An email newsletter is an electronic letter that contains marketing information, promotional offers, or company news. Most times, the content of a newsletter will be similar to that of a traditional printed newspaper which can be viewed online or offline. Email newsletters are sent through bulk emails (popularly known as spam) at fixed time intervals determined by the newsletter administrator.
Email newsletters can be sent either by a group of people or through software to “auto-respond” and to subscribe and unsubscribe recipients. The concept is similar to publishing a print newspaper and distributing it via postal mail, but instead it is distributed electronically through email. Email newsletters are available in both HTML (hypertext markup language) format or text-only formats.
Email newsletters are a fast, inexpensive way to reach out to customers and potential customers. They can be used to keep users updated on new products, announcements, etc. via email rather than using conventional print advertisements such as flyers and posters; which are time-consuming and costly.
The software allows users to design their own email newsletter with ease. Most of these software programs feature templates, pre-designed layouts, canned content, etc. which can be edited in order to meet the user’s specifications.
A service provider is then selected based on his or her reputation for sending out newsletters successfully and quickly. The service provider then creates a list of targeted email addresses from several sources, including phone directories, trade associations, membership lists, etc.
Every email address on the list is tested for validity before being sent to avoid problems with spam filters which can result in undelivered emails and lost customers and revenue. Once the list is tested and ready, it is then sent to the service provider’s SMTP server for delivery.
There are two types of email newsletters: commercial and non-commercial. Commercial email newsletters are advertisements, while non-commercial email newsletters contain information about a specific topic related to the company, non-profit organization, etc., that is sending out the newsletter.
There are three different versions of email newsletters: simple text, HTML (hypertext markup language), and MIME (multi-purpose Internet mail extensions). The simplest version consists only of plain text, which is sent directly to the email client (Outlook, Gmail, Yahoo!, etc.).
The second version uses HTML code to add visual elements such as background color and images. This type of newsletter is more pleasing to the eye when it is opened but can sometimes be viewed as “too busy” by people who do not have HTML-enabled email clients.
The third version of an email newsletter is the most popular because it allows the newsletter to be viewed by both plain-text and HTML-enabled clients. This version uses the MIME format, which adds a header near the beginning of the email that notifies the client how to format/display the email correctly.
An email newsletter is used for marketing a company’s product or service in four different ways:
1) It can introduce new products or services.
2) It can feature existing products and services.
3) It can inform customers of sales, promotions, etc.
4) The email newsletter can provide information on a company’s products and services to facilitate the sale.
Email newsletters are a good way for businesses to advertise their products and services cost-effectively. Since email is accessible almost everywhere, it can be used as a marketing tool without incurring much expense for the business owner.