I had a question recently about email blasts/email newsletters and it made me realize that talk about enewsletters has probably been edged out by the new shiny thing (social media). While maybe not the sexiest tool – it’s still a great technique for reaching certain audiences and building a base of support.
My tips for doing a good job with an enewsletter:
- Know your audience. Rule number one for any new initiative or campaign. If you don’t know, ask. You can do basic audience research on the cheap – a short questionnaire at the checkout stand, intercept interviews around your location, build questions into an admissions form.
- Set some measureable objectives and clearly define success. What do you hope to accomplish? And is an enewsletter the right tool?
- Make it informational. Ads are ads are ads and the likelihood is going to read them on purpose is diminishing. I nearly always delete emails from Gap, Ann Taylor and Lands End without opening them. They don’t provide me with any value.
If you’re in the real estate development industry, you might write about your corporate philanthropy, your green efforts and upcoming events that your readers might enjoy. If you’re in health and fitness, the possibilities are virtually endless: health tips, exercises (maybe a series on exercises you can do at your desk to keep lose during the day), nutrition, events, etc. You can see where this is going… If you’re primarily focused on content, you can get by with a little self-promo.
- Pay attention to details. Things like subject line, who the enewsletter is from and what day of the week you deliver it are all important. I found some great tips here for figuring this out.
- Keep your enews short. Maybe 3 or 4 short articles and that’s it. People are busy. But link them to your Web site for more good content or to a blog.
- Be consistent. If you promise a monthly newsletter, deliver it monthly.
- Content is king. Even if you’re not going for a content rich enewsletter and something shorter – always deliver content of some kind. A short tip, trick or tool that your reader will get something out of and then hit them with the sales pitch.
- People need to opt in. Ask customers face to face and put a form on the web site where people can sign up.
Think about what enewsletters you most enjoy and why. Copy that style. My two favorites are Iconoculture and Smart Brief on Social Media. Both are packed with information I’m unlikely to get elsewhere and consistently deliver good content. I’m a fan, for sure.
What are your favorite (or least favorite) enewsletters and why?
