Newsletters, or copywriting newsletters, have a lot of appeal for many businesses. But, getting started with one can be quite an overwhelming feat. In addition to a plethora of other marketing tasks most businesses have on their to-do list, newsletters may not always make the top of the list, or even be top-of-mind.
That being said, copywriting newsletters are a powerful marketing tool that businesses can use to reach and engage their audience, promote their products and services, and ultimately drive sales. But, what exactly is a copywriting newsletter (especially compared to a regular newsletter)? And, how can you use these newsletters effectively (and, efficiently) in business so that investing in creating them is worth your time and resources?
Let's help you get started:
What is a Copywriting Newsletter?
A copywriting newsletter — (or, for the sake of this article, we'll also use the term "newsletter") — is an email campaign that is designed to promote products or services, educate or inform your audience, and/or drive conversions. It can be sent on a regular basis, such as monthly or weekly, and can contain a variety of content — including articles, videos, images, and/or promos.
Having a newsletter ready to go is a great way to gather emails to begin with, by providing something of value in exchange for subsciribers' information. Some companies do this with a freebie, a discount off a first purchase, or by automatically signing up customers automatically to a newsletter when they buy something (though, most give them the option).
A newsletter might just be a fun way to keep your audience engaged and aware of your brand. But, if you're successful at copywriting within a newsletter — the goal that many companies have — you can take those leads (which, are usually warm leads by the time they're getting your newsletter) much further.
What's the Difference Between Email Marketing and a Newsletter?
In the marketing community, you may hear a lot of terms used, which can get pretty confusing when the time comes to actually implement some of these strategies. For instance, you may often hear "email marketing" and "newsletter" used interchangeably. So, let's set the record straight:
Email marketing refers to any type of marketing that's done over email (i.e., abandoned cart reminders, welcome email drips, holiday promoton emails) while newsletters — or, in this case, copywriting newsletters — are a part of that (and, as it happens, they're a big part of it).
What are Copywriting Newsletters in Business?
Newsletters will look different for each company and what they are trying to accomplish. Though newsletter is likely the most well-known term, you may also hear "copywriting newsletter" because those newsletters may put more of an emphasis on trying to get the recipient of the email to take action — i.e., buying something or signing up for something (else).
But, some newsletters are successful at doing this in a gentle or passive manner, meaning the CTAs may not always be included on the newsletter itself. The hope is that by clicking on a link in the newsletter, they'll then be taken to another page where the CTA is.
All details aside, these newsletters — if done correctly — have the potential to earn you sales by creatively informing, educate, and engage your audience with valuable content, promotional offers, and other relevant information.
Ultimately, the purpose of a copywriting newsletter — and, really, any newsletter for that matter — is to build trust and credibility with your audience, while also keeping in mind how you can convert them. In order to be effective, however, a copywriting newsletter must be well-written, visually appealing, and targeted towards the needs and interests of your audience. The last point is especially important, because if you're not catering to your audience in every newsletter, they may hit "unsubscribe".
How to Use a Copywriting Newsletter in a Business Setting
There are several ways that businesses can use copywriting newsletters — or, copywriting within a newsletter — to improve their marketing efforts and drive sales. Some of the most effective ways include:
Building trust and credibility: By providing valuable and informative content to your audience, you can build trust and credibility with them, which can help to increase conversions and sales.
Engaging with your audience: A copywriting newsletter is a great way to engage with your audience and encourage them to take action. This can be done through calls-to-action, polls, surveys, and other interactive elements.
Creating a community: Who knows? Even if your newsletter isn't the primary focus of your overall marketing strategy — or, even your content marketing strategy — dedicated newsletter followers can help create a niche community and target audience base for your business.
Promoting products and services: Any copywriting publication is an excellent way to promote your products or services to your audience. And, with the help of a copywriting or email marketing tool, you can create newsletters and automate them, so you can bring in leads while you sleep. A newsletter is a easy place to do that, especially once these leads and previous customers have decided to subscribe themselves.
Gathering customer feedback: A copywriting newsletter is a great way to gather feedback and/or data from your customers and learn what they like and dislike about your products or services. This can help you to improve your offerings and better meet the needs of your audience going forward.
For many people, utilizing email marketing platforms as well as a professional copywriter may be a great way to make this more of an organic marketing strategy with a high ROI in relation to what you're spending on it in terms of time and resources. This is because copywriting newsletters do have a lot of earning potential, but they can be one of the more challenging writing aspects of a sales funnel.
Examples of Copywriting Newsletters
There are many different types of copywriting newsletters that businesses can utilize, depending on your goals and target audience. Some examples include:
Educational newsletters: These newsletters provide valuable and informative content to your audience, such as industry news, tips and tricks, and expert insights. The goal of an educational newsletter is to build trust and credibility with your audience, while also driving conversions.
Promotional newsletters: Promotional newsletters focus on promoting products or services, and can include special offers, discounts, and other incentives to encourage conversions.
Customer engagement newsletters: These newsletters are designed to engage with your audience and encourage them to take action, such as completing a survey or signing up for a webinar.
