Do or don't?
Many sites report about the top things to keep in mind when preparing and broadcasting your message.
What follows is my personal top 15. All of these items can serve as a separate article in itself, and therefore, my following posts will handle and explain these issues.
1. Start with your subject.
A good subject is half the work. Most of the time, the subject is the last item marketers think about and don't spend (enough) time on it.
Keep in mind that the subject line can, and often will convince (or not) your readers to open or read your message.
2. Sender name and email-address
Do not use an address like 'info@somecompany.com', and definitely not without a name. Instead, try using a real name in conjunction with a real email-address.
Allways use the same name, because readers also look at names when it comes to (not) opening mails. Also, ask your readers to add your email-address to their "safe sender list" (whitelist, ...). Doing so automatically downloads images that are included in the email.
3. Table of contents
Start your email with a table of contents or at least make sure it is visible when someone opens your email or reads it via a preview pane. Ideally, the table of contents links to the different articles in the email.
4. The use of images
Use images, but do it right!
Make sure there's a good balance between HTML and images. A newsletter that consists of one large image and no text is definitely not the best way. And yes, such newsletters exist...
An image is not only difficult to apply personalization, provide different links to your website, ... What's more important is that if your readers have images turned off in their email-client, they will see one big white screen with the well-known red cross in the upper left corner. If in addition no meaninfull alt-tag was foreseen, you're absolutely below zero.
Therefore, make use of images to make your emails eye-catching, but don't exagerate, and make sure every image has got a good and explaining alt-tag. In fact, an alt-tag should say what the image is showing/meaning.
5. Forward to a friend
Provide a mechanism to have recipients forwarding your mail to others (possible subscribers...). Ideally you give them the tools, a form, where they can enter (the) email-address(es), and you track those emai-addresses. If those addressed people subscribe to your newsletter at a later stage, it is probably because they liked the newsletter. And at least you can get yourself some reporting about how you're performing.
6. Subscribe - change - unsubscribe
Give your readers a link (or inform them about "a" way) to unsubscribe. It is mandatory by law (CAN-SPAM act), keep it in mind.
If you make use of an email-address where readers can unsubscribe, make sure the email-address exist in the first place and follow up this mailbox.
Besides unsubscribing, it may be usefull to have your readers updating their contact data and preferences. This enables you to do more segmentation and thus raises chances for your newsletter to be read.
Finally, a good idea might be to include a "subscribe"-link in your newsletter! Sounds not logical because your readers per definition are subscribed to your newsletter... Yes, but ! Besides point 5 (Forward to a friend) there (hopefully) are people that forward your email the traditional way. Give those recipients also the chance to your newsletter, keep in mind that you have never reached all interested people.
7. Recipient information in email
If you want to build a relation with your readers that is based on trust, you will need to deserve their trust. Inform your readers in every newsletter at what address the newsletter was sent, and why it was sent: This newsletter was sent to you at < reader's name >(< reader's email-address >) because you subscribed to our newsletter at < your website URL >. A good idea might be to provide this section of information in conjunction with links to update- and unsubscribe-links.
8. Tracking
Analyse what your recipients are doing with your email.
Track links they click. It can provide you with a lot of information (and whether or not your newsletters was attractive and interesting).
9. Plain text version
Don't see this one as a guideline, this one is a must!
Assuming that you send out HTML-mails, allways send it as a multipart message where a plain text version reflects the HTML-version. You can be sure that some of your readers still use the plain text version. And I'm not even talking about readers that do not have the choice and get plain text emails by default. If those ones receive an HTML mail, they will receive something that absolutely does not invite them for reading it.
Structure your plain text version into paragraphs, it will definitely raise the chances that your email gets read and decrease the chances people unsubscribe. Wouldn't you regret seeing your list shrink because people simply can't read your email? Make the exercise for yourself, and a good option might be to ask your readers what type of email they would like to receive at the time they subscribe.
10. Test test test
And test again !
Test your message before you broadcast it. And not only on your own address. Try to set up a group of email-addresses to which you can send the tests, and off course analyse their feedback.
