One way of getting in contact with your partners is via Newsletters. By using newsletters, you can update groups of partners about upcoming changes, inform them of special events (like sales), let them know about any adjustments to commissions, and whatever else you might need to broadly communicate to multiple partners.
Because of how the business relationship between you and your partners is set up, partners depend on you to provide them with products and content they can promote. Therefore, partners naturally want to hear from you whenever a product launches, or big events, sales, and changes happen.
Newsletters are a way for you to get larger updates to your partners. For example, say you are planning to have a massive Halloween sale on your website, and certain Halloween-themed items will only be available during that sale. A newsletter could be an excellent way to let your partners know about these limited-time items and that they can receive a larger payout if they drive sales for the event.
Also, by sending out recurring newsletters, you can keep your brand top-of-mind for your partners, which can help them keep your ads they serve up-to-date, continue promoting your brands, and otherwise bring more energy to their marketing efforts.
By following the best practices outlined below, you can increase how many partners will open and read your newsletters, as well as increase the amount of information they retain from the newsletters.
This is the most vital part of any newsletter you could send out. Directing your readers (in this case, your partners) to perform a specific action with a call-to-action (CTA) will lead to the most successful newsletters.
For example, if your newsletter is informing partners of your upcoming Halloween sale and you want to include updates to your seasonal ads, information about items only available during the sale, and details about increased payouts for driving sales of the Halloween items, you should pick one of these newsletter components to be the "most important" and create your primary CTA around it. In this example, partners might be most interested in the change of payouts, but every situation is unique. Your primary CTA might be something like:
Switch out any Back to School ads you're still hosting with our new collection of #HalloWin ads to be eligible for increased payouts during the sale.
If you decide to add multiple calls-to-action, pick one to be your primary CTA, as this is the action the partner must do. All other calls-to-action you want to include should be treated as actions that partners might want to do, as to not overwhelm them with directives.
When the newsletter only focuses on a small number of topics—usually no more than 1 or 2—readers are more likely to remember the message(s) presented in the newsletter. Increasing the number of topics increases the clutter of the newsletter, making it harder to read. This can lead to partners misunderstanding, or completely not understanding, the newsletter's content.
If you do send a newsletter with more than one topic, try to keep them similar. For example, sending out a newsletter that talks about both upcoming template terms adjustments as well as an upcoming seasonal sale that includes limited-time items can lead to partners thinking that the template term adjustments are only for that sale. This misunderstanding might lead to upset partners when the sale ends and the terms don't return to pre-sale conditions.
The above example will likely be better received if you send out two separate newsletters. Separating these two updates as two separate newsletters can also help partners more easily find the details on that seasonal sale since they aren't combined with details on the upcoming contract changes.
Partners are going to read your newsletters because they are looking for information. Informing them of new products and updated creatives is going to make your newsletters more valuable. Partners may rely on you to help them ensure their ads, promotions, promo codes, brand mentions, etc. are all up-to-date.
These newsletters aren't meant for your customers—they're meant for your partners. Avoid trying to sell your partners your products; inform them of any new ads you've released or of any limited-edition items they can promote on their website. Supply your partners with the tools to successfully promote your products.
Keeping your copy concise and keeping enough white space in your layout are two keys to having a successful newsletter. Quickly informing your partners about the newsletter's topic should be a priority since you don't want partners feeling confused after reading it.
Short, witty subject lines, quick section headers, and simple copy are easy ways to keep your newsletter simple, and making use of easy-to-follow newsletter templates will help your partners get through your newsletter quicker.