Creating Effective Radio Station Newsletters

We’ve always preached here to do all you can to drive traffic back to the website where you can monetize it. Newsletters are an awesome way to do that and inform your listeners. Have your doubts? Rest assured that newsletters remain an effective communication channel for radio stations to keep in touch with their listeners. So, why send regular newsletters? Drives brand awareness for your radio station (keeps it top of mind). Keeps subscribers up to date with what is happening at the station and in your community. Creates trust and authority. Keeps subscribers engaged with your website (meaning more traffic). What should I include on sign-up forms? An e-mail address is the only required field, but most forms add a name field. Try not to make your signup form a lengthy questionnaire. You should also include somewhere around the signup form information so that subscribers know what to expect when they sign up. What content should my newsletter contain? Calls to action Local news Contests and promotions Events Links to Polls Ensure nearly all links point back to your station website. Should I include client banner ads? Keep it to a bare minimum. One banner ad should be sufficient per e-mail but make the call to action within that ad be worth getting. How frequently should station newsletters be sent? The frequency entirely depends on the content you’re providing. Some will say no more than twice a week, or once a month is best practice.  However, if you are providing news with daily updates, then there’s no reason why you can’t send those once per day. Consider having two or more e-mail lists that listeners can sign up for. One list can be periodic news updates that are more promotional content-driven like contests, events, etc. And then another list that is daily that contains news headlines/daily information. What newsletter services are best for sending/deliverability? There are many different email newsletter services to choose from, but some of the best affordable options include ConstantContact, MailChimp, MadMimi, MailerLite, ActiveCampaign, and Campaign Monitor. These services make it easy to get started. Nearly every platform has pre-made professional templates that you can drag and drop your content into. Wrapping up Ensure your newsletters contain compelling content that links back to the website as much as possible. Be brief. Meet the expectations that you've set for your newsletter and be consistent. Deliver your newsletter on a regular schedule. Promote your newsletter on your website and on-air often. Give specific reasons for signing up and follow through on those. If you’re importing contacts that you’ve gained over time, ensure you have the approval of those contacts to receive your newsletter. Always ensure you have an easy, straightforward unsubscribe option in every e-mail you send. With the right email newsletter service and a little bit of brainstorming, you'll get up and going and be sending engaging newsletters in no time! Hopefully, these tips help equip you in creating your radio station newsletter.