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A 10-Step Guide to Launching Your Email Newsletter
Be Smart and Strategic From Your Very First Issue
Megan Smith
November 2nd, 2023
Get ready to take on the world of email newsletters and send your first issue. Maiden voyages can be scary. After all, you want your journey to be less Titanic and more Mayflower — only without the disease and imperialism.
At beehiiv, we’ve already provided you with best-in-class newsletter tools. All you need now is a comprehensive guide on how to use them to launch your publication. These ten steps will prepare you for resounding newsletter success.
Calm seas and clear skies ahead.
Step 1: Clarify Your Goals
Why do you want to create a newsletter? There are many good reasons to start a publication for a brand. That’s why it’s so important to clarify your focus.
First of all, what newsletter business model applies? Unless this is a pure passion project, you want it to either be a source of subscriber revenue or support another business venture. Your goal may include driving more traffic to your site or enhancing customer engagement.
Clear objectives will steer your content creation process and provide a benchmark to measure your campaign's effectiveness. Remember, each goal necessitates a unique approach, so clarity is key.
Step 2: Understand Your Audience
Creating content that resonates with your audience requires you to understand them. This is step two, step eleven, and step one hundred and thirty-seven. In other words, you’ll spend the entire life cycle of your newsletter refining your image of its readers.
If you’re adding a newsletter to an up-and-running business — and possibly even an up-and-running email marketing system — you already have a wealth of data on your target audience. If you’re starting from scratch, you have to theorize in advance of your evidence. Who do you want to subscribe to? What would most appeal to them?
As you progress, use beehiiv's audience analytics tools to delve into your audience's preferences and behaviors. Look at their demographics, their past interactions with your emails, and their indicated interests or needs that align with your business. How can you best serve these groups of people?
If you are adding a regular newsletter to ongoing email marketing efforts, use your existing list to promote or introduce your newsletter. Tell people what they can expect from this new style of content, or convince them to subscribe to a separate list if applicable.
You can also tap your existing social and family networks. Don’t be shy about using your personal email to let your connections know about your new endeavor, and provide a convenient link to subscribe. Just be sure that you’re only contacting people you know well and who will be genuinely glad of the information.
Step 3: Decide on Content
Your content should reflect your goals and strike a chord with your audience. You need to craft these articles yourself or source them in a way that makes sense (and doesn’t run afoul of content creators’ intellectual property rights).
What should I write in my first email newsletter?
Start by introducing yourself, and then give your audience a taste of what’s to come.
Popular topics include industry updates, expert advice, and information about your products or services. The ultimate aim is to provide value to your audience. Ponder over the questions they might have, the challenges they're facing, and how your content can be a solution.
Even strong email marketing content needs to transcend strictly promotional pieces and engage your audience on related topics. Readers can always distinguish content focused on their needs from long-form advertisements.
If you’re struggling to think of what to include in your first (or sixth) publication, there are multiple blog posts on beehiiv for inspiration. You can take a look at one of these to start:
Pay attention to that last one. No one ever said you had to do everything yourself.
You don’t have to sell me on the ultimate value of the written word, but packaging matters. A well-designed newsletter adds visual appeal, clarity, and brand consistency.
Create something consistent with your brand. Use beehiiv's user-friendly email design tools to create striking and easy-to-navigate publications. Pay attention to your newsletter's layout, color palette and fonts, and high-impact constants such as your newsletter header and footer.
Images and other visual material should also play a role in your content creation. The importance of visual elements to quality content is hard to overstate. We’re a visual species. Don’t ignore this aspect of human nature — use it to help capture attention and communicate complex ideas.
Step 5: Pen Your Copy
Time to pick up your metaphorical pen.
When writing, strive for clarity, engagement, and readability. Segment your text with subheadings and bullet points to make it easier for readers to digest.
Consider your tone carefully. It should be consistent with your brand and a natural fit for your style. You’ll be writing a lot of these, so you’d better enjoy the process.
Step 6: Craft Your Subject Line
Your subject line is the first impression your recipients have, so make it count. It should be short but enticing and provide a clear snapshot of what the email contains.
With beehiiv, you can A/B test subject lines. It’s a great way to “cheat.” Make the readers themselves tell you which is strongest.
Step 7: Incorporate a Call to Action
Every newsletter should include a clear call to action (CTA). Whether it's directing them to your website, encouraging a product purchase, or promoting a blog post, your CTA should be obvious and persuasive. Draw visual attention to it with a bold color or button.
Step 8: Double-Check Everything
Before you press send, you need to scrutinize your final product for errors or missteps.
Go through this pre-send checklist:
Proofread for textual errors. Are there any spelling or grammatical errors?
Edit for clarity. Does it read smoothly? Would someone be able to track narratives or arguments with ease?
Edit for tone and voice. Do they align with your brand and intended audience?
Verify all links. Are they all clickable? Do they lead to the correct destination?
Ensure proper rendering. Does your newsletter look good on different devices and email clients? Do the text and images remain clear?
Review images. Are they properly sized, high quality, and relevant to your content?
Workshop your subject line. Is it clear, concise, and attention-grabbing? If possible, have you included preheader text to provide more context and encourage readers to open your newsletter?
Call-to-Action (CTA). Is it clear and compelling?
Social Sharing. Have you included social sharing buttons to increase visibility and encourage readers to share your content?
Unsubscribe option. Have you included an easy-to-find unsubscribe option to remain compliant with anti-spam laws? (Note. Many email services such as beehiiv automatically provide this for you.)
Brand consistency. Does your brand positioning and visuals fit with your website or other materials?
Test email. Have you sent a test email to yourself and/or a trusted colleague for a final review?
The timing of your newsletter can significantly affect your open rates. Use beehiiv's scheduling tools to ensure your newsletter hits readers’ inboxes when they’re most likely to open it.
Once you have a number of issues under your belt, there’s no need to guess. Review your analytics to find the best time to contact your unique audience. But you can be strategic even with your first issue. Check out expert insights on the best times to hit send. You’ll probably want to be arriving in inboxes mid-week and mid-morning.
Step 10: Evaluate Your Success
After your newsletter has been sent, evaluate its success. We’ve already mentioned beehiiv's analytics tools. They offer invaluable insights into open rates, click-through rates, and more. This information can help you detect what's resonating and what's not, enabling you to make data-driven decisions for future newsletters.
Ahoy, Matey. Set Sail and Launch Your First Newsletter
No more land-lubbing for you. You’re ready to go forth and conquer the world of email newsletters with a 10-step plan for success. Whether your goals are business-driven or journalistic, a thoughtfully crafted newsletter can advance them.
Travel the digital seas with beehiiv’s custom-designed newsletter solutions. The available templates and tools help you accomplish each step.
Well, almost each step. They can’t help you with the first. Clarifying your goals is something only you can do. So sit down — with your team if you have one — and ask yourself: what do I want to achieve in creating a newsletter?
Why Trust Me
I’m an experienced writer and researcher who’s spent the last few years developing a niche in email marketing and other digital strategies. I write pieces for digital marketing services and practice what I preach to my own clients.
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