Email marketing remains a valuable tool for small businesses, offering a significant return on investment. In fact, it boasts an impressive $36 return for every $1 spent. That’s why many small to medium businesses rely on email marketing to acquire and retain customers.
Among the various types of emails used in email marketing, newsletters play a crucial role in maintaining the health of your business. They aid in lead nurturing and keep your customers engaged with your brand. Even marketing experts endorse the effectiveness of email newsletters.
For small businesses, knowing how to send a newsletter in Gmail is essential. If you’re unsure where to begin, we’ve got you covered. Today, we’ll explore how to send Gmail newsletters and provide tips for doing so effectively.
Let’s get started.
How To Send a Newsletter in Gmail
It might surprise you that even though Gmail is the most widely used email platform, people don’t often think of using it for sending email newsletters. But that doesn’t mean you can’t do it.
You can actually send newsletters through Gmail using two different methods.
Sending Gmail Newsletter Using Google Docs
The easiest way to create an email newsletter in Gmail is by using Google Docs and it’s easier than you think to get started.
- Go to Google Docs -> Templates Gallery -> Newsletter.
- There are three options to choose from: Geometric, Lively, and Plum. Select the one that you like and draft your newsletter in Google Docs.
- Go back to Gmail’s main page. Click on Compose and draft an email as you normally would.
- Add a subject line and copy-paste your email draft from Google Docs into the body of your email.
- At this stage, you might notice some formatting irregularities. You can try and fix them manually as best as you can.
- Now that you have the email newsletter ready to go, copy-paste the email addresses of your recipients into the BCC section of the email draft.
- Check everything to make sure your email newsletter is flawless. Now hit the Send button.
Because you can’t see your email before it goes to everyone, it’s smart to send a test email to yourself and your team first. This lets you catch any mistakes or make any changes needed.
As you can see, this isn’t the ideal way to send email newsletters with Gmail. But don’t worry, you don’t always have to rely on Google Docs to make newsletters in Gmail.
Send Newsletter From Gmail Without Google Docs
Another method to send an email newsletter with Gmail is by utilizing its built-in email template feature. This feature is currently accessible only on specific Gmail Workspaces. If you can’t use it yet, it might be because Google is gradually releasing this update.
If you have access to it, here’s how you can make a newsletter in Gmail using the Layouts feature:
- Go to Compose in Gmail.
- Click on Select A Layout in the bottom right corner of the taskbar. The icon is located next to the Insert Signature icon.
- You’ll find multiple layouts, including a few that were specifically designed for newsletters, CTAs, and referral emails. Choose one based on the preview generated on the right side of the template window and click Insert.
- The template will be automatically inserted into the body of your email where you can edit it and draft your newsletter.
- Edit the template according to your preferences. You can edit the images, add links, remove sections, and change the copy of your message.
- Once the draft has been edited to your liking, add a subject and copy-paste your mailing list into the BCC section of the email before hitting the Send button. Or, use the Mail Merge feature if it’s available to you. If it is, the icon will be located next to the Select A Layout icon in the bottom taskbar.
- You can easily schedule your newsletter if you’re drafting it using these updates.
What Are the Limitations of Sending a Gmail Newsletter?
It turns out that there are several drawbacks to sending newsletters via Gmail using the methods we discussed. Gmail isn’t the best option for mass emailing, whether it’s newsletters or other email campaigns. Here’s why:
1. Limited templates: Whether you use Docs or Layouts, the number of templates available is very limited, and they may not be engaging enough.
2. Editing restrictions: The ability to edit templates on Gmail is limited. For example, with Layouts, you can’t change image dimensions.
3. Conversion optimization: Newsletters sent via Gmail might not be optimized for conversion and may not have the impact you’re aiming for.
4. Lack of Mail Merge: BCC-ing your entire mailing list isn’t the most professional method unless you have access to the Mail Merge feature.
5. No A/B testing: You can’t A/B test your email campaign to understand what’s working and what needs improvement.
6. Spam folder risk: Your newsletter could end up in the recipient’s Spam folder.
7. Limited customization: Without mail merge, you can’t customize newsletters for each recipient.
8. Tracking limitations: You can’t track email newsletters for important metrics like open rate and bounce rate.
9. Audience segmentation: There’s no option to segment your audience and measure your newsletter’s performance.
10. Sender Reputation Score impact: Newsletters that don’t follow best practices can harm your Sender Reputation Score, affecting email performance.
In summary, relying solely on Gmail’s built-in features for email newsletter marketing campaigns can have significant consequences. The most practical approach is to use a third-party service provider, such as a Chrome extension.
How To Send Newsletters in Gmail Using a Chrome Extension
Ever want to send a newsletter to a bunch of people at once, straight from your Gmail? Chrome extensions can come to the rescue!
This blog post will show you how to use a free Chrome extension called Mailsuite to create and send newsletters to up to 10,000 recipients.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- A Gmail account
- The Mailsuite Chrome extension (it’s free to install)
Steps to send a newsletter in Gmail using Chrome Extension:
Install Mailsuite from the Chrome Web Store and sign up for their advanced plan if you want to send emails to more than a few people.
Open Gmail and click “Compose” to start a new email. You’ll see a new button called “Campaign” on the right side of the window.
Click “Campaign” and then add the email addresses of everyone you want to send the newsletter to in the “To” field. It’s a good idea to organize your contacts in a Google Sheet first so you can easily pick who gets the email.
Write your subject line and craft your newsletter message. Mailsuite offers a “Download A Template” button if you’d like a pre-designed layout to get you started.
Fill in any required information before clicking “Send.”
Mailsuite will show you how many people will receive your email and give you some extra options:
- Choose what kind of notifications you want to receive about your email, like who opened it and when.
- Schedule your email to go out at a specific time later.
- Send a test email to yourself first to make sure everything looks right.
Pick the options you want and click “Send” to blast out your newsletter!
Mailsuite also lets you send single emails or smaller groups of emails, and you can even cancel an email campaign if you need to make changes or accidentally hit send too soon.
With Mailsuite, you can easily send newsletters directly from your Gmail account, saving you time and effort.
Choosing the best way to send newsletters in Gmail
There are a few ways to send newsletters using Gmail, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. The best option depends on what you want to achieve with your newsletter.
For beginners:
- Use Gmail’s built-in mail merge: This is a good way to try out sending newsletters to a small group of people. It’s simple to use, but you won’t have many fancy design options.
For those who want more features:
- Consider using a Chrome extension: There are extensions available that offer more features than Gmail’s mail merge, such as tracking how many people open your emails and designing professional-looking newsletters.
The key takeaway:
Think about what you want to get out of your newsletter campaign before choosing a method. If you’re new to email marketing, start simple with Gmail’s mail merge. If you want more features and tracking options, consider using a Chrome extension.
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