Central to great CRM is careful targeting, well-segmented mailing lists and customisation. And of course, what really counts is content. The type of content that an email requires really depends on its purpose.

Broadly, there are two different types of commercial emails which can be used to market a business, brand, product or service. First, promotional emails intend to illicit more immediate action though the promotion of a special offer or complementary product or service. Email Newsletters (sometimes also called “retention emails”) are the second type. These are based more on building long-term relationships with current and potential customers by providing useful or valuable information to subscribers.

As a side note, emails can also be used in CRM as part of a “transaction process”, such as notifying customers of when their orders have shipped, or to confirm order details and so forth.

What follows are 5 tips for creating great content for email newsletters.

1. Set a tone

Your readers should know what to expect from you in every edition. Is the newsletter going to be from someone in particular? Or is it a more general publication? Of course the tone of the newsletter should match the business’ or brand’s “voice”.

2. What’s the point?

Think carefully about who is going to be reading this newsletter and why. As yourself, what’s in it for them? Very often the best kinds of content to provide is something that’s educational or newsy, provides solutions to a common problem, is a “how-to” or offers decent opinion or analysis. Once again, this is will depend entirely on the nature of the sender’s business or brand. What’s important though is that you offer value to your readers.

3. You don’t have to tell the whole story

Emails should not be epic novels. Therefore don’t include whole, long articles in the body of your email newsletter. It’s a much better idea to rather use shorter “teasers” and link to the full articles on your site. This keeps your emails punchy and relevant.

4. Don’t use too many images

Steer clear of using too many images in email newsletters. Many email clients block images, or may catch image-heavy mailers in their spam filters. Also, bear in mind that many people may be reading their email on their cellphones – and images will not render well on these devises. Always ensure that the bulk of your copy is in plain text, and don’t use images for content headings if at all possible.

5. Scanning. Makes. Easy. Reading.

Like website content, newsletter content needs to be scanable so that readers can quickly see what’s important to them on the page. Engage readers with headings and subheadings that pique their interest and make use of bolding to highlight important words or phrases.