How to Create a Newsletter: 8 Simple Steps

You might think that no one would read a newsletter – and a lot of people indeed delete most newsletters as soon as they receive them… but some are interesting and draw the attention of the reader. If you ask yourself “how to create a newsletter that will attract readers”, we have a great offer for you!

Publuu offers you a way to boost your email marketing strategy by using great interactive flipbooks. Our newsletter creator lets you convert a PDF into an interactive publication that can be opened on mobile devices, and computers without downloading. You can create newsletter that can be embedded in the content of your e-mail, and encourage readers to visit your website!

In this article, we’ll explain how to create a newsletter that will allow you to stay in touch with your audience, share news and updates, and promote your products or services. We’ve put together this guide on how to create a newsletter in 8 simple steps. By following these few tips, you’ll be able to create a professional and effective newsletter that your audience will fall in love with.

Publuu’s newsletter example



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MAKE YOUR OWN

 

Define your audience

The first thing to do when creating a newsletter is to determine your target audience. Are they your regular customers or a subset of your major base? For example, if you sell software for professional designers, will everyone who subscribes to your newsletter be a graphic designer? What about email subscribers who want to learn and develop new skills?

You can base your marketing campaign on the profile of your website visitor. The age and gender of your target audience can help you segment the populace. Many experts recommend creating buyer personas to help you visualize your target audience. Create a persona of a potential customer, such as a professional, casual, and narrow-focused graphic designer, and try to imagine how they will react to your company newsletter. Based on this knowledge you can start to create a newsletter – or a couple of different versions!

By understanding what your readers are interested in, you can offer them valuable knowledge that they will appreciate. Whether it’s helpful ways to use your tools, free samples, blog articles, discounts, webinars, or ways to promote their work, make sure your audience has valuable content to gain. With a well-written newsletter, you can build trust and loyalty, and encourage them to keep coming back for more.

Choose the newsletter tool

If you’ve ever tried to create a newsletter for a small group of even 100 people using Outlook or Gmail, you know that it can be difficult, and it’s not unlikely that your bulletin won’t reach the majority of intended recipients. Not all email providers let you send automated e-mails to many readers. That’s why it’s a good idea to choose the right email marketing software for distribution.

There are many different newsletter platforms available, so take some time to compare features and prices. Some email marketing software offers advanced features that smaller businesses may not need, but it may be worth paying extra for access to great newsletter templates.

It’s also worth remembering that your newsletter will evolve and may gain thousands of new subscribers. More advanced features may come in handy as your newsletter grows, and your marketing email service provider should be able to offer them eventually.

If you’re asking yourself how to create a newsletter, here are a few sample newsletter makers to get you started:

• Publuu (recommended): Publuu lets you convert a PDF into a great-looking flipbook that you can embed in your website or even send via social media. While it’s not a typical email marketing tool, Publuu can be invaluable for your company.

• Mailchimp: Mailchimp is an efficient marketing platform for small businesses. It allows anyone to build full-fledged email marketing campaigns and integrates with Shopify and other CRM systems. The free account lets you send newsletters for up to 500 recipients, which can be perfect if you create a newsletter for a very small business.

• MailerLite: MailerLite provides a set of great email marketing tools that integrate with your website or store. With MailerLite, you can create interactive emails and professional campaigns. Thanks to a drag-and-drop editor, MailerLite lets you efficiently create newsletter templates even on a free account.

There are many other email marketing tools available: browse our Knowledge Base for more details!

Customize your template

How to create a newsletter that will reflect your brand style and image? Well, as the first step, you need to customize one of the many newsletter templates out there. There are many email newsletter templates available online, from sites like Canva or Adobe Stock to the email marketing platforms we mentioned above.

Start by choosing a template that matches your brand identity and style. Add your branding elements, such as your logo and colors. Remember to match the illustration to the content: for instance, you might want to consider whether your audience includes families with children or professionals when you choose to illustrate the newsletter with photos of your product in use. Publuu lets you add your background, music, or icons with virtually no learning curve!

Use a consistent design throughout your newsletter. This will help to create a professional and polished look. Don’t experiment with fonts; instead, use the tried and true typefaces that can help you design your best documents. Choosing a design that is consistent and easily recognizable is a crucial part of a successful email marketing strategy.

Add your content

The success of your newsletter depends on its engaging content. Your newsletter should be informative and interesting to read, and it should be full of content that will interest your readers.

This is why it’s important to put your star content in the subject line. Your readers should know what to expect before they even open the message, such as “10 free Halloween images” or “How to use our software in a small company.” The subject line can make or break your e-mail: how many times you’ve deleted newsletter emails if their subject lines sounded boring?

