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.

Remember that e-newsletters can be an effective marketing tool as long as you are creative and focus on your customers needs.