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Publisher's Note: December 12 2002
Email Newsletters: Strategy is Key to Success
Is your e-mail newsletter making the grade? Seems like just about everyone is publishing or thinking of publishing an e-mail newsletter these days. But creating a successful e-mail newsletter is about more than just getting content out to people. It's about setting a strategy for what you hope to accomplish, and then being sure that your e-mail newsletter motivates readers to take the desired action. Here are some tips from me, an e-mail newsletter consultant down here in the trenches.
1. If you have different audiences, think seriously about publishing more than one e-mail newsletter
This is not as difficult as it sounds, and can make your initiatives much more effective. I recommend segmenting your audience based on two things:
The second bullet point is key here. You want to present a focused call-to-action (even if it's a soft sell), and you can't do that if you want different things from your readers. For example, I receive an e-mail newsletter published by one of the broadcast e-mail services. The content is good, but they keep extending me an invitation to 'join their customer advisory board.' That's fine, except I'm not a customer. And probably neither are a lot of people on their list, since registration is open to anyone who visits their website. It's a disconnect, especially for those of us who are working with one of their competitors.
Taking the scenario one step further, wouldn't it have been a better use of that space to include information that might encourage me to switch to their service? It might be a special offer (switch and get one month free!) or a comparison (top ten reasons to leave your broadcast e-mail provider and use our service). Things that would be a waste to put in front of customers, but which might encourage non-customers to convert.
In speaking with this company's founder, I encouraged him to publish two versions of the e-mail newsletter; one for customers, the other for non-customers. 90% of the content could be exactly the same, but by targeting the other 10% they will create a better reader experience and (most importantly) more effectively acquire and retain customers.
2. Look at the Big Picture, Differentiate and Leverage
This is especially critical for free e-mail newsletters, where you're probably using them as a tool to sell products or services, acquire or retain members or motivate readers to some kind of action. For example, I'm currently working with a large association that has separate e-mail newsletters for members and non-members, which is good.
But they are still looking to improve. We're looking to better differentiate the e-mail newsletters from each other and then leverage the differences to benefit the association.
Right now, the content of the e-mail newsletters is almost identical. You get the same detailed coverage of industry issues whether or not you're a member of the association. This represents a missed opportunity.
By re-positioning the non-members publication to have limited coverage (we're looking to provide an overview but much less detail), we gain the opportunity to position the members e-mail newsletter (which will continue to provide more detail) as a benefit of membership. And we can mention in the non-members newsletter that anyone interested in this industry should join the association to get the more detailed coverage.
3. If you're not sure (and even if you're pretty sure), Ask!
The other thing I've been doing a lot of for clients is surveys of their e-mail newsletter readers. There are three key areas I recommend delving into:
For the first section, we'll ask questions relating to content, format, timeliness and anything else we want to know about their reading habits. This helps us focus the articles, frequency and look and feel of the e-mail newsletter. And I always include an open ended 'what can we do better' type of question to give the readers a forum to tell us whatever they feel we should know.
For the second, we'll ask what else they are reading. This gives the client an idea of who their competition is and also gives us places to look for things to add to the e-mail newsletter to make it better. I usually include questions about other similar niche publications as well as some more general news pubs if it's B2B.
The third section is also key. You want to understand who your readers are. If your e-mail newsletter is B2B, what level they are, what industry or industry segment they work in and their geographic area can be useful. Maybe also what industry associations they belong to. If it's B2C, perhaps their level of interest in your topic.
You'll often get a better response to your survey if you offer an incentive. A common incentive is a drawing for an item of value; I've used Amazon.com gift certificates with success (they come in many denominations).
Be sure to take your survey to the next level and use what you've learned to build the strategy. Know why you're asking every question, and have some ideas about changes you'll make based on how people answer.
4. Don't be Afraid to Seek Professional Help
No, not that kind of help. I mean from an e-mail marketing professional.
You can do this in many small ways, and it doesn't have to cost a fortune. Here are some of the ways, large and small, that I work with clients:
Closing
Thanks for reading. I hope you found the ideas useful. Feel free to
contact
me with any thoughts or questions.
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