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Send Out an E-Mail Marketing Newsletter
By planning and designing your e-newsletter, you greatly enhance its effectiveness. The next stage is dispatching the e-mail to its intended audience. However, before you click the send button, review the following points to make sure you have all your ducks in a row.
Is there a public holiday coming up? E-newsletters that are sent around holiday times often don’t get read. People tend to focus only on the really pertinent items in their inbox at these times, and, consequently, your humble offering could be passed over or deleted.
Have you made a clear request of your audience? The more absorbing your newsletter, the more likely your audience is to want to take action. Your job is to make this as easy as possible. Does your e-newsletter make it obvious what you want readers to do? For example, if you are offering a special discount on your services, have you made it easy for the reader to click on a link, or respond by sending an e-mail to a specific address?
Does your e-mail subject line read like spam? If it does, rethink it. Many people never get to the e-mail because the subject line is spammy. Choose a subject line that is compelling and likely to strike a chord with your audience.
Is the boring stuff at the bottom? It should be. Don’t use your prime real estate for unsubscribe links, disclaimers, or anything that is tedious, long-winded, or dreary. If readers need this information, they will find it.
Are you using too many typefaces? Keep it simple by using no more than two different fonts. Add emphasis and variety by using different font sizes, and bold and italic versions of the same font face. Keep exclamation points, dollar signs, and happy faces to a minimum.
Do you have a plan for unsubscribing people? All Web-based e-mail marketing software provides an automated unsubscribe process. Once the recipient clicks the unsubscribe button, his or her name is immediately removed from the mailing list. If you are using in-house programming for your mailings, make sure that unsubscribing is easy and fast.
What the Survey Says
In the E-Mail Marketing Metrics Report, March 2008 (available for download at www.mailermailer.com/metrics), the following tips, based on current research, are offered:
• Readers click more often on attractive, well-designed e-mails that offer useful and interesting information.
Give your readers a reason to click. Include a “Buy Now” button or a link to “Read the full story.” Put just enough content to whet their appetite so they want more.
• To increase your open and click rates, try sending early in the week or on the weekends.
• Avoid words and symbols that spammers use, such as “FREE,” “!!!,” or “$,” as these can hinder delivery.
• Some recipients will open your e-mail a couple of weeks or even longer after delivery. Make sure that your images, links, and landing pages remain accessible to them.