Newsletters are one of the modern world’s most common forms of communication, but they are often the most forgotten. Many end up deleted before they’re even opened. However, if executed properly a newsletter can become an invaluable source of connectivity between commercial loan brokers and their clients. And achieving that success relies on 3 essential items.
The Subject is the Attraction
Most people keep their subject lines generic. They tend to focus on what the content of the email is. That means that often times they are generic and fail to catch the eye. Newsletters need to avoid that pitfall, or risk being regulated to the trash heap like spam.
A newsletters subject line should convey the content of the email, but it should do it in a way that draws the reader in. For example, if the newsletter is to announce a new blog post the subject line should be the title of the post, so long as the title is creative enough. If it’s for updates from the broker it should explicitly say what the update is focused on. Having a creative quote or a joke might seem appealing, but causes a loss of professionalism in the eyes of clients, and it leads them to view the email as spam.
Other items to avoid in the subject line are putting words in all caps or featuring a buzzword like danger or sale. These tactics can catch a reader’s attention, but they cause the newsletter to feel insignificant. Readers and customers remain loyal when they derive something from a newsletter. Using these tactics can cause a reader to feel that the newsletter isn’t worth their time.
Content is key
If the subject line draws a reader in the content is what captures their loyalty. Great content is the driving force behind most digital marketing. Whether it’s social media, internet ads, or newsletters most people don’t have the patience for bad content. They’ll choose to pass over it and search for something more in their interest.
Finding the content that appeals to each unique client base will vary based on what industries the broker is in and what their specialty is in the financial sector. Based on that information a broker will be able to build content around major updates from those industries or discuss successful deals they recently accomplished.
Each broker will have a different experience when creating a newsletter campaign, and trial and error will help show what their clientele likes to read. Most newsletter services and software will have the capability to track who is opening a piece and whether they click through for more content. Using these metrics can help to determine what content worked and what didn’t.
Some important things to remember are that a newsletter should only need to be scrolled down 3 times to read. This means that content should be shorter and more direct, otherwise the receiver will get bored and stop reading. A safe word count for a newsletter formatted is around 300 words or less. This saves space for imagery, contact info, a header and a footer. Each of these makes the email look interesting and works to further draw the reader in.
Timing is everything.
The other item a broker will want to monitor is how often, and when, they are sending a newsletter. If a newsletter arrives every day the recipient may feel inundated and come to view it as spam. Once again how often to send a newsletter is up to the broker, and tracking metrics can help determine when is the best time to send an email.
These are only the beginning pieces of a successful newsletter. The visual design of the newsletter, understanding how to read the metrics, and properly incorporating it into your other marketing are additional critical steps for an effective newsletter campaign. Our team specializes in setting up complete marketing campaigns for loan brokers, and we are here to answer any questions you might have.