E-Newsletters are a way of marketing and keeping your clients updated on your products and services at a fraction of the cost of marketing campaign that uses flyers, newsletter or similar.
Think about the costing involved in doing a letterbox drop of 10,000 flyers.
What would those costs consist of?
The cost of using an E-Newsletter system is far lower than this, and not only that, you are able to target groups of contacts you have made for specific products or services and still pay a fraction of the cost.
There is a huge range of online products available and this workshop is not focused on which is the best software for you, but is focused on how to use e-newsletters effectively for your own business.
We will sign up for a free trial of some software to work with tonight, but you will be best to go and research your options after this workshop and make your own decision. It is a little like most things – the software that may be perfect for one business may not be so perfect for another business as they all offer a range of products to attempt to meet your exact needs.
Once you have trialled an e-newsletter product, you will find that researching the available products will become so much easier.
LINKS for further information:
M2 News
Jango Mail
eNewsletters Online
Vision 6
How to write magnetic headlines
6 e-newsletter reminders
Sunday, May 30, 2010
HOW TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY
One of the things you need to keep clearly in mind when creating an e-newsletter is that your customers or potential customers are probably receiving a lot of information by email already.
They are going to have to WANT to read your email – you will need to send them something that will grab their attention and make them want to read it all. Knowing your audience is probably the most important first step to achieving this.
Users tend to glance at websites when they need to accomplish something or to find the answer to a specific question. In contrast, newsletters feel personal because they arrive in users’ inboxes, and users have an ongoing relationship with them. Newsletters also have a social aspect, as users often forward them to colleagues and friends.
The positive aspect of this emotional relationship is that newsletters can create much more of a bond between users and a company than a website can. The negative aspect is that newsletter usability problems have a much stronger impact on the customer relationship than website usability problems.
Here are some tips for how to achieve this:
** Provide news that is INTERESTING to your readers. Unless you have some really hot products or services to announce your customers are likely to hit the delete key. DON’T let this become a habit for them!
** Ensure there is some benefit to your customer in reading your e-newsletter, not just a benefit to yourself. Always think about your reader!
** News about industry trends, financial effects, buying patterns is generally of interest to most readers. Express an opinion about this, make it personal for your customers to relate to.
** Offer tips and advice! Good useful tips are valued by customers who already have a very busy working life, if you can make this a little easier for them they will value your newsletters.
** Develop case studies. People are interested to read about how another company solved a problem. They generally are more willing to take the opinion of one of your other valued customers more readily than to simply read why you think your product is so great.
** Review websites or books that provide industry information your readers may find useful.
** Invite guest columnists or items of contribution to give a wide range of information and opinions to your readers. Make your readers feel that they are being offered information that they can use as they see fit, rather than making them feel that you are ‘telling them’ something.
** Make it fun. Even though business is serious stuff, everyone appreciates a short break from this seriousness. If you can do something to allow your customer to relax and smile even for a few seconds, they are more likely to read on further and absorb what you have to say to them.
** Position advertisements for products lower in the e-newsletter. Many readers are turned off if the first thing they see is an ad asking them to buy something.
** Remember the rules of good writing apply– simple words, short sentences and short paragraphs. Check for grammar, spelling and typos before you send it. If possible get a friend or colleague to test it for you as if you’ve been working on it closely you may not see obvious mistakes like repeated or missing words. One way of seeing it more clearly is to send it to yourself. This way you can check the layout too.
They are going to have to WANT to read your email – you will need to send them something that will grab their attention and make them want to read it all. Knowing your audience is probably the most important first step to achieving this.
Users tend to glance at websites when they need to accomplish something or to find the answer to a specific question. In contrast, newsletters feel personal because they arrive in users’ inboxes, and users have an ongoing relationship with them. Newsletters also have a social aspect, as users often forward them to colleagues and friends.
The positive aspect of this emotional relationship is that newsletters can create much more of a bond between users and a company than a website can. The negative aspect is that newsletter usability problems have a much stronger impact on the customer relationship than website usability problems.
Here are some tips for how to achieve this:
** Provide news that is INTERESTING to your readers. Unless you have some really hot products or services to announce your customers are likely to hit the delete key. DON’T let this become a habit for them!
** Ensure there is some benefit to your customer in reading your e-newsletter, not just a benefit to yourself. Always think about your reader!
** News about industry trends, financial effects, buying patterns is generally of interest to most readers. Express an opinion about this, make it personal for your customers to relate to.
** Offer tips and advice! Good useful tips are valued by customers who already have a very busy working life, if you can make this a little easier for them they will value your newsletters.
** Develop case studies. People are interested to read about how another company solved a problem. They generally are more willing to take the opinion of one of your other valued customers more readily than to simply read why you think your product is so great.
** Review websites or books that provide industry information your readers may find useful.
** Invite guest columnists or items of contribution to give a wide range of information and opinions to your readers. Make your readers feel that they are being offered information that they can use as they see fit, rather than making them feel that you are ‘telling them’ something.
** Make it fun. Even though business is serious stuff, everyone appreciates a short break from this seriousness. If you can do something to allow your customer to relax and smile even for a few seconds, they are more likely to read on further and absorb what you have to say to them.
** Position advertisements for products lower in the e-newsletter. Many readers are turned off if the first thing they see is an ad asking them to buy something.
** Remember the rules of good writing apply– simple words, short sentences and short paragraphs. Check for grammar, spelling and typos before you send it. If possible get a friend or colleague to test it for you as if you’ve been working on it closely you may not see obvious mistakes like repeated or missing words. One way of seeing it more clearly is to send it to yourself. This way you can check the layout too.