Product updates newsletters: Newsletters that feature product updates keep your audience informed about new products or updates to existing products, and can include information about features, pricing, and availability.
Some companies may decide to create different newsletter drips depending on the content/goal of that newsletter, while others may find strategic ways to loop all these goals together in one email campaign.
Here are some real-world newsletter examples that we love, right in our own inbox. If you check your own inbox (likely in the "promotions" folder), you may find some great examples, too.
From Babylist:
The subject line of this newsletter was "Filing Taxes as Parents: What to Know". Sending out a newsletter like this in the beginning of January will encourage more clicks for families who had a baby the previous year, but they've also included additional value by adding links to other companies (which helps with authenticity) and other useful blogs and information on their own website. This is a more gentle approach, since the audience may have already signed up to use the free site.
From Nat Geo:
In this newsletter from National Geographic, they start by promoting Flamingo Bob for National Bird Day, with a corresponding photo, and lots of links to help the reader learn. Right below, they have their CTA to subscribe to to the digital report and magazine. Below that, they include more stories links, a photo of the day, and additional engagement opportunities for the reader.
From Girlboss:
This site releases a newsletter daily, which is perfect for their audience. Each newsletter includes a catchy subject line (we'll get to that in a bit), a GIF for rapid engagement, and sections that offer value to their readers — ranging from tips on what to buy to a useful, updated job board — while encouraging them to take action by sharing content with others in exchange for a raffle.
What to Include in a Copywriting Newsletter
No matter the specific goal you have for your newsletter, getting started is easier when you have a few tips at your disposal. Though no two newsletters are the same, we've found that it's important to include the following elements in order to get engagement:
A catchy subject line: The subject line is the first thing that your audience will see, so it's important to make it attention-grabbing and relevant to your content. Some email marketing campaigns allow you to personalize each email you send out in the subject line as well.
Personalization: Speaking of, personalizing your newsletter by using the recipient's name or other personal details can make your message feel more targeted and relevant. Who doesn't feel better seeing one email directed specifically to you, especially when most of us get dozens of generic sales emails a day? Point-blank, personalized emails help to boost open rates.
Valuable and informative content: The main body of your newsletter should contain information that's important to the reader. This could include stats, facts, a link to a recent blog post, links to other websites, insider tips, an embedded video, etc. Think of it as "insider" information, that only your most valued subscribers have access to!
Calls-to-action: A call-to-action (CTA) is a button or link that encourages your readers to take a specific action, such as signing up for a newsletter, purchasing a product, or downloading an e-book. Copywriting newsletters generally boast CTAs throughout the newsletter in order to quickly drive conversions, but in a sophisticated way as to not come of as too salesy. Again, a skilled copywriter can help you achieve this successfully.
Visual appeal: A visually appealing newsletter is more likely to engage your audience, so be sure to include high-quality images and design elements that are consistent with your brand, like short paragraphs, subheadings, bolding certain text for emphasis, infographics, etc.
Copywriting Newsletter Best Practices
To ensure that your copywriting newsletter is effective, it's important to follow these best practices:
Keep it short and sweet: Long newsletters can be overwhelming and are less likely to be read. Keep your newsletters concise and to the point, and consider breaking up the content into smaller sections or bullet points to make it easier to read. The ideal word count for a copywriting newsletter is 200 words.
Use engaging headlines: A strong headline is essential to grabbing your reader's attention and encouraging them to read on. Use actionable language and be sure to highlight the benefits of your content.
Segment your audience: Segmenting your audience into smaller groups based on their interests, needs, or other characteristics can help to make your newsletter more targeted and relevant.
Test and optimize: Test different versions of your newsletter to see which elements are most effective at driving conversions. This not only help you catch any grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors, but also help you give your newsletters another shot in order to aim for better results. Many also try A/B testing to see which newsletter will have better results.
Why Copywriting Newsletters Work
Copywriting newsletters have the potential to convert leads and grow your business. And, because we now know a lot about the potential of newsletters, more and more companies are getting on board and adopting newsletters into their current marketing strategy. Here's why:
According to Litmus, on average, email drives an ROI of $36 for every dollar spent, higher than any other channel.
Optinmonster tells us that 60% of consumers subscribe to a brand’s email list to receive promotional messages compared to 20% of consumers who will follow brands on social media to get deals.
Of those who shared they use email marketing, 94.6% said it's important or very important to their business strategy, based on a survey done by AWeber.
Is a Copywriting Newsletter Right for My Business?
Now that you know more about copywriting newsletters, you might be wondering whether or not you should be investing in them for your business.
The answer is: it depends
The fact of the matter is that creating a strong copywriting newsletter can take time, effort, and a whole lot of patience — something that a lot of hardworking business leaders may simply not have room in their day for. And, if you end up investing too much of your time developing a copywriting newsletter only to get limited results, then it may be hard for businesses to justify adding newsletters to their content marketing strategy.
However, because of the amazing ROI potential on copywriting newsletters, all it takes is a little help getting in right. With my help, I can construct effective newsletters for you as part of your email marketing campaigns or, I can support you in creating them yourself with content strategy consulting services.
Want to get started? Contact me today