Today’s business landscape is jammed with digital marketing options. However, MSPs often struggle to maintain effective client engagement, especially when faced with the daunting task of creating newsletters.
Many services providers battle time constraints, making it harder for them to spend time crafting relevant content and sustaining reader interest. Despite these challenges, a consistent, well-crafted newsletter is one of the most powerful tools in an MSP’s marketing arsenal — if executed strategically.
There are plenty of ways to overcome these obstacles and create newsletters that keep your contacts informed and entertained. It also can help drive significant business success for you.
Molly Lindsay
One Size Fits You
It’s important for MSPs to align their newsletters with specific audience and goals, according to Molly Lindsay, vice president of marketing at Pia. “Many know they should create a newsletter and often just rush a one-size-fits-all newsletter, which often misses the mark for your audiences,” she said.
Pia tailors its newsletters to meet specific objectives. Its partner newsletters focus on maximizing product value for existing clients with content like new features, how-to guides, and customer success stories. A separate newsletter aims to educate and engage potential customers.
On the other hand, Entech’s monthly newsletter’s goal is to stay top-of-mind with both customers and prospects, while creating a more personal connection, per Chief Revenue Officer David Spire. As a result, the content ranges from industry updates to customer profiles to birth and anniversary announcements.
David Spire
Entech’s sales team also uses the newsletter to keep prospects warm in between sales outreach activities, Spire added. “It’s easy for technologists to talk about tech, but people just get burned out on that. So, for us, it’s always been, how do we create balance?”
Get It Out and Opened
It’s clear to most MSPs that offering newsletter is an important task, but they’re unable to prioritize and manage its creation. “A lot of MSPs subscribe to great newsletters, but then they struggle to dedicate the time to create their own,” said Margie Moore, CEO of BigOrange Marketing.
To maintain a consistent newsletter schedule, “Work it like a machine,” Moore advised. She suggested a consistent once-per-month email cadence, and repurposing your content across multiple channels from blogs to social media.
Both Entech and Pia use email as their primary newsletter distribution method. Spire said while his team has considered expanding to platforms like LinkedIn, HubSpot is Entech’s preferred choice for email distribution. It allows the team to maintain control over content and distribution while exploring new strategies to increase engagement, he explained.
However, none of that matters if people don’t open your email, Moore said. Open rates hinge on subject lines that feature relevant, exciting language that highlights benefits to the reader. And, surprisingly, emojis are an effective part of that.
Margee Moore
Track and Measure Success
Success metrics are crucial for refining your newsletter. Open rates and click-through rates — how often readers click on embedded links — top the list.
Click-throughs are a function of the words in the headline, the writing, and the copy (words) on the button you want people to click, Moore noted. All of these should be engaging.
Additionally, Pia tracks web traffic generated from emails, and assesses how feature-focused content influences product usage. Meanwhile, Entech looks at how personalized content affects feedback and interactions.
Entech has refined its content over the years in response to metrics. For example, reader engagement rates improved when Entech shifted from a link-focused format to longer, more in-depth articles, showing a growing trend. Plus, Spire said a personal touch — such as occasional personal notes from leaders — led to more direct feedback from readers.
Other trends include shorter newsletters and embedded videos, but it’s important to ensure that they still deliver value within the email, Moore said.
Adaptation: The Key to Great MSP Newsletters
Optimizing your newsletter requires setting clear goals, measuring success through key metrics, creating engaging content, and regularly adapting to audience feedback. By focusing on these elements, you can create newsletters that benefit both your business and your audience.
Images: iStock
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