You’ve gone to all that effort to write interesting blogs – surely you can also use them as newsletters? The short answer to this dilemma, and the one you may not be hoping for is no – definitely not.
Blog posts are not newsletters – they are a completely different piece of content. Do not ever be tempted to use a blog as a newsletter, otherwise you will do your blog and your newsletter strategy no good at all.
Reasons why you can’t use blogs as newsletters
Blog posts are for SEO and newsletters are not
Newsletters are nothing to do with your SEO. They are, in fact, a stage further on in your sales funnel from your blog and are for targeted short and snappy sales copy that’s intended the reader books in a call with you, or signs up for your products and services.
Blogs are for getting traffic to your site, upping your rankings, and proving you are so relevant, knowledgeable and trustworthy that the internet loves you and readers sign up to receive said newsletter.
Blog posts are around 500-1000 words, or even longer, whereas newsletters should be around 300 words of superb tightly-worded content
Newsletters are for your mailing list only. It should be exclusive content, only available to those who sign up to receive the newsletter. It should never be part of a blog or available on social media.
Blog posts should have meta tags, newsletter don’t require meta tags
Meta tags are to do with SEO, so it makes it easier for the search engines to categorise and index this content online and on your website. Newsletters have nothing to do with SEO so they don’t require this input at all.
Blog posts should have a call-to-action to get your reader to get in touch. Newsletters should aim to get readers to buy.
Two distinct aims of blog posts and newsletters mean they should not be used as swappable pieces of content.
If you try to do both with one piece of content – both will fail
If you think – I will write blogs that are ok for newsletters and vice versa – you are doomed to strategic marketing failure. No one will read your blog, and no one will take action from your newsletters. It’s not possible to ‘get away’ with messing up the formats people expect.
Just remember – if this helps to keep it simple – blogs are for online readership and SEO, and newsletters are not. Newsletters are a direct strategy to get people to buy from you.
Of course, SEO feeds into your marketing strategy but it’s part of a process – newsletters and blogs are not two identical pieces of the puzzle.
Blogs should be…
Blogs need to be relevant to your target market – they need to be clearly set out, with headings, and useful content. If you need tips on what to write for your blogs – we have them in abundance:
Ideas for writing business blogs
More ideas for writing business blogs
Email newsletters are…
Email newsletters are so much closer down the line of your buyer’s journey. They are targeted, special and usually contain offers and incentives. They speak personally to your buyer’s journey and alleviate their doubts about buying from you.
Ideally you would have only one idea / topic / point to a newsletter, and one outcome – for the reader to book in with you or buy.
You’ll need a bit of tech
For blogs and newsletters, you need the platform to be right. Need help setting up an email newsletter template, or the best format / landing page for your blogs? Get in touch.
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