Originally published September 23, 2021 , updated on September 14, 2023

A Short History Lesson on Emails

The name Ray Tomlinson might not mean much to many people now, but tech gurus know that he was credited with the invention of the email in 1971. In a nutshell, Tomlinson created the program allowing an exchange of digital mail between one computer and the next.

When Tomlinson created this form of mail exchange in the early 70s, little did he know how important emails will become in the future. Not only that, it is a key marketing tool as many businesses depend on email newsletter writing services for success. Today, email is an essential part of our lives.

It wasn’t too long after the first creation of the email in 1971 that the first marketing email was sent. In 1978, Gary Thuerk, a marketing manager at Digital Equipment Corp, sent the first promotional email. It was to advertise machines that the company was selling. Admittedly, this is also looked at as the first spam mail. However,  there’s no denying that it highlighted the potential of mass emails and email newsletters to marketers around the world. Rumours are that this first email led to $13 million worth of sales for the company.

Personal email addresses became accessible in the 90s. Prior to this, it was only available to companies and students. This meant that there was now a new and more interesting way of reaching people. Prior to this, snail mail and telephone calls were the only means of communicating directly with customers. We now find ourselves in a time where we can’t really imagine life without both business and personal emails.

Back to Present Times

There’s no denying that email newsletters have become an increasingly important tool. This has now resulted in the development of a whole new standalone industry – email marketing.

The rise of email marketing has given way to businesses completely dedicated to email newsletters. Mailchimp, for example, is a company that centres around the ability to send email newsletters.

There are also a number of other industries and jobs that have come out of email marketing. Newsletter writing services and email newsletter copywriting are roles in many companies and content marketing agencies. Many companies have grown to see the value of email newsletters. Of course, there are regulations and rules around how organisations send newsletters to customers. But there’s no denying the power of newsletters and the benefits thereof.

Below are eight benefits of using email newsletters. All of these are able to help build your brand equity.

Emailers Gives You the Chance to Talk to a Captive Audience

People have to actively choose to sign up for a newsletter to receive it. When subscribing to a newsletter, it indicates the customer finds the product or service interesting. This means most people receiving newsletters are already a captive and interested audience. You should definitely use this to your advantage.

Consumers have opted in to receive your newsletter. This makes the chance of conversation very strong. Use newsletters to appeal to this engaged audience to share the latest offers, any updates on your products or new services available.

The Costs Are Low Even if You Use an Email Newsletter Writing Service

The cost of creating and sending a digital newsletter is relatively low. This is when compared to more traditional marketing avenues such as advertising. With newsletters, there are no advertising fees, no fees for postage or stationery. Even if you use a professional email copywriting service, the costs will still be more budget-friendly.

Some costs are involved when using an email distribution service and tracking software. These do, however, pale in comparison to conventional advertising and marketing costs. Email marketing has become a higher valuable marketing tool delivering a high ROI that’s easy on the pockets.

There Is a High ROI With Email Marketing

As we’ve established, email marketing is a cost-effective marketing tactic to start with. Not only that, but the return on these low costs are high. Reports suggest that for every $1 spent on email marketing, it generates $38. That’s impressively high, so it’s easy to see why marketing teams still rely on newsletters today.

In fact, marketers probably see a bigger ROI than ever before. The rules around sending mass marketing emails to people have become quite strict in many regions around the world. This means people who receive your mails want to do business with you. They are more likely to read your emails and click through to your website or follow other call-to-actions you have in your newsletter.

It’s Easy to Measure the Success of This Type of Marketing

Email newsletter software has made it easy for people to track how emails perform. Campaign managers can see which newsletter content is more popular, which links are getting the most clicks, and which elements of a newsletter are not doing well.

This not only highlights successful elements but also areas that can be improved upon. It shows marketers what type of content best resonates with their audience. Marketers can then improve emails as they go along based on these analytics.

Email Newsletter Writing Services Deliver Targeted Messaging

This ties into having an audience that is already engaged with or wants to engage with your brand. You can use emails to deliver key messages that you really want your customers to know about.

Many email tools allow you to really drill down into your database with specifics. You can specify your email reach, sending to people in one region only or who meet certain criteria. Perhaps you want to only reach women or people in a certain age group. Email marketing tools can be customised to help you target the right audience.

