Electronic newsletters are a useful tool for building customer and partner relationships, branding, increasing awareness and improving customer service. Nonetheless, many marketers do not make the most of the opportunities e-mail newsletters offer them. Here are some of the most common errors:
1. Treating newsletters as if they were promotions
E-mail newsletters and e-mail promotions are not the same thing. Promotions are action-orientated and designed to elicit a response, be this immediate or not. Even though an e-mail newsletter may contain action-related elements, the effect they are looking for is more often than not long-term.
2. Not defining content
Subscriber loyalty depends on many factors, of which content is probably the most important. But any old content will not do. Content has to be valuable, useful, timely and relevant.
News about your company’s activities is all very well, but it probably won’t interest a wider readership. People want information (help, marketing tips, analyses, etc.), and if you do not offer them what they want, they try to find it elsewhere.
3. Using the wrong criteria to measure success
The criteria to determine the success of e-mail promotions does not always apply to newsletters. Clickthrough rates, for instance, are not a good measure of the effectiveness of e-newsletters, since CTR is a short-term measurement. Neither is it a simple task to measure ROI for the same reasons. E-newsletter distribution is a long-term strategy, so one should be prudent when measuring success, say after six months.
4. Ignoring the value of the headers
On the subject of headers, it is important not waste this space. Instead of using your company name or that of the product you are trying to sell, use this space to get your message across: “Event portal” tells you very little, whereas “Idea and Resources for Organising Events in Andalusia” leaves no room for doubt. Use something that encourages recipients to open what you have sent them.
The “To” and “From” headers should be personalised; there is nothing as discouraging and impersonal as receiving an e-mail addressed to “Member list” rather than to your personally. The sender should also be recognisable: the brand, person, web site or company.
5. Making it a gruelling process to unsubscribe
For reasons that are blindingly obvious is this era of spam, the unsubscribe mechanism must be visible, quick and effective.
6. Not making the most of website traffic
After putting so much energy into your newsletter, you should give people the opportunity to sign up everywhere: web pages, confirmation messages, thank you pages, receipts, etc. Nevertheless, you must avoid falling into the trap of providing a subscription box without any explanation at all. Make sure that there is a clear indication of the newsletter’s contents, frequency, privacy policies etc.