Make sure you also test on different mailclients. Just like normal HTML that can be displayed differently in Internet Explorer and FireFox, your email will be displayed differently in various email-clients. Keep in mind that for example hotmail and gmail treat styling in another way. Therefore, test your message in the most used email-programs like MS Outlook, Outlook Express, hotmail, gmail, AOL, Lotus Notes, ... And don't forget to preview it on Mac pc's as well.
11. Personalisation
Again about the "relation with your readers based on trust". Address them personally. Instead of "Dear client", make it "Dear clientname". It 's a way of feeling appreciated and personal contact.
Personalisation is also about preferences. This means that content should be personalised as well, also at the level whether or not someone is interested at all in certain articles/stories. Someone that clearly stated he/she is interested in online gaming, might not be interested in pigeons. (With all respect to people that are interested in pigeons, I know some and they're not too bad at all)
12. Landing pages / webversion
A good rule of thumb is to provide a link to a webversion of the newsletter. It might happen that for some reason your email gets messed.
Place this link at the top of your message, in fact this should be the first line of your message.
13. Keep it short and lead them to your website
Don't write the story of your life. If you feel the need to write a book, ask them to read the book, but make your message the book.
Same goes for emails. Keep it short, mention the headlines and provide a short exlanation. It should tease your readers to click through to your website to read the full article.
Still not convinced? Keep in mind that this generates traffic to your website in the first place and that the chance exists that they will be viewing other pages on your website as well.
14. Use Double opt-in
In anyway, you should have the reader's permission to send them your newsletter. Except when you're mailing to clients. (The whole CAN-SPAM act and the differences in other countries is subject to a following posting).
Achieving that permission can be done in many ways, of which opt-in and double opt-in are known best. But why would double opt-in (which lengthens the process of subscribing) be better? Well, if someone subscribes, you will send an email to ask for confirmation. If the email-address provided is incorrect, you will not include them in mailings since you're not yet allowed. With normal opt-in, this barrier does not exist.
A second advantage is that you can be sure that the members of your list are really interested in your newsletter since they took time and effort to reconfirm.
15. Plan
Depending on the kind of newsletter and the target group, another strategy should be applied when it comes to the day and time you send out. Also keep in mind the geographical locations of your readers. If you send out your mailing in Brussels at 12 o'clock at noon, people in the US are still asleep. This is extremely important if you don't want your newsletter to end up between the rest of real spam messages.
What follows is my personal top 15. All of these items can serve as a separate article in itself, and therefore, my following posts will handle and explain these issues.
1. Start with your subject.
A good subject is half the work. Most of the time, the subject is the last item marketers think about and don't spend (enough) time on it.
Keep in mind that the subject line can, and often will convince (or not) your readers to open or read your message.
2. Sender name and email-address
Do not use an address like 'info@somecompany.com', and definitely not without a name. Instead, try using a real name in conjunction with a real email-address.
Allways use the same name, because readers also look at names when it comes to (not) opening mails. Also, ask your readers to add your email-address to their "safe sender list" (whitelist, ...). Doing so automatically downloads images that are included in the email.
3. Table of contents
Start your email with a table of contents or at least make sure it is visible when someone opens your email or reads it via a preview pane. Ideally, the table of contents links to the different articles in the email.
4. The use of images
Use images, but do it right!
Make sure there's a good balance between HTML and images. A newsletter that consists of one large image and no text is definitely not the best way. And yes, such newsletters exist...
An image is not only difficult to apply personalization, provide different links to your website, ... What's more important is that if your readers have images turned off in their email-client, they will see one big white screen with the well-known red cross in the upper left corner. If in addition no meaninfull alt-tag was foreseen, you're absolutely below zero.
Therefore, make use of images to make your emails eye-catching, but don't exagerate, and make sure every image has got a good and explaining alt-tag. In fact, an alt-tag should say what the image is showing/meaning.
5. Forward to a friend
Provide a mechanism to have recipients forwarding your mail to others (possible subscribers...). Ideally you give them the tools, a form, where they can enter (the) email-address(es), and you track those emai-addresses. If those addressed people subscribe to your newsletter at a later stage, it is probably because they liked the newsletter. And at least you can get yourself some reporting about how you're performing.
6. Subscribe - change - unsubscribe
Give your readers a link (or inform them about "a" way) to unsubscribe. It is mandatory by law (CAN-SPAM act), keep it in mind.
