The email newsletter is a valuable tool that many people are forgetting in the age of social media. However, they can be a tool that can help your business or hurt it, depending on how much effort your business puts into making it a valuable read.
Turning your email newsletter into an effective tool is easy with the right approach:
- Wow them
- Pick a popular focus
- Tell a story
- Stay on their level
1) Wow them.
MyFonts sends monthly emails featuring typeface samples, blurbs about their new products, and actually goes out of their way to interview some of their font designers.
By adding in that extra personality, they’ve managed to make an email that gets archived by print companies around the world. Make sure your newsletter has staying power. Include things they want to see, and present it in a way that’s attractive.
2) Pick popular areas of your website to focus on.
Amazon’s email newsletters feature items that are favoured by both you (tracked via your shopping history) and other people who visit their sites. You can even take this one step further and target their specific purchases or interests using information you collect elsewhere – popular sales items, things in their wishlists, and their user comments.
3) Tell them a story.
J-List’s Peter Payne is a man who lives in Japan and writes about living in the country from a Western perspective. He talks about his family (and how it is living with a half-Japanese, half-American household), current trends and hot topics in the country, cultural differences, and more information that anyone interested in Japan would love to know. The newsletter is friendly, informal, and talks about something the readers really enjoy. We’re all people, and we like talking to other people. Make sure that when you write about your products or services, you add in a hint of personal touch.
4) Stay on their level.
You may have a lot of industry experience, but your readers might not. If your goal is to interact with the average person, keep buzz words and trends out of it. This doesn’t mean to talk down to them, however – it just means to stick to what your customers know instead of what you know.
Other good tips:
- Make sure your newsletter is visually appealing and engaging. Proper design and padding is just as important – after all, if someone doesn’t want to look at it, they most certainly won’t read it.
- Your newsletter should print well. This means avoiding coloured backgrounds, over-the-top decoration, and extra embellishments. If your newsletter gets handed around your readers’ offices or posted to their staff boards, it’s extra advertising for you!
- Include viewer-generated content in your newsletter. Good reviews, happy readers, and great comments are just as valuable as what you write. If you want all your newsletter readers to see something that may have only been on one part of your site, this is the way to do it.
- Check that your newsletter works without images. It should look just as good with images turned off as it does when they’re on. Include alt tags on all content-based images, so even if they don’t load they’re still represented by text. Many email clients block external images from loading, so your visitors might not see your nice design at first.
- Include necessary contact information in the footer. If you have a brick-and-mortar store or a phone number, keep that information in your email. It saves a step for someone who might plan on spending a lot of money.
Things to avoid:
- Never beg. Whether you need volunteers, money, sales, or advertisers, it’s never a good idea to beg (or demand) from your audience.
- Don't overkill an idea using social media. If you're sending it, don't list the exact same information on Twitter, Facebook, and so on. Tailor your email newsletter to people who are really interested in your content.
- Beware wordiness. When people read online, their attention span is half what it is on paper. Write concisely, and feature a select few products.
- Self-obsession is unhealthy. “Me, me, ME” will only make your readers bored. Talk about the readers, what they want, and what they like instead.
- Don’t overdo it. A newsletter a day really isn’t necessary. From three days to a week is far more practical for you and less annoying for your readers.
- Exception: If your newsletter is news-based, send it as it happens. Don’t force it, however; if you send an email every time someone sneezes, expect your subscriptions to drop.
- Check for spelling, grammar, and display mistakes. A spelling mistake could mean the difference between a loyal reader and an unsubscribed one. Having it reviewed by yourself and at least one other person (to catch what you missed) will make sure it looks, reads, and feels right.
- Leave the pushy talk out. No one wants to feel pressured. Be friendly. Even if your goal is to make the sale, don’t sacrifice your readers to get one.
- Dollar signs have to go. Not only is there the issue with different currencies for Web visitors around the world, it’s also a bad idea. Stay out of their wallet and in the sense of satisfaction they’ll get from the item.
