How to write amazing newsletters

It would be relatively easy to write any old newsletter each month. But writing one that hits the mark with your audience – one that informs, engages, and maybe even converts readers to donors – is quite another. Have a read of our suggestions to make sure your newsletter packs a punch.

 

 

Why do you want to send a newsletter?

 

As with any comms, your first step is to clarify what the point of it is. Do you want to tell existing donors about the great work they’re supporting? Do you want to encourage readers to regularly donate? Or maybe you want to get supporters to sign a campaign petition. Having a clear reason will help you to keep your messaging focused and targeted.  

 

 

Know your audience

 

In tandem to the above question is knowing who your audience are. Is it donors, stakeholders, service users, trustees? Or all the above? Knowing this will help you to shape the content to your audience’s interests and fine-tune your call to action.

 

 

Catch their interest

 

According to Campaign Monitor, non-profit emails have an open rate of 26.6%. There’s no point carefully crafting a great newsletter if no-one reads it. Give your reader a reason to open it. For example, subject lines such as ‘Summer newsletter’ won’t get people eagerly clicking through. Instead try lines like:

 

‘Three ways you’ve helped us to fight poverty this March’

‘Tara – support us today and your donation will be doubled’

‘You did this!’

 

What works for one audience, might not work for yours. So you’ll need to test what’s working and try out new ideas that work for your reader. For inspiration, see what catches your eye in your own in-box or brainstorm with colleagues. And remember that it’s often easiest to write subject lines after you’ve written the main content.

 

 

Write a great first line

 

Most email browsers, desktop and mobile, show an intro line or two of a message’s content. That means it needs to work just as hard as your subject line. A question can be a good start as a way to hook the reader in: ‘Did you know, that in 2021 we helped over 20,000 children to get outside and into nature?’. 

 

 

Check the ‘from’ address

 

It needs to be obvious that the email comes from your organisation. You don’t want to give your reader any reason to think it’s spam.  

 

 

Pick one call to action

 

Try to focus the content around one key call to action. That might be to get people to sign a petition. In which case, focus your content on the story around it – the situation as it is, what a difference their signature will make, and why they need to do it now.

 

When possible create a sense of urgency. Once your email is closed, it’s much more unlikely people will come back to take action.

 

 

Make sure it reads well and looks good

 

It’s likely you’ll have a lot to say but keep your writing concise and focused. On average, people only read 20% of text on a web page, so every word counts.

 

You’ll also need to make sure the design is clear and uncluttered – you want to make it as easy as possible for the reader to work their way round it, and not feel overwhelmed by the quantity of information.

 

Use strong images that clearly represent your brand and mission. That way, if the reader doesn’t read a single word, they’ll still be left with an impression of who you are and what you’re about. 

 

 

Make sure it’s accessible

 

Being inclusive in your newsletter will give you access to a wider readership. Using plain English, ditching the jargon, and using alt text for images are all best practice.

 

And make sure it’s optimised for mobile – 69% of mobile users delete emails that aren’t optimized for phone. In particular check your images sizes, as even a slight delay in download time can make a reader hit delete.

 

 

Send what you say you’ll send

 

When readers subscribe to your newsletters, they’ll expect to hear from you regularly. Make sure you match their expectations. If you’ve said you send a monthly newsletter then send it every month. Not doing so will undermine your credibility, especially sending people more emails than they bargained for which can be irritating and lead them to unsubscribe.

 

Make it very clear and easy to unsubscribe. Making it difficult for people to unsubscribe can be annoying. If they’re going to leave, make sure they do it with a good impression of your organisation.

 

 

Review and revise

 

Measure the results of your emails – open rates, click-throughs, bounce rates, unsubscribes, and forwards. These should give you a clear image of whether what you’re doing is working for your reader. But also get feedback on the content itself and whether it’s the kind of information that your audience wants to read about. Reviewing and improving your newsletter is an ongoing process.