FORMATTING and TECHNICAL Stuff
** Keep it short. This is critical as busy people will not scroll down through a long newsletter to find if there is anything of interest to them. If you do really have a large volume of important information for your customers you are best to provide headlines in your e-newsletter and an introduction with a link to a full article on your web site. People often just skim, so short paragraphs and good headlines allow them to find what interests them easily.
** Write and design your e-newsletter for the email preview pane. Many people don’t even open emails now but simply use the preview pane to view them. This means you have a fairly small space in which to impress your reader enough to make them either keep scrolling or open the email. One thing to remember here is to keep images to a minimum in amount and size a the top of the e-newsletter.
** Provide both HTML and plain text versions as some of your customers will have settings that prevent them viewing HTML.
** Use a professional and relevant subject line – use the subject line to draw the interest of your reader in before they hit delete!
** Use a header to identify your newsletter. It should contain the name of your newsletter and your company name. Even if you’ve put the name of the newsletter in the subject line, repeat it here as the subject line may be changed if your e-newsletter is forwarded to others.
** Maintain consistency of the format of your e-newsletter so that your branding is clear and your customers know immediately who they are receiving this from.
** Ensure either you or a staff member is committed to the time and energy required to produce a regular e-newsletter. This should not be underestimated as if you skimp on this and the newsletter becomes sloppy or boring you will cause the opposite effect you intended.
** Encourage people to sign up to your e-newsletter by including information on your other promotional material, such as your website and direct mail. Do not send your e-newsletter to people you don’t know or who haven’t asked for it.
** Use a hosted email service – this is so important for ensuring that your customers can subscribe, unsubscribe, bounces are handled and CAN-SPAM compliance is in order.
** Write and design your e-newsletter for the email preview pane. Many people don’t even open emails now but simply use the preview pane to view them. This means you have a fairly small space in which to impress your reader enough to make them either keep scrolling or open the email. One thing to remember here is to keep images to a minimum in amount and size a the top of the e-newsletter.
** Provide both HTML and plain text versions as some of your customers will have settings that prevent them viewing HTML.
** Use a professional and relevant subject line – use the subject line to draw the interest of your reader in before they hit delete!
** Use a header to identify your newsletter. It should contain the name of your newsletter and your company name. Even if you’ve put the name of the newsletter in the subject line, repeat it here as the subject line may be changed if your e-newsletter is forwarded to others.
** Maintain consistency of the format of your e-newsletter so that your branding is clear and your customers know immediately who they are receiving this from.
** Ensure either you or a staff member is committed to the time and energy required to produce a regular e-newsletter. This should not be underestimated as if you skimp on this and the newsletter becomes sloppy or boring you will cause the opposite effect you intended.
** Encourage people to sign up to your e-newsletter by including information on your other promotional material, such as your website and direct mail. Do not send your e-newsletter to people you don’t know or who haven’t asked for it.
** Use a hosted email service – this is so important for ensuring that your customers can subscribe, unsubscribe, bounces are handled and CAN-SPAM compliance is in order.
Remember that e-newsletters can be an effective marketing tool as long as you are creative and focus on your customers needs.
SETTING UP A TRIAL E-NEWSLETTER
We will be using m2news for our trial. This does not mean I am endorsing this particular product.
Go to http://www.m2news.com.au/freetrial.php
Fill out the sign up form.
Log into your new account.
Your mail options now are to Create a new newsletter
Add a subscriber
Create subscriber groups
Manage subscribers and groups
View reports and statistics
Manage bouncing emails.
Click on add a subscriber, then select to add your first group. You may only ever have one group, but you have the option of using multiple groups which may be very useful for multiple campaigns.
Name the group
Now create a subscriber, using either another email address you own or someone you know.
Now we will create the first e-newsletter!
On the side bar under manage, click on Create new under newsletters.
Give your newsletter a name and choose your subject line.
Select a template for your newsletter.
That’s how simple it is!
Now you are ready to put information into your newsletter.
Firstly we will have to edit just a little bit of code – it is not too scary, but you want to direct your readers to your website and give them your email address.
Click on the button < >
Scroll down until you find the line that begins with
a target="_blank" href="http://www.website.com/"
highlight the web address website.com and type your web address in.
replace info@website with your email address.
Click on OK
You will only have to do this once as you can now use this newsletter to create future ones from.
Once you have saved your newsletter and received the confirmation message that it did save, click on the link to newsletters under Manage on the side bar.
Your newsletter will show on the right.
Select the action – send this newsletter to me as we are only in a trial of the software.
Check your email!
Go to http://www.m2news.com.au/freetrial.php
Fill out the sign up form.
Log into your new account.
Your mail options now are to Create a new newsletter
Add a subscriber
Create subscriber groups
Manage subscribers and groups
View reports and statistics
Manage bouncing emails.
Click on add a subscriber, then select to add your first group. You may only ever have one group, but you have the option of using multiple groups which may be very useful for multiple campaigns.
Name the group
Now create a subscriber, using either another email address you own or someone you know.
Now we will create the first e-newsletter!
On the side bar under manage, click on Create new under newsletters.
Give your newsletter a name and choose your subject line.
Select a template for your newsletter.
That’s how simple it is!
Now you are ready to put information into your newsletter.
Firstly we will have to edit just a little bit of code – it is not too scary, but you want to direct your readers to your website and give them your email address.
Click on the button < >
Scroll down until you find the line that begins with
a target="_blank" href="http://www.website.com/"
highlight the web address website.com and type your web address in.
replace info@website with your email address.
Click on OK
You will only have to do this once as you can now use this newsletter to create future ones from.
Once you have saved your newsletter and received the confirmation message that it did save, click on the link to newsletters under Manage on the side bar.
Your newsletter will show on the right.
Select the action – send this newsletter to me as we are only in a trial of the software.
Check your email!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)