5 types of email newsletter templates to boost your enterprise’s performance
Newsletters are basically reports, that firms send periodically by email to their subscribers in order to inform them about commercial issues or just to follow an engagement strategy. However, there are different kinds of newsletters and each one responds to a different need. New in the email marketing world? This post is perfect for you, so let’s get started!
Some details so you can catch up; the use of newsletters are becoming more and more popular these years. In fact, in 2017 the sending of email marketing campaigns is expected to increase by 67% compared to last year.
There are countless email newsletter templates, both free from patent rights and specialized ones from mailing apps, available for customer’s use. You will soon find out that templates designed by mailing apps generally look way more professional than the duty-free ones.
With this article I intend to show you some examples of useful email newsletter templates for your business, so you can choose the most appropriate one depending on your intentions when sending an email marketing campaign to your subscribers. Once you define your objectives, think which of these types of e-bulletins suits you the most and get to it!
1. Newsletter type
Although we use the word newsletter in a general way, this term actually refers to informative bulletins, without a clear intention of obtaining commercial gains.
This method is destined to engage clients and promote its loyalty, to efficiently interact with them and to raise brand awareness.
Newsletter type sendings are the most widely accepted by users, despite they’re not the most widely sent by firms, holding the second place in the ranking. Companies should reconsider this, as mailing is definitely a great strategy; after telemarketing, it’s one of the most direct means of communication with clients, and it may be very positive to make an impact on them without any commercial purpose.
A good example would be the model in the image above, with an ideal design to announce news related to the brand, as it visually shares many characteristics with a newspaper.
2. Commercial email newsletters
Now we are talking about precisely the opposite! E-commerce newsletters clearly have a commercial objective, as its name states. These are certainly the most popular among enterprises that email campaigns, and for a reason; they are the ones that achieve higher conversion rates of visits into actual sales. They are, thus, focused on lucrative purposes.
“Email marketing creates more conversions that any other channel, including social media” (Monetate)
They usually contain the offers and promotions that are currently available in store. In this type of newsletters, the Call To Action button is an essential element and the key to achieving the conversions.
This template is a very basic model of a commercial newsletter but it shows us what it should include. As we can see, it shows the discounted products and right below it includes the so-called Call To Action button, in red, so it calls the client’s attention and when he clicks there it leads him directly to the website, so he adds the product to the chart and finally buys it.
3. Transactional newsletters
Thirdly we have transactional newsletters. In this case, by transaction we don’t mean that a part is selling and another buying. In the email marketing world, it’s important to remember that the only objective is not to sell more, but also to engage and interact with clients. Therefore, as transactional newsletter templates can be used for many different purposes, they are basic and without too many frills.
As said, we can here see that the design is quite simple and focused on a concrete mission; in this case, this template would be ideal to give an answer to a client who has previously asked something. Why use such a simple template instead of creating a new and personalized one every time?
First of all, they are incredibly useful because you ensure that you are complying with legal requirements every time, for example by not having to add in every single email the link to unsubscribe. Secondly, it will definitely save you some time (little details like adjusting the size of a picture can drive us crazy!), and a professional template will always look better than an amateur one.
4. Seasonal newsletters
Our next type are seasonal newsletters. This basically consists in sending a newsletter to our subscribers taking advantage of a special event or date; this is also known as “seasonality”.
This kind is quite different from the previous ones; rather than having a specific intention, it disguises its intentions using the excuse of a festivity. There are several significant dates in our calendars, and they make our life a bit happier, especially on commercialized holidays! Why not use these positive and unusual feelings to get additional sales or to furtherly engage your clients with an acceptable pretext?
“Christmas, birthdays, Mother’s day, Halloween or Black Friday are just some of the special date we can use in our favor”
As an example, with Halloween right around the corner, it would be an awesome idea to send our subscribers a special campaign using a Halloween related template:
5. Invitation newsletters
Last but not least, we find presentation newsletters. This is the ultimate way to build brand awareness and foster loyalty among our customers because with this type of emails we want our relationship with them to go from online to offline. The objective is to get to know them in person so, with this new approach, they feel closer to the brand.
To do so we will generally invite them to an event, which can be the presentation of a new product, an exclusive shopping night, a webinar… it’s way more difficult for a client to forget about a brand when they have been in touch directly with its product, service, and employees. If it’s nicely written and visually attractive, it’s likely that our clients will want to attend the event, and this will be our opportunity to gain their confidence.
Once they arrive at the event, our work isn’t over; everything must be organized and perfectly planned, as the impression we give them in person is the impression they will have of us every time they see us online. This is why the transition from online to offline has to be soft, fluid and of course, positive. Offer the client the possibility of bringing a companion, since it’s more likely that he will come if he’s not alone. It’s a good idea to offer some appetizers and drinks during the event, especially if the event itself is not a lunch or a dinner because the clients will certainly spend more time there. Activities related to our products or services are always welcome, and games and contests are generally well received among clients; these are fantastic ways to make them have a nice time that they will, with a bit of luck, remember when choosing between us and our competitors.
I truly hope that this article has helped you to understand the advantages email marketing has to offer and to differentiate between its main types. I encourage you to define your targets, choose a fitting emailing campaign and put it into practice! You will soon discover that what you have in hands is a useful and efficient tool that you won’t regret using.
