. What a conversion is in your case is derived from the previously defined goal and the associated Call-to-Actions (CTA) – Has the white paper been downloaded, a product purchased, an article read, and so on.
Opt-out rate: The opt-out rate is the rate of unsubscription and indicates the percentage of people who have unsubscribed from the recipient list using this newsletter mail.
Conclusion
E-mail marketing, and thus the sending of newsletters, remains an important tool for companies due to its many advantages. But it is precisely because of its popularity and the resulting flood of e-mails that reach customers every day that one must stand out from the crowd. Clear planning with a focus on the target group and the achievement of objectives is enormously important, and through precise analysis of the data, the mailings should be continually adapted and improved. This is the way to send up-to-date and interesting mails and to use all the advantages of newsletter marketing.
[1] Statista: Anzahl der Unternehmen in Deutschland, die E-Mail-Marketing nutzen bis 2018
[2] e-tailment: Jeder 4. Onlinehändler schwächelt beim E-Mail-Marketing (2018)