Don’t be boring. Most people don’t care about your company’s new VP unless you can explain how this will benefit them, such as by gaining a person who understands a major group of customers that might have been ignored. Use clear and concise language, and break up your text with images and videos. Email subscribers read less these days, so it’s a good idea to add multimedia content.

Spice the content with some jokes, stories, and a bit of irony – even very professional newsletters can get boring and there should be a breather and interesting content even in the most technical text. Try telling stories – human brains are geared towards storytelling and we tend to identify with the heroes.

Set up a newsletter email list

You might already have hundreds of ideas for your email newsletter, but you still need to have a list of email addresses to send it to. Remember to use software for email marketing campaigns – if you use a regular email service provider you can spam others which might end up in being banned by the hosting company!

But how to encourage people to sign up? Well, here are some tried and true ways to collect email addresses:

• Use opt-in forms on your website. This is the most common way to collect email addresses. Simply place an opt-in form on your website, and offer something valuable in exchange for people’s email addresses, such as a free ebook, a discount code, or access to exclusive content.

• Offer access to engaging e-book content. This is another great way to collect email addresses. Create an informative or entertaining e-book, and then offer it to people in exchange for their email address. It’s easy to offer access to engaging e-book content in exchange for adding an email to your database using Publuu’s flipbooks!

• Collect email addresses at events. If you’re attending a trade show or other event, be sure to have a signup form for your newsletter. You can also collect email addresses by handing out business cards or flyers.

• Use social media. Promote your newsletter on social media, and include a link to an opt-in form. You can also run contests or giveaways on social media to collect email addresses.

Buying second-hand email lists should never be a part of your email marketing strategy. This is illegal and can get you in trouble – whether thanks to GDPR or local legislation. Instead, focus on organic ways to build your email list. Remember that email marketing is a powerful tool, and it can be very effective in acquiring new customers.

Save and check if the newsletter displays correctly

Before sending your newsletter, preview it to ensure that it looks good and displays correctly. Check for any potential HTML or formatting issues, and make sure that all interactive content displays as intended. See whether your email subject line is visible and the crucial parts of the text aren’t cut away on a phone screen. You can also ask a friend or colleague to take a look at it and send it to a few sample recipients before you start regular deliveries.

Check the overall layout and design of your email marketing features. Does it look professional and easy to read? Are the images clear and high-quality? It’s also worth remembering to preview your newsletter in different email clients. Not all email clients display emails the same way, so it’s important to preview your newsletter in a variety of email software or email client apps to make sure it looks good in all of them. Likewise, check whether your newsletter looks good both on mobile devices and on computers!

Send your email

Now that you have your content, a beautiful layout, and a long mailing list, it’s time to send your email. Before you do so, choose the right day and time to send it and match it to the overall marketing strategy of your company. This will depend on your audience and the type of content you’re sending. For example, professionals might prefer to read newsletters during the workweek, while more casual content might be better suited for the weekend.

A/B testing is a great way to compare different versions of your newsletter to see which one performs better. For example, you could test different subject lines or call to action. Try picking an email marketing tool that offers this functionality, as well as analyzing click-through rates!

The subject line is the most important part of your newsletter. It’s what will determine whether or not people open your email. Make sure your subject line is clear, concise, and attention-grabbing. These days a lot of people like lists and numbers – you might include phrases like “Top 5 reasons” in your subject line.

You should also end your newsletter with a strong call to action. Tell your readers what you want them to do, such as click on a link, sign up for a free trial, or make a purchase. Add a link to your social media platforms so that even if they don’t immediately buy your offer, they can still monitor your offer.

Track the newsletter

To improve your newsletter, you need to listen to your customers and analyze your data. Customer feedback can tell you what your subscribers like and dislike about your newsletter, and analytics can tell you how they interact with it.

Use a newsletter analytics tool to track how many people open your newsletter, click on your links, and unsubscribe. This data can tell you what content is resonating with your audience and what content is not. Once you have feedback and analytics, use it to make changes to your newsletter. This could include changing the content, the format, or the timing of your newsletter.

If you find that people are opening your newsletter but not clicking on your links, you could try making your links more prominent or adding more explanations about what they lead to.

Publuu analytics can help you track who opened your PDF online, at which hours they read it, and even what pages were popular. This data can help you understand how your audience is interacting with your content and make changes to your newsletter accordingly.

In addition to tracking engagement, Publuu analytics can also help you with your newsletter design. For example, you can use the data to see which images and videos are most popular, and use that information to create more engaging content for your newsletter.

Conclusion

Creating a newsletter that will attract readers and stay in touch with your audience is not difficult. From choosing a great newsletter template, and writing a good subject line to using Publuu to present your PDF as interactive flipbooks, you can email users worldwide with your amazing content. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can create a professional and effective newsletter that will help you achieve your marketing goals.

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