This is based on the assumption that you have taken the time to know more details about your subscriber base. Some of the best results come from email marketing segmentation.

It’s a Strong Driver of Revenue

This point is especially true for e-commerce companies. Emailers can give sales a boost when done right. It can be a useful tool to communicate special offers, upcoming sales or last-minute deals. Timing these around the time your customers get paid means people are more likely to have the cash to spend on your products or services.

Create emails that encourage people to spend money on a “flash sale” or entice them with discounts. These can go a long way to boosting the bottom line. However, don’t spam people with deals. This is a quick way to get people to unsubscribe.

You Can See an Increase in Website Traffic

Not many people check the websites of their favourite companies or brands on a regular basis. It only really happens when they need something. Even then, many people are more inclined to visit the social media pages of companies. 

A newsletter is an excellent way of reminding customers and potential customers about what your website offers. Perhaps you have a new blog post loaded or new products to talk about. You can use a newsletter to entice your audience. Include a call to action link that directs them to your website.

Newsletters are known to boost website traffic on and around the days they get distributed to a subscriber base.

It’s a Quick Way to Reach Customers

Need to reach your customers really quickly? Perhaps you need to do a quick survey with them? Do you want to tell them about an offer that’s only valid for a short period of time? Email newsletters can do this for you.

Put a mail together and quickly send it off to your subscriber base to share your message. This is a quick and hassle-free way to reach your audience with your desired message.

It’s Easy to Put Together

Thanks to newsletter software and professional email newsletter writing services, it’s become easier than ever before to develop this type of content.

When you work with a content agency offering email newsletter copywriting services, the job will get done quickly. Together with your writing agency, you can develop a template for all newsletters going forward. This makes the process hassle-free and standardised across all newsletters.

You can even pre-schedule emails to send on specific dates and times. Marketing automation software makes this easy to do, and it means you can get ahead of schedule.

So, What Now?

Have we convinced you about the power of email newsletters? Yes? Excellent! Now onto the next steps. In order to get started, there’s one surefire way to ensure you get this right from the start. Simply reach out to a content marketing agency for help.

Using professional services gives you time to focus on other aspects of the business. It also saves you from having to learn more about this aspect of marketing.

Content marketing agencies know what they are doing. They will be able to steer you in the right direction from the start. Leave it in the capable hands of people who do this for a living.

However, if you plan on doing this type of marketing yourself, here are some things to keep in mind.

• Keep it simple: Don’t overly complicate your newsletter. This refers to both layout and content. The layout must be user-friendly if you want your audience to engage with it. The content needs to be relatable, relevant and easy to read.

• Have a focus: Every newsletter should have a clear focus. You can’t use one newsletter to speak about six different things. This puts people off reading your content and clicking through to read or see more.

• Always include a call-to-action: Newsletters are tools to get people to take the next step. This could be to download a white paper or to visit your website. Whatever it is, be sure to have a clear call to action in your content.

• Know your audience: If you lose sight of who your audience is, you lose sight of what content you need to include. It could be disastrous if your email was intended for millennial women based in London, but you wrote content for Generation X (Baby Boomers) men based in Dublin. Knowing your audience also helps with distribution.

• Double-check your content: This means checking that your writing is clean and clear and all links work. So many newsletters go out with broken links, which can damage a campaign or sale. Check all your newsletters before going out, or hire a proofreader to do this for you. A good idea is to email yourself a test version of it and check everything in it.
• Remind people that you have a newsletter: Talk about your newsletter on your social media channels. Offer a snippet of what people can expect to see. Advertising it here can result in a number of new sign-ups.

To Sum Up

Yes, some people find email newsletters annoying and refer to them as spam, but it can be a highly effective tool when done right. You just need to have the right people on board and use professional services to help you. This ensures that you can actually create content that people look forward to receiving in their inbox.

There are also a number of online tools that can assist you. Some you will have to pay for, but there are many free services available as well. But, remember to try out the free trials before moving on to the paid services.

If it’s all too much for you or your team to handle, then be sure to use email newsletter writing services and professional businesses to take this off your hands. That way, you not only have one less thing to worry about, but you also get some time back. This time can be used where you need it most – on growing your business.

In conclusion, don’t sleep on newsletters. This strong marketing tool can help you in massive ways. It can lead to more leads and more sales. It can also result in a more engaged customer base. Be sure to jump on this if you havne’t yet done so.

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