7 Ways to Get More Value From Your e-Newsletter

Email marketing is one of the most popular and effective ways for businesses to share their content and connect with customers. Besides being relatively easy, eNewsletters provide good analytics along with a low-cost way to help you manage customer engagement. Your subscriber list is a goldmine for your business – the bigger the list, the more potential to achieve desired results.

What’s more, marketers rate eNewsletters as one of the more effective content marketing tactics.

Over 61% of the respondents to the B2B Content Marketing: 2010 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends report use eNewsletters and rate them as one of the most effective ways to distribute content. Only in-person events have a significant advantage over eNewsletters on the effectiveness front.

What can you do to encourage more people to subscribe to your eNewsletter?

Dedicate a page of your website to your newsletter

Something I don’t see often but I think is very effective is creating a dedicated page for your newsletter. Displaying an example is a great way to entice people to subscribe.

Recently, I encountered an excellent example where the design of a company newsletter is used to encourage people to subscribe. Master Photographer Geoff Fisher of Fisher Photography kicked off a new eNewsletter campaign as part of a complete re-branding exercise. His web designer, Ryan Briggs, included a sneak-peak of the customized newsletter he developed for Geoff.

By conveniently providing a sign-up form next to the body of the preview, visitors to Geoff’s website can easily add their name to his list. This technique is not limited to eNewsletters; a print newsletter can be easily dissected for success, as well.

Invest in custom design

It’s extremely easy to fire off a newsletter using a template or a wizard from your email marketing software, and that’s why everyone does it. However, consider investing in a professional design. Your content will stand out and lend a hand to your brand at the same time.

As you can see from the mock-up of the Fisher Photography newsletter above, the design has been developed specifically to support Fisher’s business. The dedicated website page also displays a description of each section. The benefits to this technique include:

• Transparency – The visitor knows exactly what content to expect
• Visual appeal – A custom design supports your brand and shows quality
• Commitment – Posting your design demonstrates an intent to produce regular content
• Excitement – An attractive teaser provokes people to want the real thing

Archive your past newsletters on your website

Not only is an archive of past newsletters an excellent way to extend the life of your content, but it also works wonders on your SEO.  Visitors to your website immediately understand your commitment to publishing good content when they can see a body of work all in one place.

Promote your newsletter like crazy

Of course, once you have your eNewsletter landing page set up, you want to start driving lots of traffic there. Here are some ideas.

Put your subscription form on your home page

It might seem obvious, but it’s surprising how many people bury their form deep in their website or don’t have it on their website at all. And, remember to point people to your landing page to learn more.

Put a subscription form on your social media profiles

Do your Facebook fans know you have a newsletter? Why not let them sign up right on your page?

Add a link to your subscription form at the end of every blog post

If you’ve got a reader who made it all the way to the end of your post, it’s probably because they found value in what you’ve had to say. Chances are they’re going to want more of the same. Why not convert them immediately?

Add a sharing widget on your eNewsletters

If you want people to promote your newsletter for you, make it easy on them by including a sharing widget. Give people the option of distributing it on any channel they want and there’s no telling where your content may end up.

Getting your newsletter into as many hands as possible doesn’t have to be a challenge. Creating opportunities to extend the life of your newsletter and encourage new readers is easier than you may have guessed. Don’t think of your newsletter as a static document with a limited shelf-life. A  collective body of well-constructed, beautifully designed and strategically managed newsletters are an asset to your business. Consider the different channels you use to promote your business and ensure your newsletter is referenced in every place. Before long, you’ll be striking gold.

How do you squeeze more value out of your newsletter?

Know how to launch an email campaign:

• 9 steps to executing an email campaign- Step-1 (Strategic Planning)
• 9 steps to executing an email campaign- Step-2 (define list)
• 9 steps to executing an email campaign- Step-3 (creative execution)
• 9 steps to executing an email campaign- Step-4 & 5

9 steps to executing an email campaign- Step-4 & 5

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In continuation with other eMarketing posts on "9 steps to executing an email campaign series", we now come to the 4th and 5th steps:

4. Integrate campaign with other channels

Whilst email marketing can operate as a stand alone marketing campaign, integrating it with other channels, both online and offline, will serve to both reinforce a brand’s message and increase responses.

There should never be a disparity between the content, tone or design of an email when compared to the rest of a company’s offerings. In-store promotions can be reinforced and promoted to an email database, or web site information can be summarized for email.

9 steps to executing an email campaign- Step-3 (creative execution)

3. creative execution

Emails can be created and viewed as HTML or as text emails. Bear in mind, though, that sometimes HTML emails are rendered as text emails. Text emails are the plain ones – text only, as the name suggests. If you have a Windows computer, and you open up notepad and type there, you will be creating a text file. These emails are smaller, and plainer. As these are text only, the copy really counts here.

HTML emails are the emails with all the bells and whistles. These emails can contain images, different fonts and hyperlinks. It’s probably what you’ve had in mind throughout this chapter when we have referred to email marketing.