- Keep in mind that your newsletter is not your RSS or Twitter feed. If someone wants site news, they’ll subscribe to your site’s news RSS feed. If they want one-shot blurbs, they have a Twitter feed for that. Don’t make your newsletter into something it’s not.
Remember: your email newsletter can be a very effective tool. Just make sure you take the steps to make your readers look forward to getting it, and you’ll have a much more loyal customer base.
I work for a Canadian television company, and as a result, I've been heavily involved in the "Save Local Television" and "Local TV Matters" campaigns. This is my take - not speaking as an employee, but as a consumer who is acknowledging their potential bias out front.
It's a real problem. A new member of our team is someone who recently lost her job at CKX in Brandon, after the station turned off after 50 years because CTVglobemedia couldn't afford to keep it running. The goal is not to charge the consumer - the goal is to keep them informed, working, and contributing in their community.
Americans solved the same issue many years ago, but Canadians still haven't figured it out. It will eventually come to pass that cable companies have to pay for all the channels they carry, but for now they just want to take as long as possible before they have to pay - which is why they continue to fight.
The way the cable companies have phrased their commercials as a "tax" and a "bailout" infuriates me. Both words are blatant lies. Any new charges would be charged by the cable providers, not the government - ergo, not a tax. Nor is it a bailout - it's asking someone to pay for the product they sell.
I posted this metaphor on the thread over at Boing Boing on the subject, and I think it covers my view of the issue nicely:
A farmer grows a field full of apple trees, and it ripens into a huge crop. The farmer could drive only a single bushel of apples to market to sell, so he only sells to 10% of the people who wanted to buy.
Then, a man drives in a huge truck and pulls all of the apples off the trees, and sets up a roadside stand just outside of the market, getting 90% of the people who wanted apples. He sells the apples that he got for free at a price that marks up the actual process of getting the apples considerably, even factoring in his truck. The losers are the people at the market who just want to buy some apples at a reasonable price.
The television companies are the farmer. They did all the work producing what they have to offer, but have limited means to distribute it. Then the cable company (the man) comes in, takes all of his hard work for free, and sells it at a marked up price.
Granted, the farmer has a difficult time distributing it, but without the money to buy a new pickup truck that can carry more than a single bushel, he'll have a hard time fixing his distribution model.
The farmer is asking that the man with the truck pay for all the apples the farmer worked hard to grow, instead of stealing them and charging an obscene markup.
That's what the situation is about. Television companies may be lagging behind in distribution, but it still shouldn't mean that cable companies can steal their product and sell it at a markup.
I do a lot of consulting for people just starting up their own online businesses, or taking their brick-and-mortar online. Regardless of the differences in their location, product, or budget, there always seem to be some of the same types who pop up. These potential clients are pure poison for a small business, often taking up much of the time and resources a small business or freelancer needs to stay afloat.
They aren't interested in doing any work
One of the biggest problems with a client is getting them to understand that there's no one-click way to get their business online. Clients will have to supply you with information about their business, regular feedback on your progress, product descriptions and photographs, and more.
A client who thinks they'll be able to hand over a cheque at the beginning and get a finished product at the end with nothing on their part in between isn't worth having - they're too much hassle and too much of a time dump.
They think you can do everything
An expansion on the client above, this client expects that you will be the one to take their product photos, write their business history and employee biographies, build their web layout, set up all their email accounts, and design their logo.
The odds of finding a development team - especially a smaller one-, two-, or three-person group - that can do everything under the sun is very low, especially in the short time frames that these clients often expect.
Your business may offer a number of other services, but never work with a client who assumes you're a one-stop shop when they only ask about one thing. Your skills vary, and you shouldn't be expected to be a master of all trades for the payment of one.
They offer stock options as payment
The client has a billion-dollar idea. They think they're the next Mark Zuckerberg. All they need is... for you to develop the entire high-security million-user backend for them. Once you're all done with that and the money starts pouring in, you'll be rich beyond your wildest dreams thanks to the stock in the company they paid you.
