How many times have you subscribed to an email newsletter but never actually read the emails when they come in? It’s probably lots – and the reason isn’t always because of the content itself. The truth is that even the best emails have several hurdles to leap before recipients even consider reading them. So we’ve put together a few tips on helping yours get off to a flying start.
Keep it short
This has to be the biggest email newsletter crime – lengthy, meandering emails that any busy person (who is presumably the type of person you want to hear you) will dismiss as soon as they see the text block.
First, keep your text short and concise. You don’t have to tell the whole story in the email – you can introduce it and invite the reader to click on a link to see the rest. Second, even that snippet of text needs to be written efficiently, persuasively and intriguingly, and edited down to its bare bones to keep everything simple.
Make it look great
Never send out a basic unformatted email. Make sure it’s branded and designed properly – all modern email clients, apps and web-based email solutions can handle HTML emails and CSS, so you can make it look sleek and professional, which increases its chances of being recognised and read.
Check your frequency
Getting an email from the same recipient every single day is just a drag, and it’s just going to end up being unsubscribed from. Unless yours is a fast news sector (the stock market, for example) keep them regular but spaced out. Weekly or monthly is fine.
Have a theme
Magazines have been doing it for decades – give each email a theme, so every article in the mail is related to a certain part of your business or sector. It makes it easier to give a concise header, and makes the email seem like a thought-out piece rather than a flurry of disjoined ideas.
Jump on news
You can always have a news section in your email, where you, as an expert in your field, give your opinions and analysis about something that’s happening in the news. Stick to relevant stories, but if everyone’s already talking about something, your angle could be useful. Be quick, though – if it’s last week’s news, it can have the opposite effect, making you look slow and diminish the perception of your expertise.
Invite contributors
Businesses don’t exist in a vacuum – your clients and suppliers have many other clients and suppliers, so you’re plugging into an ecosystem every time you email them. So why not ask if any of your recipients have anything they would like to say in your newsletter? Their motivation could be reaching a new audience, which means they could be more interested than you might think. As for you, it makes your email more engaging and socially minded, which is always a plus.
Don’t push too hard
Finally, when someone signs up for your newsletter, there’s a tacit understanding that it’s a marketing tool, and that anything they read will put a positive spin on whoever is sending it out. But people don’t appreciate giving up their time to read gushing write-ups of your latest success stories or being cajoled into buying your products and services.
By all means, let people know about special offers and new products – it could be why they signed up. But as soon as it seems like you’re bragging or being overly pushy (or outright lying), recipients will stop feeling like they are the beneficiaries in this arrangement, and hit that unsubscribe button without a second thought.
Bespoke email templates
At Gooey, we’re experts at creating bespoke email templates, so while you have to think about what content you put in it, you don’t have to worry about what it looks like or whether it will display properly. Have a look at the feedback we’ve had from happy clients, and while you’re there you can get a first glimpse of the experts who will be doing your work. Then, get in touch!
