Have you ever heard the phrase about not building your business on “rented ground”? If you haven’t let me explain. When you put all of your content onto Facebook, Twitter or other social platforms you are building your business and your following on rented ground. If those platforms went away, where is your audience? How to get your newsletter opened & read is something that every entrepreneur needs to focus on. Why? Because you own the followers on your newsletter list and if you continue to publish and keep them engaged they will remain with you and you’re not relying on the rented ground of a different social platform over which you have no control.
How much time do you put into writing and sharing the content in your newsletter? How frequently are you sending the newsletter? What kind of information are you sharing and what are your open rates?
Don’t write a newsletter, sit back, hit send and hope for the best. You want to share a newsletter and information in it that your subscribers will welcome. They offered you entrance into their inbox and you need to treat that invitation with respect.
How To Get Your Newsletter Opened & Read
Readers of newsletters or any kind of online content are bombarded continually with information. You need to make your information stand out above the crowd and you need to assure yourself that your newsletter is valuable, that you’re getting clicks and opens and that your readers don’t unsubscribe.
Have a clear vision of why you’re sending an enewsletter you may now need to create a “click-worthy” message that shines
- Let your subscribers know the newsletter is coming from you. If they know you by your name, use it in the “from” line. If they know your business name, use that. Don’t be clever or vague. A newsletter that comes from someone your subscriber doesn’t know or can’t remember will likely not get opened.
- Personalize the newsletter. When you have your opt-in form, ask for the subscriber’s first name. If they give that to you then you can correspond with them by their first name and make it a more personal experience.
- Mobile friendly is key to open rates. Many newsletter subscribers open the newsletters on their phones or tablets. Make sure the newsletter is easy to open, easy to read and not so graphic heavy that it takes too long to open. Use subheads, numbered or bulleted lists and links to your site so they can continue reading.
- Test your subject lines. Run A/B testing to see if question subject lines or “secret” or how-to subject lines work best. What do your readers seem to like the best? Find out (track the open rates) and give ’em what they want! Formulate a subject line that will keep the newletter out of the spam box and that can be read on a mobile device. An iPhone, for example, will cut the subject line off at 32 characters — say what you can in that length of time.
- The subhead of your newsletter is valuable information! Make the subject line short and snappy and use your subhead to intrigue the reader and lure them into opening!
Each newsletter should have a clear call to action at the end of it. Whether you want the reader to buy, or contact you, or read further, etc. Don’t leave ’em hanging. Never leave a reader wondering, “what’s next?” Tell them what you want them to do next in your call to action.
Our call to action is: If your newsletters aren’t getting opened and read, let us know. Let’s work on a newsletter strategy that will help you grow your business on ground you own.