Seven tips for designing a killer e-newsletter
Over the past few years e-mail marketing lost steam as social media began to take center stage. But while they are less prominent than Facebook and Twitter, e-newsletters are still one of the most effective (and cost-effective) ways to build relationships with customers and potential customers. Here are seven ways to make an e-mail newsletter work for your company:
1. Give them a reason to open it. If your e-newsletter is an ad disguised as “news and tips,” they may open the first one but won’t be as likely to open your e-news again in the future. They may even opt-out and take away any chance of your reaching them this way again. Provide a compelling “offer”—whether it’s an exclusive discount or “insider” tips about your industry—that adds value to your e-mail.
2. Be sure they opted in to receive your e-news. Give them a good reason to want to get one more email in their in-box, and make sure that reason(s) is listed on your sign-up form. Then, make sure you provide ample opportunities for people to sign up: at your service desk, through your Web site, on your e-mail signature, at trade shows. If they see that you’re going to send them something of value to them and their business, they are more likely to sign up.
3. Send them something on a regular basis. The last thing you want to do is send out too many emails: it’s a sure way to increase the number of people who opt off your list. But stay in front of customers and potential customers throughout the year. You want your e-mails to be there when they are ready to make a buying decision. Once a month is good.
4. Pay attention to the design. Make sure it’s clean and uncluttered, with a main “story” and a few smaller tips or other items. Photos, graphics and colors should be branded so they match the rest of your marketing. Bold headlines will break up the text. Shorter bits of information are always more inviting to busy professionals. If you have a long article, put the first two paragraphs in your e-newsletter and a link to the rest of the article on your Web site.
5. Let them participate. Most newsletter software (Emma and Constant Contact are two good programs) have optional add-ons that will make your e-newsletter interactive. In my experience, e-newsletters that include these types of features always have a higher “open” rate. Polls, surveys and hot links to other information on your Web site will draw people in.
6. Grab them with your subject line. Surprisingly, longer subject lines have been proven to result in higher open rates. Use yours to highlight the most important, compelling information in the newsletter. The subject line “25 Percent Off Weekend Rates” is better than “News From Aspen.”
7. See what works. Your “open” rate (the number of recipients who actually open your e-newsletter) is an important metric. Each time you send one, take a look at which articles and tips generate the most clicks. Try different subject lines. If you look at the metrics, you’ll begin to see what your customers like.
