Generating a company newsletter is an essential component of brand positioning. Consistent communication is the key to building brand loyalty; a newsletter helps you keep audiences engaged over the long haul.

It’s important to note that there are two distinct types of brand newsletters—internal and external. Curated content for internal newsletters should aim to disseminate company information among staff, while external outreach should be geared toward positioning the brand with customers.

But regardless of which type of newsletter you intend on building, there are common (often overlooked) elements of a successful design that are imperative to consider. How do you make your newsletters compelling for your audience? Let’s unpack six practical ways to build newsletters that capture your customers’ attention and keep your brand at the forefront of their minds.

1. Define Your Company Newsletter Objectives and Target Audience

Some company newsletters try to cover too many subjects—and some miss the mark on a topic entirely. Either way, they lose the attention of their audience as a result. So before you begin defining your newsletter content, choose a singular focus for your publication.

This focus should be directly aligned with your target audience’s interests. Companies with a diverse range of products and services may need to segment their audience to curate quality content for their different types of customers; other brands may want to survey their subscriber list to understand what customers want out of their newsletters.

2. Design a Clean and Visually Appealing Layout

Clarity and visual appeal go a long way when it comes to company newsletter engagement. Limit your copy to essential messaging to avoid clutter, especially since many subscribers will view your curated content via mobile devices. Remember: the goal of external newsletters is not just to disseminate information but also to drive traffic to your other customer touch points.

Use a Simple and Easy-to-Read Font

Readability should be a top priority in your design. You’re creating a form of mass communication—meaning it should be as accessible as possible. Some readers will access your brand newsletter from a phone screen, some will only have a moment to glance at your copy, and some may struggle with strange fonts or text colors. You want your text to imprint your message automatically—so keep it simple.

Use a Consistent Color Scheme and Design Elements

Jarring or clashing colors can be unappealing to your subscribers—and when combined with a complicated design, you can lose their attention completely. You don’t want to make it difficult to parse your company newsletter or identify branding design elements in the content. Keep color schemes consistent and deliver on your readers’ design expectations.

Keep the Layout Organized and Easy to Navigate

Despite all your hard work, the truth is that most subscribers aren’t going to read your content in total from start to finish. They will jump straight to headlines that pique their interest, skip over what doesn’t, and skim the text. You can’t fight it—so instead, design your newsletter to accommodate this reading style, with white space and concise copy.

3. Rely on Engaging Company Newsletter Content to Keep Readers Interested

It should go without saying, but curating engaging content is essential to keep readers interested in a reoccurring publication. To maintain readership, you must ensure that the topics you cover are consistently relevant to your audience. Your presentation of these topics is an equally important component of engagement.

Include a Mix of Text, Images, and Videos

Because readers often skim company newsletter copy, focus your design on capturing customers’ attention. As a rule, there should be at least one visual or graphic per publication—meaning photos, artwork, shaded boxes, graphs, or quotes. This design principle ensures that at least one piece of your company newsletter will draw the reader’s eye and hold their interest for a moment.

Use a Conversational Tone and Tell Stories

Striking the right tone can make all the difference. Narrative storytelling is much more exciting and engaging than dry informative text. Convey your information in a first-person and conversational way to make your audience feel like you’re speaking directly to them.

4. Include User-Generated Content in Your Company Newsletter

User-generated content (UGC) incorporates word-of-mouth marketing principles to cultivate a sense of authenticity. Make use of your community’s voice by including reviews and FAQs. You can also include a discussion on independently generated content or share customers’ unique use cases for your product. Or perhaps you might leverage employee content to offer a behind-the-scenes look into your brand. The options are endless!

5. Connect to Trending Topics

Your customers will only stay engaged with your company newsletter if they perceive your content as relevant. Of course, this can be a thorny problem for marketers, as every individual has unique interests.

Touching on trending topics allows you to tap into ongoing narratives of interest. Search the latest trends in your industry and incorporate them into your newsletter. Also, allow subscribers to set their preferences regarding the types of newsletters they want to receive from you.

6. Give Subscribers a Reason to Opt In

You need to get your readers to opt into your publication—meaning you need to entice them to do so. You may have brilliant, cutting-edge content. But to get readers to sign up for your newsletter before discovering its value, you’ll need to offer something more tangible.

Start with discounts, free products, or coupon codes in exchange for a subscription. Then you can build in offers like weekly tips, free sources, or unique offers in subsequent newsletters to add value continuously.

Curate Your Company Newsletter With AI

Creating a company newsletter is more complicated than it might initially seem. Effectively curating your content in your brand voice can be time-consuming and delicate. So why not let a service like Daily.ai take care of it for you?

Daily.ai curates content as a newsletter with your brand’s unique voice and style. We’ll boost your open rate to new heights—while reducing the time and effort it takes to create an effective newsletter.

Ready to overhaul your newsletter efforts and reach new audiences? Reach out to the Daily.ai team to learn more today.