Writing a successful e-newsletter
 
First came smoke signals. Then the carrier pigeon. We all remember ‘snail mail’, then came fax, email, and finally social media.

The way we communicate has evolved throughout history. But that doesn’t mean you should spurn older forms of communication just because you have Facebook at your fingertips 24/7.

I’m not suggesting that your next sales promotion should be announced from the top of Flagstaff Hill via smoke signal. Rather, we should all remember that “snail mail” and email remain useful tools for marketing despite the popularity of social media: as long as they’re executed correctly.

With that in mind, here are a few basic tips to ensure your next e-newsletter doesn’t end up in Deleted Items.

No Novels

It’s an e-newsletter, not War and Peace, so keep it snappy. 200 words is more than enough for most e-newsletter articles; if you need to convey more information, insert hyperlinks into your text so readers can easily access it if they require.

Make it easy to ignore

“Ignore” is a strong word, but you should give subscribers the opportunity to easily decide whether or not your content interests them. Use the subject line to reveal what’s awaiting them inside, otherwise they’ll eventually lose interest and unsubscribe.

Sounds obvious, but how many e-newsletters do you receive with the same standard subject lines like “Monthly Update” or “News for Members”? Be more specific and your subscribers will thank you.

Seriously: make it easy to ignore

Convinced subscribers to open your e-newsletter? Give them another chance to bail out. Use a quick introductory paragraph or hyperlinked headlines to show at a glance what the e-newsletter contains.

Again, it’s about making the process as easy as possible for the reader. If your e-newsletter is known for being vague and misleading, recipients will like you less and probably stop opening it.

Send it for a reason

So many companies get excited about their weekly e-newsletter only to find that five weeks down the track they’ve used all of their interesting material, and that the whole exercise has become a hassle for all involved.

Would you initiate a face-to-face conversation with someone nothing to say? Don’t commit to a monthly or weekly e-newsletter unless you know you can meet that schedule. Sure, aim for that timeframe by all means, but give yourself an ‘out’ for those months when absolutely nothing of interest is going on. We all have them.

Experiment

Learn from your mistakes. If in one month your open rate hits 50%, but the next month it plummets to 25%, compare the two e-newsletters to see why that might be. Was it the timing during the day / week / month? What about your subject line?

You can even split your distribution list into two and try different approaches at the same time. Find out what your customers respond to and stick to it.

Keeping your e-newsletter from the Deleted Items:

1. No Novels. Waffling on is for poets and SEO specialists.
2. Make it easy to ignore. Your subscribers will appreciate a specific, honest subject line.
3. Seriously: make it easy to ignore. They’ll also appreciate an at-a-glance summary upon opening.
4. Send it for a reason: idle chit-chat is no more appreciated online than it is in person.
5. Experiment. It isn’t a brochure print run of 100,000. You can change it to suit whenever you like.