A Great Newsletter: Most Important Elements

Newsletters are an essential component of any nonprofit’s marketing strategy. They offer a direct line of communication with supporters and help establish a strong brand that your followers connect with. Quality newsletters also give a nonprofit the chance to highlight successes, share stories and drive engagement. 

However, to consistently craft a great newsletter takes planning. In this post, we’ll explore why a newsletter is important for your nonprofit and essential elements a great newsletter needs to have.

Let’s get started.

Why A Newsletter Is Important For Your Nonprofit

Build stronger relationships with supporters

Newsletters provide an opportunity for your nonprofit to connect with your supporters on a deeper level. By keeping them informed and engaged, you build trust and strengthen your relationship with them.

Increase engagement and donations

A great newsletter can increase engagement and donations by providing relevant and interesting content to your audience. By sharing your successes and progress, you can inspire your supporters to take action and contribute to your cause.

Reach a wider audience

If you send a regular newsletter, you also have a powerful tool for reaching potential donors outside your existing donor base. By sharing your newsletter on social media or other digital platforms, you can attract new supporters to your various campaigns.

Establish your nonprofit as a thought leader

By sharing insightful and thought-provoking content, you can establish your nonprofit as a source of high quality information. Do it enough, and your organization even becomes a “thought leader” in your area of focus. Not only can this attract new supporters and donors, but you also build credibility and awareness for your cause.

Provide exclusive content and updates

Besides all the other benefits a great newsletter can bring, it’s also simply a great way to keep your audience informed. This can be anything from your latest content to important updates they might find interesting. 

Essential Elements For A Great Newsletter

Now that we know the reasons a newsletter can be so beneficial, let’s cover the elements you can’t forget. While a newsletter will look different between organizations, the following 8 elements are a great place to start.

Clear and Compelling Subject Line

As we discuss in our ultimate guide to email marketing, a good email always starts with a great subject line. This is true regardless of the content of your newsletter. Your subject line should be clear, concise and compelling. It should hint at what’s inside and be eye-catching enough to grab your reader’s attention. Avoid using vague or misleading subject lines as they can result in low open rates or even mark your emails as spam.

Engaging Headline

After a good subject line, the next element of a great newsletter is your headline. This is the first thing your reader will see after clicking on your email. While not all nonprofits will utilize a headline in their newsletter, be sure it’s engaging if you do. Keep it short and sweet, but make sure it’s catchy and interesting.

Branding and Design

When it comes to a nonprofit newsletter, there are two camps of thought regarding branding and design. Some people insist it’s essential, while others prefer to simply send it in plain text. Which one matches your brand better? If you decide to design it in a specific way, be sure you understand some of the most important design elements for a newsletter.

High-Quality Content

Great content marketing is the backbone of a responsive audience. It provides value to your readers, educates them, and often builds a strong connection with your followers. But how do you get it in front of your audience? 

A newsletter is just one option. Your newsletter should have high-quality, relevant content that is valuable to your readers. Include stories about your nonprofit’s work, upcoming events, recent achievements, and the impact you’ve made. Use clear language, avoid jargon, and make sure your content is easily scannable.

Calls to Action

Any great newsletter is going to give your readers the chance to take further action. This could include clicking on links to your content, responding to a survey, or even directly donating to one of your campaigns. That’s where calls-to-action come in handy. In a high-quality newsletter, your CTAs should be prominent and easy to find.

Personalization

Everybody wants to feel like you’re writing directly to them. It deepens the connection they have when reading your newsletter and makes it more likely that you take any actions you request them to. This is where personalization comes in. Thankfully, one of the easiest and most reliable ways to implement this is through the use of merge tags. You might also consider different methods of email tagging if you want to send multiple segmented newsletter.

Mobile Optimization

If you’re committed to sending a great newsletter, you have to consider what it looks like via mobile. Indeed, over half of all emails are now opened on mobile devices. Here is the golden rule: make sure your newsletter is easy to read and navigate on smaller screens. Most email service providers make this easy to test out before sending.

Frequency

The most successful newsletters (nonprofit or otherwise) follow a schedule. This builds the expectation from the relevant audience and gives them something to look forward to. The most common frequency of a newsletter is once a week, but you can really send it however often is most convenient for your organization. Whatever schedule you decide on, make sure you stick to it. It’s a sign of professionalism and can build deep (and profitable) relationships with your audience over time.

…

Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at info@lughstudio.com or call us at (718) 855-1919