A GATEWAY TO DEEPEN PEOPLE’S INTEREST AND PASSION FOR NATURE
© Nasa / Unsplash
A newsletter is a great tool to take people with us on a journey and inspire them to care about nature, or reinforce their commitment to our planet.
BEFORE STARTING A NEWSLETTER
1. DEFINE THE PURPOSE OF YOUR NEWSLETTER
Many already feel flooded with content, which means we must first ask ourselves: is this newsletter necessary or do we have another newsletter that already covers this topic? What is the added value of this newsletter and what will it bring to your audience?
Think carefully before you start, not having a newsletter can be good communication too.
Think about what it might do that sets it apart from other pieces of email content. Will it…
- Boost engagement with your followers, supporters and donors?
- Inspire action for nature?
- Raise money for the cause?
- Drive traffic to your website?
- Inform WWF colleagues, major donors or partners about the latest news?
If it truly does fill an important gap in your content strategy, think about how you can set it apart from similar emails your target audience might be getting from other sources. Understanding this is critical to fine-tuning the goals of your newsletter.
2. DEFINE YOUR AUDIENCE
Who are you talking to? Are they internal or external audiences? To major partners or to your followers?
- Internal: employees of a particular office or function, the whole WWF Network (e.g. practice newsletter, network internal update, etc.)
- External: B2B (e.g. business partners, officials, major donors) or B2C (e.g. supporters, followers, subscribers
Consider exactly who you want to reach and why. Deciding on a specific target audience will ensure your messages get to the right people.
Create tailor-made content based on your target audience. For example, if you are wanting to speak to an audience you’d like to inspire, think about how the subject line could get to the heart of the issue.
We know that subject lines with call to actions (such as “Call on governments to take action” or “5 ways you can protect the planet“) perform better, so be sure to use this when possible. Also, if you are able to, include the person’s name in the subject line – especially when trying to communicate with supporters. There is usually an option to do this in your email builder. Put this at the start of your email (such as “@{Name}, call on governments to take action”).
Think about what would make your email pop for your audience. Would emotive language work best? Should you lead with a question? Do you need to make complex topics more public-friendly?
Here is an example of a high-performing email sent to external supporters. Note the language used in the email, the subject line, and the call to action. The subject line includes a call to action and the call to action in the copy is clear, which led to both a high open rate and a high click-through rate.
3. DEFINE YOUR OBJECTIVES
Whatever your overall objectives are, we recommend defining a precise goal linked to your newsletter:
- For example, growth of newsletter subscribers, click-through rates, website visitors, growth of followers on social media platforms, fundraising objectives, opening rate, etc.
Also think about your communication strategies around the newsletter – how to subscribe, how are you planning on growing your audience, etc.
- You can use A/B tests to refine this strategy. Try two different types of email subject lines to see which one resonates more or test two different lead images to see what draws readers in and retains their attention.
- Make sure to test one element at a time, as multiple elements won’t allow for proper testing.
Monitor results regularly to see how the newsletter is doing in relation to those objectives. If they are not achieving the original goals, make adjustments or simply discontinue them.
4. DEFINE THE PERIODICITY
When and how often do you send your newsletter?
Consider the best day to send the newsletter to your audience and how often they want to receive it (e.g. on a weekly, monthly or quarterly basis). Be sure to review what is recommended in your market and use that to refine your approach.
Creating a newsletter is a commitment! It is a recurring piece of content – make sure you have the right resources, in terms of design, operations (tools, platform), as well as relevant content for the defined audience.
CONTENT AND DESIGN PRINCIPLES
1. FOLLOW THE BRAND GUIDELINES
For newsletters, the optimal size for the email body text is 14-16px. 14px text is recommended for longer paragraphs and 16px for a sentence or two. The headings should be bigger; 22-42 px is recommended.
Colours – Black and white is our principal colour palette. This should form the basis of your design; see more info on this page.
Logo – Always be true to the logo: make sure you use the correct WWF logo.
The country identifier is not necessary. As a global organization that tackles global issues, we always prefer the “one network, one WWF” approach. The country or region can be mentioned in the content of the newsletter.
2. KEEP THE DESIGN SIMPLE: MINIMIZE THE TEXT
Less is more! We recommend displaying a short form of your content and adding hyperlinks for more information. Studies have shown that people do not read every word of an email. They scan the content starting from the top left corner and stop at the subject lines and images. Only then, if bold text or images capture their attention, will they read the rest. This is the so-called “F” reading pattern described by Jakob Nielsen.
If you are sending a newsletter on a single topic, you should aim to stick to 300 words or less. The intro should be short and snappy, so that if someone is on the move, they get the key information in the first two sentences.
If you need to address different topics in your newsletter, keep the intro to 150-200 words maximum, then create up to 5-6 sub-sections. If a sub-section links out to an external source (your office’s website or social media or a news site), keep the word count down to 100 words.
If you are keen to communicate more, you can try email automation. This individualizes contact by sending emails to a person when they take a particular action (e.g. emailing people who opened the first newsletter email you send to encourage further action).
3. PEOPLE ARE VISUAL BEINGS
Minimalistic designs make your newsletter visually appealing and easier to read.
Use high-res images and illustrations according to your content – visit the photography guidelines page for more information.
Make sure the content is as interactive as possible: add videos, animations, gifs.
Ensure that the visual elements in your newsletter aren’t bigger than 1,000 pixels as this will take longer to load and may result in people losing interest.
4. CONTENT
Make sure there are editorial and review processes in place, taking into account local specificities and sensitive topics.
Note: the first third of your newsletter is crucial and must be attention grabbing. This is the first thing audiences will see and this will determine whether or not they will carry on engaging with the newsletter.
5. MAKE SURE YOUR NEWSLETTER CONTAINS A CLEAR AND VISIBLE CALL TO ACTION
Whether it is “Find out more”, “Subscribe to your newsletter”, “Adopt now” or “Donate” make sure your newsletter contains a clear and visible call to action.
Every email should contain a call to action so that you are inviting the reader to go on a journey. Ideally, lead back to a piece of content on your website or your social media so that you are driving traffic to your own site as opposed to someone else’s.
Short and snappy summary leading to more content
NEWSLETTER TEMPLATE EXAMPLE
FOR INTERNAL OR EXTERNAL AUDIENCES
This example shows a basic wireframe layout design for a potential newsletter. It includes space for an attention grabbing full width header image and main newsletter area, with relevant links for further information.
The remaining newsletter is constructed by a number of blocks that breaks the content into manageable and interesting blocks, to include top level highlight articles and topics, a strong call to action and additional news.
Consult the WWF digital newsletter management guidelines for more details on content creation and tips on how to create an impactful newsletter.