What does the perfect newsletter look like?
Posted: Sun Feb 02, 2025 6:56 am
Like any other form of communication, a newsletter can pursue (and hopefully help achieve) very different goals. It can serve a charitable cause or it can sell products in a targeted manner. It can contribute to the visibility of a specialist and improve their image. It can strengthen the bond with a news medium or increase the number of clicks on its actual offering.
It is crucial that you clarify in advance what goals your newsletter is pursuing and that you also understand the customer journey from the first contact through the subscription to the receipt of each individual issue and the actions intended. Like any other medium, a newsletter needs a good concept and it must be integrated into the overall communication.
The perfect newsletter is the one that is interesting to the subscriber and offers the greatest benefit, while also contributing to your own goals. The goal of the associated communication strategy is to work out exactly that. So there is no such thing as the perfect newsletter, but there are good ones and bad ones. You probably know examples of both.
The following applies to every publication: the better you get direct feedback from subscribers and at the same time evaluate key figures and statistics, the better it can become over time.
I published " 10 detailed tips for successful newsletters " here some linkedin data time ago . However, this guide article needs to be revised, which I will do shortly and then link here. That will be part 2 of this newsletter guide.
What open rates and click numbers are good?
Opening rates and click numbers are some of the most important metrics for a newsletter: how many people open it and how many then follow the links and calls to action in it. However, it is not possible to give absolute numbers here. In general, my observation is that the larger the circle of subscribers, the lower the opening rate and click numbers become. Providers such as Mailchimp give an "industry average" for both. This provides initial indications. Above all, however, you should also try out which wording and which layout works best for you from one issue to the next. Again: newsletters get better and better over time and with intensive qualitative and quantitative measurement of success.
But click numbers aren't everything. Perhaps an issue focuses on a very specific, very small target group, which then brings you orders or recommends you to others. Ultimately, the overarching communication and strategic goals are what matter, and you can rarely look at a single measure in complete isolation.
By the way, it can be worthwhile to create segments from the total number of subscribers, to personalize the newsletter to a high degree and to incorporate certain feedback elements in this context. But this is of course more complex and should therefore also be individually designed.
It is crucial that you clarify in advance what goals your newsletter is pursuing and that you also understand the customer journey from the first contact through the subscription to the receipt of each individual issue and the actions intended. Like any other medium, a newsletter needs a good concept and it must be integrated into the overall communication.
The perfect newsletter is the one that is interesting to the subscriber and offers the greatest benefit, while also contributing to your own goals. The goal of the associated communication strategy is to work out exactly that. So there is no such thing as the perfect newsletter, but there are good ones and bad ones. You probably know examples of both.
The following applies to every publication: the better you get direct feedback from subscribers and at the same time evaluate key figures and statistics, the better it can become over time.
I published " 10 detailed tips for successful newsletters " here some linkedin data time ago . However, this guide article needs to be revised, which I will do shortly and then link here. That will be part 2 of this newsletter guide.
What open rates and click numbers are good?
Opening rates and click numbers are some of the most important metrics for a newsletter: how many people open it and how many then follow the links and calls to action in it. However, it is not possible to give absolute numbers here. In general, my observation is that the larger the circle of subscribers, the lower the opening rate and click numbers become. Providers such as Mailchimp give an "industry average" for both. This provides initial indications. Above all, however, you should also try out which wording and which layout works best for you from one issue to the next. Again: newsletters get better and better over time and with intensive qualitative and quantitative measurement of success.
But click numbers aren't everything. Perhaps an issue focuses on a very specific, very small target group, which then brings you orders or recommends you to others. Ultimately, the overarching communication and strategic goals are what matter, and you can rarely look at a single measure in complete isolation.
By the way, it can be worthwhile to create segments from the total number of subscribers, to personalize the newsletter to a high degree and to incorporate certain feedback elements in this context. But this is of course more complex and should therefore also be individually designed.