When it comes to your B2B email newsletter, you need to ensure that you provide your readers with content that keeps them on their toes! Take a look at some excellent ideas that you can incorporate in your newsletter content!

1. Note down interesting ideas and create a topic bank

You could come across an interesting subject or topic to write on just about anywhere. Make a note of a subject that has grabbed your attention and write it down in your list of topic ideas. Some great topics to write about are:

  1. Common problems and ways to solve them
  2. How-to-do articles that explain how to carry out certain tasks
  3. A list of tips pertaining to a particular activity
  4. A subjective opinion on a chosen topic, industry, event etc
  5. An article that discusses how you feel a particular sector or industry will do in the long run, followed by an article on whether you were right or wrong
  6. Problems faced by people in their business and how they were overcome
  7. A case study with relevant figures and details relating to your products/services
  8. Write reviews on interesting and useful products and services that are available in the market
  9. Discuss educational content
  10. Inform people of upcoming events
  11. Direct people towards helpful resources like useful websites, online tools etc
  12. Answer questions sent in by your readers
  13. Conduct interviews and write about them
  14. Report statistics and news
  15. Create a fun, interactive quiz (this can even relate to your products or services)

2. Don’t place entire stories in your email

The purpose of an email is to provide simple and brief information that gets your point across. Grab the attention of your readers by giving them a glimpse of the story to come. Pique their interest and then provide them with a link to the whole story. If you have successfully raised their curiosity they are sure to click on the link to read more.

3. Tell subscribers what to do

Inform subscribers as to what you want them to do. Give them clear instructions regarding the call to action. Tell them if you want them to buy your ebook or enter a giveaway contest. It is also very important that you tell them what they will get by following your call to action.

4. Use exciting and relevant subject lines

You can create your subject line after you have finished writing your email. This way you can be sure that your subject line accurately portrays the content in your email. Good subject lines contain commonly faced questions, mentions the recipient’s name and focuses on benefits. When faced with creating an effective subject line, be creative, sensible and practical. Keep testing out subject lines and see which one works best for you.

5. Give your audience what they are looking for

Your content must cater to the needs of your audience. If you have promised to deliver content relating to a particular subject, stick to that. Avoid promoting your products and services and be reliable in terms of your emailing frequency. If you send your newsletters in an HTML format then make sure it includes a text only version as well. Always proofread your newsletter before sending it out and ensure that all unsubscription requests are dealt with immediately.

6. Make use of table of contents, sidebar boxes and columns

If your newsletter contains information on two or more topics, it would be a good idea to provide your readers with a table of contents. This will help them get a good idea of what your newsletter contains and will prevent them from getting confused. You can even provide a link to each different topic in the table of contents to make it easy for your readers to go straight to the relevant area. Using sidebar boxes and columns is also a great way to help your readers directly reach the information they are most interested in reading about.

Can you think of any more tips to improve your newsletter content? Tell us about it!

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by Shireen Qudosi

Shireen Qudosi is Benchmark Email's Online Marketing Specialist and Small Business Advocate. An Orange County based writer, Shireen specializes in online marketing and public relations. She has written for over 75 publications and has launched nine successful new media campaigns to date. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Denver Post, the Oklahoman and Green Air Radio, among others.