Parts of an email

header

This has the “to”, “from” and “reply to” fields. These are also opportunities to build a relationship through creating a perception of familiarity. In other words, the reader needs to perceive that the newsletter is somewhat unique for them and sent personally by the publisher. Using a personalised company email address (e.g.  robin@companyname.com) for the “reply” field creates familiarity and builds trust with the reader. The “from” address should also include the organisation’s name. A meaningless “from” address which the reader cannot identify only serves to confuse the origin of the newsletter.

subject line

The subject line could be the most important part of an email! Subject lines aid the reader in identifying the email, and also entice the reader to open it. The subject line is also scrutinised by spam filters, and so should avoid words like “free”, “win” and “buy now”. Consistent subject lines, using the name of the company and the newsletter

edition, can build familiarity and help readers to sort their inbox. As with everything online, testing different subject lines will lead marketers to the formula that works for them.

personalized greeting

With a database that has entries for readers’ names, it is possible to personalise the greeting of the email. “Hi Kim Morgan” can elicit far better responses than “Dear Valued Customer”, but it is possible to create a greeting with personality without personalising it. Occasionally, the subject line can be personalised as well to boost responses.

body

This is where the content of the email goes. Don’t be tempted to use too many images: it can increase the size of the email, and it can obscure text when images do not load. Be sure that text is not on the image, but rather can be read without an image being loaded.

footer

A standard footer for emails helps to build consistency, and is the customary place to keep the contact details of the company sending the email. At the very least, this should include the name and contact email of the company. It can also include the privacy policy of the sender. One way to grow the email list is add a “forward to a friend” link in the footer. The most important part of the footer is a clear unsubscribe link.

unsubscribe link

It is mandatory to have an unsubscribe link on all commercial emails. Interactive emails are best constructed with lightweight HTML capability allowing the email to open quickly. This helps to capture the user’s attention before he/she moves on. The structure must allow readers to scan and navigate the email easily. The length of paragraphs, emphasis through bolding and colours as well as sectioning information with bullets and borders all contribute to a well-structured email.

create content

Email content that is relevant and something that readers will value, is vital to ensuring the success of an email marketing campaign. Valuable content is informative and should address the problems and needs of readers. It is important to realise that the reader determines the value of the content, not the publisher.

Successful email campaigns provide value to their readers. This value can vary from campaign to campaign. Newsletters can offer:

• Humour
• Research
• Information
• Promotions

However, avoid being marked as spam by staying away from words like “free”, “buy now” and “discount”. test for display and deliverability The email should be scored to see that it will pass spam filters, and the design should be tested to ensure that it renders clearly in as many clients as possible. Make sure that images line up, that copy is clear and that all the links work.

Emails can be tested for platform compatibility at www.sitevista.com/email.asp. An email’s spam score can be checked at spamassassin.apache.org.

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Previous posts on executing an email campaign series:

• 9 steps to executing an email campaign- Step-2 (de...
• 9 steps to executing an email campaign- Step-1 (St...
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9 steps to executing an email campaign- Step-2 (define list)

2. define list
Running a successful email campaign requires that a business has a genuine opt-in database. This database, the list of subscribers who have agreed to allow a company to send them emails with marketing messages, is the most valuable asset of an email campaign.
Permission must be explicitly given by all people to whom emails are sent. Companies that abuse this can put their reputation in jeopardy, and in some countries, legal action can be taken against companies that send unsolicited bulk email – spam.
Growing this database, while keeping it targeted, is a key factor in any email campaign. The database needs only have one entry – the prospect’s email – but the following should also be considered:

• First name, surname and title
• Date permission granted
• Source of permission
• Gender
• Country
• Telephone number
• Date of birth

Fields such as name, surname and title should be separated in your database. You should also gather date of birth as opposed to a prospect’s age – it ensures your database can stay up to date!
However, don’t be tempted to ask for more information than is required. The more information a marketer can gather, the better she can customise her marketing messages. However, the more information a prospect is required to give, the less likely he is to sign up. Further information can be requested over a period of time.
There are a myriad of ways to attract prospects to opt in to a database. Key is an email sign-up form on a company web site. Visitors to a web site have already expressed an interest in a company by clicking through to the web site – this is an opportunity to develop that interest further.
Sign-up forms best practice:

• Put the sign-up form where it can be seen – above the fold and on every page.
• State your anti-spam stance explicitly, and be clear about how you value
• subscribers’ privacy.
• Use a clear call to action.
• Tell subscribers what they will get, and how often they will get it. Include a
• benefit statement.
• Ensure the email address is correct by checking the syntax.
• Test to see what works best!

Every interaction can be used to ask permission to send emails.

1. Offer something valuable for free, and ask if they would sign up to your newsletter at the same time (e.g. white paper, gift voucher, music track).
2. Add a subscribe box to the checkout process of your retail site.
3. Use interactions at trade shows to ask for email addresses.

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Other posts on  executing an email campaign  series:

9 steps to executing an email campaign- Step-3 (creative execution)9 steps to executing an email campaign- Step-1 (Strategic Planning)--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

9 steps to executing an email campaign- Step-1 (Strategic Planning)

1. strategic planning

The first part of any email campaign should involve planning around the goals you willneed to achieve. These will probably be in line with the goals of your web site, withemail marketing being used as a tool to help you achieve those goals. You will decide on the key performance indicators (KPIs) for your campaign as well.Promotional emails will usually have an immediate goal:

• Users make a purchase
• Users download a whitepaper
• Users request further information

Newsletters tend to focus on longer term goals, and so your KPIs become more important here.
KPIs include:

• Open rate
• Click-through rate
• Number of emails forwarded
• ROI

A successful email campaign is most likely to be the one geared at retaining and creating a long term relationship with the reader. Know your audience! They will dictate the interactions.