An audio version can be found here 👇
Picture this - it's the year 2024 and everything is on fire but there are some things that never change and for you that might be hearing people tell you you need a newsletter (or NL for short).
Why would they tell me that and can the answers be as short as possible because I have other things to be doing?
Yeah sure.
Building a healthy amount of newsletter subscribers means that whenever you have a major beat, such as a game launch, those people will get a direct poke right in their face via their inbox and then it will be usher them on a short and concise user journey towards smashing whatever you want them to smash.
Yes the point of wishlisting on Steam means that a notification will trigger when a game launches, but this serves multiple functions for different key milestones along your marketing roadmap.
Also there's no harm in people being hit twice with the same BUY MY GAME NOW bat.
How do I make my newsletter appealing?
Make it easy to read
Make it pretty on the eyes
Not too heavy on assets that will cause slow load
Probably best to omit gifs (sadly)
BIG CLEAR CTA's for your primary goal of that issue
Links all over the place.
Make it personable - this is the video gammons we work in, a creative industry. Don't be afraid to include cute and humourous elements to the newsletter.
Pet photos - honestly it's such a life hack for newsletters and most parts of life.
Do not spam people
How do I get people to subscribe?
Make the method of sign up easy to do
Make the method of unsubscribing not a complete secretive mission because that just annoys everyone. It gives me eye twitches when companies make unsub links hard to find and use font colours that purposely blend in with the background. We see you...even if we can hardly see your font.
Offer them incentives for signing up - asset packs, discounts of merch stores or a demo link that hasn't yet been made public.
Have something unique appear in the NL that won't be on other platforms at least not until a certain exclusivity window has cleared.
How do I keep people subscribed?
Be consistent with the when of send outs, people will enjoy the familiarity of "oh this date is usually when Claire's "Why I Love Bread More than People" newsletter is out, what mad delights will she have in it this time?"
Keep is fresh with content
Keep content that's proven to be a hit a regular element
Treat people with competitions and AMA's and other fun engagement perks
It's a marketing tool but try to be personable with your tone. People know they're being marketed to but value the transparency and cosiness of brands not drumming that with how they present their engagement offerings.
Again do not spam people
How do I actually set up a newsletter?
There are a bunch of options and you should definitely weigh them up, maybe with free trials to find what works for you. Mailchimp's features may not gel with your needs as much as MailerLite's features. You'll have to pay more the bigger your send out list is, so check the prices and what makes the most sense for you.
When is your bread newsletter launching?
Watch this yeasty space...might need to rethink that slogan.