If you make use of an email-address where readers can unsubscribe, make sure the email-address exist in the first place and follow up this mailbox.
Besides unsubscribing, it may be usefull to have your readers updating their contact data and preferences. This enables you to do more segmentation and thus raises chances for your newsletter to be read.
Finally, a good idea might be to include a "subscribe"-link in your newsletter! Sounds not logical because your readers per definition are subscribed to your newsletter... Yes, but ! Besides point 5 (Forward to a friend) there (hopefully) are people that forward your email the traditional way. Give those recipients also the chance to your newsletter, keep in mind that you have never reached all interested people.
7. Recipient information in email
If you want to build a relation with your readers that is based on trust, you will need to deserve their trust. Inform your readers in every newsletter at what address the newsletter was sent, and why it was sent: This newsletter was sent to you at < reader's name >
8. Tracking
Analyse what your recipients are doing with your email.
Track links they click. It can provide you with a lot of information (and whether or not your newsletters was attractive and interesting).
9. Plain text version
Don't see this one as a guideline, this one is a must!
Assuming that you send out HTML-mails, allways send it as a multipart message where a plain text version reflects the HTML-version. You can be sure that some of your readers still use the plain text version. And I'm not even talking about readers that do not have the choice and get plain text emails by default. If those ones receive an HTML mail, they will receive something that absolutely does not invite them for reading it.
Structure your plain text version into paragraphs, it will definitely raise the chances that your email gets read and decrease the chances people unsubscribe. Wouldn't you regret seeing your list shrink because people simply can't read your email? Make the exercise for yourself, and a good option might be to ask your readers what type of email they would like to receive at the time they subscribe.
10. Test test test
And test again !
Test your message before you broadcast it. And not only on your own address. Try to set up a group of email-addresses to which you can send the tests, and off course analyse their feedback.
Make sure you also test on different mailclients. Just like normal HTML that can be displayed differently in Internet Explorer and FireFox, your email will be displayed differently in various email-clients. Keep in mind that for example hotmail and gmail treat styling in another way. Therefore, test your message in the most used email-programs like MS Outlook, Outlook Express, hotmail, gmail, AOL, Lotus Notes, ... And don't forget to preview it on Mac pc's as well.
11. Personalisation
Again about the "relation with your readers based on trust". Address them personally. Instead of "Dear client", make it "Dear clientname". It 's a way of feeling appreciated and personal contact.
Personalisation is also about preferences. This means that content should be personalised as well, also at the level whether or not someone is interested at all in certain articles/stories. Someone that clearly stated he/she is interested in online gaming, might not be interested in pigeons. (With all respect to people that are interested in pigeons, I know some and they're not too bad at all)
12. Landing pages / webversion
A good rule of thumb is to provide a link to a webversion of the newsletter. It might happen that for some reason your email gets messed.
Place this link at the top of your message, in fact this should be the first line of your message.
13. Keep it short and lead them to your website
Don't write the story of your life. If you feel the need to write a book, ask them to read the book, but make your message the book.
Same goes for emails. Keep it short, mention the headlines and provide a short exlanation. It should tease your readers to click through to your website to read the full article.
Still not convinced? Keep in mind that this generates traffic to your website in the first place and that the chance exists that they will be viewing other pages on your website as well.
14. Use Double opt-in
In anyway, you should have the reader's permission to send them your newsletter. Except when you're mailing to clients. (The whole CAN-SPAM act and the differences in other countries is subject to a following posting).
Achieving that permission can be done in many ways, of which opt-in and double opt-in are known best. But why would double opt-in (which lengthens the process of subscribing) be better? Well, if someone subscribes, you will send an email to ask for confirmation. If the email-address provided is incorrect, you will not include them in mailings since you're not yet allowed. With normal opt-in, this barrier does not exist.
A second advantage is that you can be sure that the members of your list are really interested in your newsletter since they took time and effort to reconfirm.
15. Plan
Depending on the kind of newsletter and the target group, another strategy should be applied when it comes to the day and time you send out. Also keep in mind the geographical locations of your readers. If you send out your mailing in Brussels at 12 o'clock at noon, people in the US are still asleep. This is extremely important if you don't want your newsletter to end up between the rest of real spam messages.
posted by Stinus at
1:57 PM
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