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Feb 08 |
Newsletters??Tagged Under : Newsletters, online video, video newslettersPosted in Whatswhat News by Sian |
Ok, we all get newsletters daily, weekly, monthly. Some from companies we can’t remember signing up for and some from companies we can remember. Some automatically land in the Junk folder. What makes us read them?
I believe it depends on a lot of factors but would welcome feedback on your point of view.
How busy is your day and do you have time to sit and read something even if it only takes less than 5 minutes of your time? I’m guessing that would depend on how relevant the information is to you and your business. But how would you gauge the relevance?
How much do you take notice of the catchy subject line or first couple of sentences maybe? At what point do you think it’s worth reading?
Is it too sales orientated? Obviously the company sending the newsletter wants the recipient to want to ‘buy’ from the company or at least be aware of them. How much is too much?
How often is too often to receive a newsletter? Once a month of bi-monthly?
Rather than lots of writing to read how about a 3 minute video that is catchy too? Would a video to watch be preferable to reading a few paragraphs? Click here to see our video if you want an example.
I’d like to hear what you think of newsletters with or without videos. Please let me know.
Sian
I’m taking a moment to think of any newsletters I’ve actually signed up to for personal interest….
there are maybe 5, even those I don’t read regularly.
Most of my newsletter subscriptions are business based- either I want to read what other people are doing in their newsletters in my industry, or I want to learn from experts or potential business partners.
I have a separate Gmail account where all my newsletter subscriptions get sent. I use the same account for blog subscriptions & notifications.
There are some experts I sometimes read & yes the subject does make a difference whether I read it or not. Most of the newsletters I never read.
If something is using “Salesy” speak I don’t usually get beyond the first sentence.
I have been singed up to Alan Stevens newsletter @mediacoach on twitter for sometime now, and only sometimes have time to read it when I receive it, but always when I read it i get value from it. He talks sense & has practical examples & solutions. He’s an expert in his field & someone’s opinion whom I trust.
I watch videos too, but again only sometimes & if they’re too long often I’ll stop watching, it’s got to be really good content & particularly pertinent to my needs at that particular time for me to watch all of it.
Personally, I think signing up to a blog is more effective as a reader- a newsletter generally has a lot of content, at least 3-4 different articles and I don’t always have time to read one. Getting an email per blog post means that I’m more like to click through as I know it’s only one article, and I’m far more likely to click through to 3 blog post notifications than one newsletter.
Hi Sian,
I think that newsletters are a wonderful way of connecting with people who are more than likely already interested in your business/area of expertise…however, I do feel that once a month is frequent enough, in fact, the perfect gap between newsletters. I know that I have signed up for various newsletters over the past year and some turned out to be weekly, and this quickly got on my nerves. When I analysed why their frequency irked me I discovered that it was partly that I felt obligated to read them, and also that I felt the ‘novelty’ factor diminished, you can sort of get too much of a good thing, if you follow my drift! I believe that a good catchy newsletter has the following: Good relevant headlines, not too much text (positive but informative, tips etc…) some images and maybe a taster of what’s in the next newsletter. This is just my opinion, but I hope it helps! Fiona/PETALS Floral Design, Cork.
I pretty much agree with the first writer. I don’t tend to watch beyond the first minute of a video unless it’s really something I’m interested in (eg gardening techniques, etc.)
I do however read the blog posts – particularly if they have a more personal feel to them (like Lorna’s at Garrendenny Lane).
I don’t receive many newsletters but if there’s a competition mentioned in them I always click it!
Thanks for making me think about them…!
Hi Sian. In a nutshell, if the newsletter is too “salesy” (is that even a word?), then I hit the big delete button pretty much straight-off. However, if it offers some useful tit-bits of information (our accountants do a great one), then I would tend to read it. Should take less than 5 minutes – be that a video or written form.
The only word of caution I would put in is that I know tend to look at the company blogs rather than sign-up to their news letters. The information is current and i can read it on the day of my choosing rather than having it arrive in my inbox on a specific day.
I would suggest a letter monthly would be the max!
Hope this helps.
Hello Sián,
Good post and I am sure opinions and views will be so diverse!
I read this post with 2 roles in mind: as a reader, subscribing to a couple of electronic newsletters and as a sender, since I do send weekly newsletter issues.
