Question

Topic: E-Marketing

Advice On E-newsletter Decisions

Posted by Phx SC on 9/10/2008 at 6:50 PM ET 500 Points
What advice would you give to an organization venturing into email newsletters for the first time? From selecting a vendor to feedback on layout (graphic-rich vs. text-heavy), what is your favorite piece of advice to give?

We will start with a collection of email addresses from our existing client base. Our objective is to reinforce their buying decision (being subscription-based, renewals and upsells are important), build loyalty, and provide value.

Thanks in advance for your insight.
To continue reading this question and the solution, sign up ... it's free!
SUBSCRIBE
Or, SIGN IN

RESPONSES

  • Posted by Pepper Blue on 9/10/2008 at 9:02 PM Accepted
    Hi Phx SC,

    My single most valuable piece of advice is that this is probably not something you want to develop and implement yourself, in-house, without establishing a relationship with an experienced email marketing professional to help you out.

    This should be, at the minimum, for the startup phase and until you have sent enough "campaigns" to work the problems out and show an acceptable open rate and bounce rate and more importantly a positive response to your calls-to-action.

    This could be an ad-hoc consulting basis, or on a longer term defined project basis, or you could hand the whole thing off to them until you are both comfortable that you have the time and knowledge to execute long-term.

    You have too much at stake to risk losing subscribers by not having the right strategy in place and with email marketing, like all professions, this comes with experience and daily attention to what is happening in the world of email marketing.

    Just like with search, the winds change every day and there is little to no room for error in the commencement stage because you will loose subscribers from a hard-earned list in droves if implemented incorrectly.
  • Posted by joshnason on 9/10/2008 at 10:41 PM Accepted
    1 - Go with an ESP. If you're serious about email marketing, do it right and find a full-service shop that can assist with the technology and creative.

    2 - Go with a real template.

    3 - Follow best practices: 70/30 text-to-image ratio, NOT all images.

    How many of these things have you looked into? Don't be overwhelmed as it's easier than you think. If you start out the right way, it'll be much easier to adapt and adjust.

    -Josh The Email Marketing Guy
    emailmarketingguy.com
  • Posted by babbsela on 9/11/2008 at 12:16 AM Accepted
    In addition to the other responses, which are great, I'd like to point out that a newsletter, by definition, is a News letter. You want your newsletter to be a valuable piece of email that your subscribers will look forward to, and read. Make sure you include topics of interest. Too many people start a newsletter so they can create a way to send ads to their customers or prospects, and forget that they need to include something to engage their subscribers.
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 9/11/2008 at 9:11 AM Accepted
    Metrics. Track the effectiveness of your copy/layout. Where possible, split-test subject lines, headings, etc.
  • Posted by Levon on 9/11/2008 at 9:44 AM Accepted
    Focus on valuable articles that are worth reading for your subscribers - pieces that are not blatant adverts for your products but unique content. If you are going to publish the same story that others do then don't even launch a letter. Plus you have to have something in there that keeps users clicking the open button every time. Think long and hard about what that should be.
  • Posted by Phx SC on 9/11/2008 at 11:00 AM Author
    Thanks to everyone for the valuable advice. I appreciate the blend of overall insight and specific metrics.

    To Pepper Blue--Great point about being able to work with a partner short term or long term. It keeps options open.

    To Josh--I appreciate the specifics that you offered. I definitely want to go with an ESP. No question about that. I know that asking for referrals would open a floodgate. How about this question (to anyone)--any advice about what I should consider when selecting one? How does their size come in to play, large or small?

    To babbsela--Right on about the news. Thanks for helping to reinforce that focus.

    To Jay--Great point about testing different versions. I will incorporate that practice.

    To Levon--I liked what you wrote "If you are going to publish the same story that others do then don't even launch a letter." That's an excellent self-check for making sure I don't fall into the "Trap of Easy."

  • Posted by Pepper Blue on 9/12/2008 at 12:51 PM Member
    Hi Phx SC,

    I am in the Phoenix area, I think you are also. You can get my contact info through my profile here or my website and we can talk next week. I can help point you in the right direction with ESPs.
BACK TO TOP

Post a Comment

Related Discussions

Community Info

Top 25 Experts
(E-Marketing)