A newsletter tool built for designers and illustrators

Most designers' and illustrators’ portfolios are on social media or websites. Despite the spread of social media, artists should include email marketing when creating their marketing strategy. I bet you didn’t know email marketing is also a powerful and profitable marketing channel. Newsletters are an easy way to reach thousands of potential customers and clients in a personalized way, even when you’re on a relatively limited budget. Email marketing is a great way to build meaningful relationships with subscribers, increase performance, and generate leads.

Relationship building

Art is all about human connection and emotions. For marketing, it is the same. You want to build meaningful connections with your subscribers by being authentic and providing value. Newsletters allow digital artists to foster a community and build a loyal fan or client base. Maybe you just added a new design to your online shop.  Did the book you illustrated hit the best-seller list? Are you having a sale soon? Opening for commissions? This is the type of content you want to highlight in your newsletters. Don’t be afraid to tell stories about your art, process, or milestones. Your goal is to foster relationships that can grow your brand and boost interest in your products. Lean into the emotional aspect of marketing. There is a lot to gain. 

Automation

There are a lot of helpful features within the email marketing realm. Marketing automation is a top tool and should be in any email marketing plan. Automation takes connection building to another level with just a click. How does it work? In targeted newsletter campaigns, automation coordinates. You set tailored criteria, such as a “welcome” email to new subscribers, and it automatically pushes the emails out when the designated scenarios occur. Another example is using automation for segmentation. Yes, some emails, like the “welcome” emails are meant to be general, but you want to keep emails relevant so that you don’t lose subscribers. Segmentation is that personalized touch. If a person previously purchased a designed mug from your online shop, you can create criteria to trigger an email suggesting similar items for them to purchase. Think of the “if you like this, then you might like that” email we all get. It’s popular because it works! Because it feels more personal, these emails offer a higher probability of a second purchase, which is what you want!

Analytics

Growing your brand isn’t easy but analytic tools can make it way less stressful and fun! Data insights answer the inevitable questions such as: Am I sending too many emails? What content makes the best impact? Which subject lines get the most opens? Analytics tool uncovers these various subscriber behaviors, including tracking opens, clicks, reads, inbox analytics, etc. You can even compare the performance statistics of different newsletters and use those findings to better your future newsletters. As you study behavioral metrics and implement data-driven changes, you should see rises in engagement and performance.

Creating a newsletter is helpful for designers and illustrators because it keeps you connected with subscribers, boosts performance, and increases sales. Now that you know the benefits, the next step is finding a provider. The market is full of reputable email marketing platforms. Why should you choose Buttondown? Glad you asked!

What Buttondown brings to the table:

• Economical. Buttondown’s affordable pricing plans start at just $9/mo. 
• Simple interface for less techy people. Save yourself from a headache. Buttondown’s intuitive interface is easy to use.
• Artist-friendly tools. Buttondown provides powerful features that make the act of writing great emails and managing a subscriber list as easy as possible for designers and illustrators with insightful analytics, scheduling, automations, and integrations. 
• Fantastic customer service. Proudly a customer-centric company, you are always speaking to real people who are ready to help with any issues that arise––no bots here.

Buttondown is trusted by multiple designers and illustrators like:

• Jessi Eoin (they/them), A comic artist, illustrator, and writer whose work focuses on uplifting fat, disabled, queer, and trans people. Their work has been published in Just Femme & Dandy, Wizards in Space Literary Magazine, carte blanche, PeachFuzz Magazine, Rebel Mountain Press’s Disabled Voices Anthology, and elsewhere. They have also exhibited with the Feminist Art Collective’s Feminist Art Fest.
• Tommy Parker, A UK-based illustrator and an Associate Lecturer at the University of Plymouth. Tommy’s illustrations are both character and color-driven. Whilst graphic, they retain a tactile warmth and quirkiness.They aim to show intimate moments in accessible worlds. His work has been featured in editorials, book covers, branding, and advertising campaigns.
• Carola Cara de Bola, An illustrator, blogger, and author. Carola has published multiple works including ABC Feminista, Así son nuestras reglas, and Náuseas.