How to Make E-Newsletters Work

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How to Make E-Newsletters Work

By Brad Shorr | December 11, 2006

Why are you sending out e-newsletters?

1. To attract new customers;

2. To inform existing customers;

3. To lead or support product promotions;

4. To build a community among employees;

5. To do what everybody else is doing;

6. All of the above;

7. None of the above.

Whatever your goal, the effectiveness of your newsletter depends on execution. Here are some tips.

1. Slow and steady wins the race. For most newsletters, publications once a month is plenty–more often and recipients start tuning you out; less often and they never tune you in.

2. Content is king, design is queen. To state the obvious, people are drowning in spam. Without a captivating design, readers will hit “delete” the instant they open your newsletter. Yet design alone is not enough–even if you capture the reader’s attention, you must deliver compelling news in order to hold it.

3. Keep it short. Large blocks of copy trigger the “delete” reflex. Be brief. Link to landing pages on your Web site where readers can obtain the full story and re-read your call to action.

4. Keep it going. Companies often dabble, sending out newsletters here and there whenever the spirit moves them. Chances are, readers won’t really read your newsletter until the fourth of fifth time they receive it. Minimum time to evaluate a newsletter campaign–one year.

5. Be one thing to one people. It’s tempting to change theme and/or audience from newsletter to newsletter. Mistake. Pick one audience and one strategy and stay with it, again because building readership takes time and repetition.

6. Have a measurable purpose. Why are you mailing a newsletter anyway? Tracking how many e-mails get opened is okay, but better is to have a newsletter link to a specific Web site page(s) so you can track conversions; that is, how many readers acted on your newsletter’s call to action by visiting your site. (We’ll discuss ways to do this in future posts.)

7. Build your list. Effective e-mailing depends on quality and quantity. Have a plan in place to keep e-mail addresses current and add new ones.

Next time we’ll talk about selecting the right newsletter strategy.

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