Email Marketing for Content Promotion: Best Practices

You have a powerful, direct, and personal communication channel that is often underutilized for content promotion: your email list.

Your email subscribers are your most loyal and engaged audience. They have explicitly given you permission to contact them. This makes your email list one of the most effective channels you have for distributing your content and for driving a surge of high-quality traffic to your new blog posts and other content assets.

Here are the best practices for using email marketing to promote your content.

1. Send a Dedicated Newsletter for Your Best Content

When you publish a major new piece of content—like an "ultimate guide," a new research report, or a particularly valuable blog post—it deserves its own dedicated email.

• How it works: Send a broadcast email to your list with the primary goal of getting them to read your new content.
• Craft a Compelling Subject Line: Your subject line should be intriguing and clearly state the value of the content. (e.g., "Our New Guide to Small Business SEO").
• Write a Personal Introduction: In the body of the email, write a short, personal introduction from you or your brand. Explain why you created this content and what the reader will learn from it.
• Have a Clear Call-to-Action (CTA): Use a prominent button or link with a clear CTA like "Read the Full Post" or "Download the Guide."

2. Create a Curated Content Newsletter

If you are publishing content more frequently, you can create a regular (e.g., weekly or bi-weekly) curated newsletter.

• How it works: This newsletter can feature a link to your latest blog post, but it should also provide additional value.
• What to include:
  • A link to your newest article.
  • Links to a few other interesting articles or resources from around the web that your audience would find helpful.
  • A personal note or a quick tip.
• Why it works: A curated newsletter positions you as a helpful expert and ensures that your emails are consistently valuable, not just self-promotional.

3. Segment Your List for More Relevant Promotion

As your email list grows, you can begin to segment your subscribers based on their interests.

• How it works: If you know that a certain segment of your audience is particularly interested in a specific topic, you can send your new content on that topic only to them.
• Why it works: This makes your email communications much more relevant and can lead to a higher open rate and click-through rate.

4. Use Automated Welcome Sequences

When a new user subscribes to your email list (e.g., by downloading a lead magnet), you should have an automated "welcome sequence" of emails that is sent to them over the first week.

• How to use it for content promotion: You can use this welcome sequence to introduce them to your brand and to point them towards some of your most popular and valuable "pillar" content pieces. This is a great way to get your best content in front of every new subscriber.

5. Make Your Emails Easy to Read and Scan

• Use a clean, simple design.
• Keep your paragraphs short.
• Use images and headings to break up the text.
• Ensure it looks great on mobile devices.

6. Don't Just Be a Broadcaster

Encourage your subscribers to engage with you. End your emails with a question and invite them to "hit reply" and share their thoughts. This helps to build a stronger, more personal relationship with your audience.

Conclusion

Your email list is a powerful asset for content promotion. These are the people who are most likely to read, share, and act on the content you create. By treating your subscribers' attention with respect and by consistently delivering value to their inbox, you can turn your email newsletter into one of the most effective and reliable channels for driving traffic and engagement for your content.