As a reader, it really depends on a lot of things; for instance I receive one daily, which takes me 30s to read and I love it, often includes a good saying/thought. Then, I also have my favourite weekly ones, which I either read on the spot or flag to make sure I get to it a bit later. What I noticed is that I have unsubscribed to the ones which were irregular or monthly as I like a routine and a sense of urgency and weekly/biweekly, just makes it more real — that’s for me and my opinion. I also accept, since I think it is common business sense that the newsletters generally offer some info and insights and offer some resources to invest in, it just makes sense to me. And, that’s why, when I subscribe I would only do so when I like the style, the info and values of that person as all of these will be represented in their newsletters.
As a sender, I love to prepare it and do spend time on it as it is my way to share with my readers, a feature article and some resources I want to share and communicate. I also start my weekly newsletters with a personal note, which for me makes it more real and personal, which is important.
Using the right software means that at every bottom of every newsletter, you, as a reader, have the possibility to click on the unsubscribe link, at any time. So, it is a reader responsibility to do so if they feel this is not for them.
Frederique Murphy
Hi Sian
Here are my thoughts on corporate newsletters:
- If I like the company then I’m happy to read something short from them
- If it’s going to be salesy, that’s ok, so long as it’s short, snappy, preferably with an easy competition (as a commentator above mentioned).
- If it’s coporate, salesy stuff, then I believe once every two months (max) is ok.
- Formatting should be uncluttered but attractive.
- I feel the same way about long newsletters as I do about long blog posts – the writer needs to be absolutely exceptional to expect to hold my attention for that long in a busy working day, and an exceptional is rare. (I often decide not to read a post if it’s very long.)
It would be easier to comment if I knew more about the purpose of the newsletter, e.g. is it to existing customers or to clients? Is it salesy or will it contain more general blog-type commentary?
If it’s salesy then I always think readers are doing me a favour by not hitting Delete or (worse!) Unsubscribe. Therefore I try to return the favour by:
- personalising it, to whatever extent is possible
- [repeating myself here] keeping it short and snappy
On videos – I’ve just started to use them so can’t say much except, again! – they should be to the point and brief.
Hope that helps and best of luck with your newsletter.
Roisin.
I know that Gordon Murray (@murrion) has done some analysis work on newsletter effectiveness…
Hi Sian
Interesting topic. I think its a bit like having a shop window with a very enticing display – if the shop window has the wow factor then it will draw you into the shop and therefore if the subject line is catchy then it will draw you into reading what the newsletter has to say/offer – if that makes sense.
Regarding videos I came across a site the other day and I would recommend taking a look at their videos (http://www.facebook.com/ladyumbrella?ref=sgm) – they are catchy, very cleverly done and lighthearted but still manage to get the message across so I think these are the first videos that I’ve seen that I actually look forward to seeing the next installment because they’re funny (or maybe its just my sense of humour:)). Although I think that this approach works well for the product they sell, I don’t know if it would work for other products/services. Videos are an opportunity to see the more ‘personal’ side of the business and I think will become a more vital part of business (in particular online businesses).
All the best
Joanne
Hi Sian,
There are definitely a lot of factors that can add up to a great newsletter.
Frequency is important, once a month seems to be a good average. It’s often enough to stay in your clients’ minds but also spread out so you’re not forgotten and not frustrating them either. The biggest issues users have with emails are spam and inbox overload so you don’t want to be lost in that.
Videos are great for getting a point across, I think they’re especially effective on a website homepage but I don’t think they’re great for emails.
I’ve read that people will only spend about 60 seconds glancing over a newsletter so it worth getting to the point fast. I’ve also learned of businesses trying to get their main message across in their subject line only, as they know their recipients may be busy and not even open the newsletter. They see the subject line so you have the opportunity to say something in the subject to remind them you exist even if they are too busy to read on.
Short subject lines are recommended, around 35 characters or less. Shorter subject lines have a measured increase in open rates.
The day and time that you send out a newsletter has a big impact too. Some people recommend mid week, just after lunch time on Tuesday or Wednesday as a good time. As with everything else this depends on your industry and your target audience. For example a lot of business owners check their emails on Sunday evenings to plan their week ahead. Alternatively Emails to people in the services industry would have better success later in the week, Thursdays or Fridays perhaps.
There’s a tonne of other information out there, check out the Marketing Institutes resource section, they have marketing insight reports for 2008 and 2009 in association with Newsweaver that talk in detail about subject line lengths, sending times and more. http://www.mii.ie/en/articles/articles_view.asp
Overall, it’s certainly worth the time and investment. SEO is still the top dog for getting a return for your investment, followed by Email marketing and Social Networking. If you’re beginning to send out newsletters, you’re not short of options with Campaign Monitor, Mail Chimp, iContact, Constant Contact and many more. Their costs average out at around 30 Dollars a month with many offering free trials or are totally free for smaller mailing lists.
Gordon.
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