Mysteries of the E-Newsletter Revealed, Part 2 of 2

July 27, 2010

By Tyler Munn

This is the dramatic conclusion to our 2 part series on e-newsletter marketing. Enjoy.

Writing and Sending

Once you’ve laid out what kind of content you want to include, you have a couple of options with how you actually lay out your newsletter. One strategy I use if I’m not allotted a lot of time to put together the newsletter is to scour the World Wide Web for articles that fall under the subjects of what I want to include. Give the articles a thorough read and type up a short, two paragraph summary of the article (in your own words), pulling out the key points that your client will want to read about. Then simply include a link at the end of the summary article to the full article. Depending on how in-depth you want to get with your summaries and how many articles you include, set aside 8-12 hours to generate a well-done newsletter using this method.

Your other option is to create original full length articles. Needless to say, this is much more time-consuming. Since you probably don’t get bombarded with press releases and the AP Wire probably doesn’t pass through your office, you’re going to have to summon your most dormant of research abilities and synthesize stories into one coherent, relative and unique piece. With articles like this, it never hurts to include links to the original or source articles in case the reader wants more info. I would allot about 25 hours for a well-written newsletter done in this manner.

Finally, you need to pick the best day to e-mail your newsletter. The general consensus seems to be Monday or Tuesday, according to a 2009 survey (both days earned 39% of online retailers’ favor). Also be sure to offer your clients the ability to opt out of receiving your newsletter, per anti-spam and other e-mail regulations.

Easily overlooked necessities

Aside from content, make sure you include your contact information and a link to your website.  If you have the means and know-how, create graphics and images for each article. Obviously you don’t want to go too over the top with pictures, but a good balance of text and images will make your document more readable. If you choose your images wisely, they will serve as a kind of visual headline, drawing the reader’s attention to the articles most relevant to them.

Those are pretty much the ins and outs of newsletter writing. If you need help with a newsletter, whether it’s individual or agency-wide, iBoomerang does offer a newsletter writing service. If you would like to learn more, feel free to e-mail me at tmunn@iBoomerang.com.

Filed under: All,Marketing

Tags: client retention, copywriting, e-mail marketing, e-newsletter, marketing tips