The best advice for clients like these: run. Most billion-dollar ideas don't come from people who have no idea how to do their development themselves. Bill Gates, Evan Williams and Biz Stone, and Jeff Bezos all knew more than a little about programming when they started out - any good idea man will take the time to invest a bit of education on his product first.
If you do take on this client, you will be working for free. So don't bother - if they were really interested in their project, they'd secure a small business loan to pay you in the very least.
They offer you more work in the future instead of paying you now
This client "wants to see how well you'll do." They demand all the work done first, and then they'll pay you - if they like it. This is spec work, and you'll probably never see a dime from them.
Unless the client is prominent and respected in the community - and more importantly, someone you know previously and can trust - you have no reason to work for free. Even if they do decide to pay for future jobs, they'll usually offer too little for you to ever make up for the work you've already done for them.
Remember to be a professional
Even if you're not interested in a client's project for any reason, you should still be professional about rejecting them. Don't tell them their project is underdeveloped, underthought, or unreasonable. Don't insult their offer or their idea. Most importantly, don't be rude.
Write a short, friendly email explaining that you're not interested in working on their project. It's not even necessary to explain that you're too busy with other clients - a simple "no" should suffice.
Sometimes, these clients will come back with an increase in how much they offer to pay. However, if they're one of the poisonous types listed above, no amount of money should sway you. After all - they don't run their businesses to make little to no money, so why should you do the same for them?
After a significant amount of thought, I have decided to resign as the advertising coordinator for the Central Canada Comic Con.
I've been providing many services for them in past years - ranging between web development, copywriting, print design, branding and motion design. I have made my best effort in helping the con grow and bring interest in comics, illustration, media, and entertainment to the province of Manitoba. The convention has grown to the second-largest of its kind in Canada, and I feel that I can no longer donate the immense amount of time it requires as a volunteer.
I will be in attendance for the 2009 convention - please feel free to stop by my table or the panel I will be sharing with Ian Sokoliwski. As well, I will still be doing my best to appear as an artist in future years. However, my role as a contributor donating my time will be over.
I wish all the volunteers the best of luck in future years.
Many web developers build a site, hand it over to the client, and end the job there. They never look at what happens once people actually start visiting. However, knowing your visitors' browsing habits is vital to understanding your visitors' experience.
Observe how they browse
The best way to understand your average user is to watch them. Enlist the help of someone you know in the audience - while a focus group is best, friends and family can also play this role. While the site is still in beta, have them sit down in front of the screen and give them a list of tasks to accomplish. Watch them as they approach these tasks and see what they tackle first, how they do it, and if they struggle with any aspects.
Do they try to use the wrong arrows to navigate? Did they make it to a certain page in a way you'd have never even considered? Did they squint at the size of the text or highlight information to read it better?
Ask that they explain their thought patterns on why they did the things they did. It could grant you a greater insight into their browsing experience, and help you pick up on the habits of your average user.
Observe where they go
In the case of already launched websites, look at their previous traffic. Keep an eye out for patterns users follow. Is there a section everyone goes to right from the homepage? Is 80% of your traffic looking at the same page, and then leaving immediately?
First, check for why such a discrepancy exists. Maybe a major forum or news aggregator linked to that page, and the traffic is only temporary - check your referrals. Maybe a link was wrong and pointed to the wrong page on your site - again, check referrals. Maybe first-time visitors come to that page once, but move on to other parts of the site later - check number of repeat visitors.
If you've found that the traffic is normal and they're visiting certain parts of your site more than others very frequently, it's a good idea to focus a bit of extra energy on that page. Add links to other parts of the site they may have otherwise not visited but would value. Make it worth their time to come back to that page, and make sure they're getting what they want out of it.
Learn from your observations
Of course, nothing you see your users do will be valuable unless you actually apply your new observations to the site. Change your navigation to reflect their browsing patterns. Add more content or freshen content of high-traffic pages frequently to keep people coming back. Link to more content between pages to keep your visitors informed about everything it has to offer.
Most of all, keep your eyes open. Traffic can and will change, and visitors will always be learning and changing too. If you don't keep an eye on them, you could lose focus very quickly.
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