How to Design an Effective Newsletter

Since we all live in the new digital world that barely existed 25 years ago, people seem to enjoy the comfort of having computers and email accounts. Indeed, email accounts serve as the new mailbox that uses ones and zeros instead of papers.
Businesses of all sizes need to use this tool in a way that does not harm their business, or reduce their profits because of a bad newsletter design or meaningless text, so here are a few tips that will help a business’s newsletters get read, business-to-business or business-to-customers:

1. The layout is one of the most important aspects of a newsletter email. The layout should not be too simple (just text or just an image) nor too complex (too many images and text.) This makes your newsletter look spammy, therefore, try to find a middle ground that suits the type of business you perform. Here are a couple of very useful techniques:
1. Try using two columns where the left column takes one third of the page and the right column takes the remaining two thirds. This makes text much easier to read than using the whole width of the page, which makes text look too long. Use the left column as a table of content and links to articles or related links to your topic, and don’t forget to give this column a background color to make it more appealing to the eyes. Use the right column for the content of the newsletter, including these three elements: title, images, and content.
2. Colors matter. If the business is food or a restaurant, make your newsletter colorful using red, green, and yellow for these are the colors of most foods. Also, use the colors of your business’s logo to make your newsletters unique. Don’t forget to use the darker colors for the left column’s background with a complimentary light color for the text, while using the lighter colors for the right column’s background with the darker complimentary color for the text (this makes it more comfortable for the eyes to look at and easier to read.)
2. The title is indeed the most important aspect of a newsletter for it is what separates your email from those of junk mail and spams. Try to use the title as an attention catcher. Many businesses use the name of their business in the title. In many cases, this is a big mistake because some readers might not be aware of this business and disregard the newsletter based on that. Another reason why using the business’s name in the title is a bad idea is because it tells the reader that this is a useless update, or even spam. Therefore, use a shorter version of the title of the content for it is very relevant and grabs attention, or just be creative and straightforward with this section. An example for Applebee’s coupon: 3 Appetizers for 2 only at Applebee’s (this is one of the cases where using the name of the business is relevant.)
3. The content definitely depends on the type of business performed. However, a general rule of thumb is to never forget the human aspect. The following are some useful tips and techniques for the content section of the newsletter:
1. Imagery is indeed important to this section. It is possible that the image gets the attention before the text, even sometimes the title. This also depends on the type of business you are performing. For example, a food chain might focus on adding more images than text for it opens up the appetite and possibly grab more customers to the restaurant, but many images can be too much for a business-to-business newsletter for the focus is on text rather than images. However, use at least one image in this section that is most relevant to the topic in discussion.
2. Yes, readers do judge a book by its title. They want the title to tell them what the content is all about. So if your newsletter is about marketing for college students, do not confuse your readers with an irrelevant, vague, or overgeneralized title that makes the reader believe your content is about marketing in general. Be specific and write a title that can be considered a relevant title for a scholarly article (because your content is that important.)
3. As for the content itself, there are many things your business can do to make this section readable:
1. Make it in the form of a third-person rather than using the “our products,” “we are the best,” and “the award is for us.” Using first person form can be confusing, and makes your business sound selfish, so try avoiding that as much as possible. Using the third person form lets the reader know what you are talking about, especially when speaking specifically of a product or a service unique to your company.
2. The style of writing is an aspect your business needs to understand, as such is to write using friendly language, and use simple words that everyone understands instead of long complex ones that only a few people understand. Basically, try to avoid jargon, for it is a language only those in a certain profession understands.
3. When using abbreviations, explain what they stand for in the first reference, for many people just have no idea what a certain abbreviation stands for even within a profession.
4. Proofreading is essential. There might be some typos and grammatical errors that the writer did not pay attention to the first time, and proofreading helps detect these typos and errors. It also provides the chance to improve the overall quality of the content and makes it sound more professional when read.