Email Newsletter Types
People subscribe to newsletters because they benefit from the content. Here are 12 types of newsletters to help you determine what to put in your email newsletters.
Special Discounts/Offers
This might be the easiest email newsletter to get people to sign up for. It can be hard to keep up with sales and promotions, and your readers will appreciate being informed of opportunities in a timely manner. Make your call to action in these emails links to the landing page for your offer.
Company News/Highlights
Building an audience for your business is different from building a community, and both are important. Company news/highlight newsletters foster a sense of community by sharing your story with others and allowing them to feel a part of something special. Offer a behind-the-scenes look at your business and its office culture. Provide updates on new hires and employee milestones. The way business cares about its employees can often indicate to people how it will care about them as a customer.
New Products/Offerings
If your business frequently comes out with updates to products or new ones altogether, you might want to go with a new product email newsletter. This ensures your existing customers that they’re getting the most out of their relationship with your business, and promoting them ahead of time can build excitement and attract first-time customers.
Holidays
Provide holiday-themed email newsletters with gift guides, seasonal tips, changes to your schedule/hours, and more. You can also use this type of newsletter to spread the word about your holiday promotions.
Related: Free Marketing Calendar
Events
Do you run a lot of events? Create a monthly newsletter that announces those events. Create a visually-appealing or seasonally-themed calendar to go right in the email. Then, provide links to registration/detail pages on each event. You might even want to let your readers know about other events in their area they might be interested in.
Solicit Customer Feedback & Reviews
Embed a survey in your newsletter to get feedback. Keep it short and perhaps offer a small discount in exchange for participating. You might even ask your participants to submit a review on Facebook or Yelp.
Share Reviews
Reviews are a great way to showcase your products and services. They are an organic way to promote your business, and make for short and digestible pieces of content that people can easily read. Share glowing reviews about your business in a newsletter, or even user-generated content from social media platforms.
Industry Info
One way to distinguish your business from competitors and build your reputation is to become a go-to resource. This type of newsletter is a channel through which to provide useful industry information like the best products, tools, blogs, or technology. Not only will this help you to stay on your toes in your field, but it will also build trust with your audience and keep you top-of-mind.
Customer Success Story
Customer success stories are a great way to inspire potential customers to work with your business. You might include a collection of brief summaries with links to the full stories, or you might just go into depth on one story per newsletter. Either way, try to add photos, quotes, and quantifiable highlights to maintain interest and convey your value.
Advice Column & Insider Tips
If you get a lot of questions about your products or services, or if your product/service involves a very subjective experience (such as health and beauty), you might consider creating a tips/advice newsletter. You could compile a list of the most frequently asked questions of the week, then add them to a page on your website. Taking the time to answer specific questions will help to enhance your customer relationships and encourage engagement from others who know you are actively involved.
Blog Post Roundup
Each month, provide a roundup of top blog posts on a common subject, or just the top performing posts from the month.
Create a Mix
Of course, you don’t have to limit your email newsletters to just one of these topics. You might dedicate one type to each month of the year, or you might include combinations of a few different topics in one email. When creating a mix like this, be sure to design the email in a way that separates the information neatly, and use links to web pages with more detail, to avoid cluttering the email with too much content.
Email Lists and Segments
The type of email newsletter you choose will depend on your industry, stage of growth, target audience, products/services, and more. Another way to determine which type of email newsletter to create is to start with your audience. It’s an email marketing best practice to segment your list for enhanced targeting and better performance. The type of list you are using can dictate the best newsletter type to use. Here are some lists you might use in your email marketing:
Geography
Segment by geography to deliver location-specific information to potential customers.
Active Customers
Send customer-specific information or special offers to active, loyal customers.
Inactive Customers
Re-engage inactive customers through a special offer or new features.
Open Opportunities
Follow up with open opportunities to convert them into paying customers.
Referrals
Welcome new referral customers and thank customers who referred new clients.
Monthly Birthday/Anniversary
Send special offers during these months. This is particularly useful for fitness centers and studios, photographers, and florists. Vendors Don’t market your business to vendors who already work with you. Keep this list separate.
Remember that your recipients will open emails differently depending on the time of year and even the time of day that your email is sent. For best results, commit to an email marketing plan that you can work on consistently over time.
