I have written and reviewed two different newsletters for clients this morning. The first one ended up being a LONG newsletter with all sorts of content. The second client I was reviewing their newsletter from last week and the numbers were down a bit (still great for the industry, but not for where they’ve been). So, it got me thinking, how do you get more eyes on your newsletter?
- PRIZES! Please, you know you’ll open a
n email when there’s free stuff inside! Sure it’s a 15 minute call, or a white paper download, but hey, FREE is a very good price. - Teaser Line- You know that very top teaser line you always forget about so it says “Use this area to offer a short preview of your email’s content.” USE IT! Tease something, tell people what’s in store. It’s like a sub-head for your newsletter title…
- Have a Title! My newsletter always says “Yellow Dog News” but then it says “3 Ways to…” and it’s always that simple. Tease folks with your headlines. Fun tip- write your headline last, you have the content and now go find that nugget of fun that will entice folks to read your newsletter!
- Post to Social Media – Make sure that your newsletter is shared on social media. EVERYWHERE, early and often. Personal, professional, share it away please! I may not subscribe to your newsletter because I don’t really know you, but if we’ve been chatting on twitter and you tweet your newsletter, I may just check it out, and if it’s not horrible, I’ll probably subscribe too!
- Make it SHORTER– You’re trying too hard with your newsletter. You have so many ideas and so much content that the giant block of text is intimidating. Instead, keep it shorter. Lead me to blog posts on your site, just mention a few things. If you have a monthly newsletter (ahem, that’s your hint…) then save stuff for next month.
- Pictures– 2 things you always get in a Yellow Dog Newsletter- “3 things” and a picture of Hank. No one likes to look at an email filled with text. It’s like reading someones report from college. Dude, add some images. (this goes for blog posts- add images)
- Easter Eggs – You know, fun teasers throughout the newsletter that when people click it makes them laugh and realize what a nerd you are.
You know, most of this works for your blog too…
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