6 Important Rules of Effective Email Newsletters

1. Stay on schedule

Your subscribers should be able to synchronize their watches by the arrival of your email newsletters. Of course there are always glitches and unexpected problems that may arise, but other than that, pick a day and general time that works best for you and stick to it.

The frequency will depend on how much information you’d like to share, how often you think your readers will want to hear from you, and how much time you have to devote to producing a quality offering. Before launching your weekly newsletter, be completely sure you’ll really be able to live up to your word each and deliver every week.

For quality assurance purposes, it’s a wise idea to send out a “test” mailing to yourself or your editors before sending to the subscribers to check for any errors or typos, and to see that all links are working properly.

2. Capture their attention

The subject line of an email newsletter should be enticing enough to make your readers want to open the mail, and then pore over the contents. While listing the volume or issue number is a good way of organizing the newsletters chronologically, there’s nothing exciting about that type of subject line.

3. Make it readable

From the very first issue, an email newsletter should have a set style that’s clean and simple with an easy to read format. Too many graphics and other distractions give the appearance of junk mail or spam. While it is perfectly acceptable to include two or three pictures of products you may be selling or showcasing, more than a few is overdoing it.

Important points and paragraphs should be emphasized with bullet points to draw the reader’s eye and grab their attention. As a general rule, people usually will “scan” emails for useful information rather than actually read them from start to finish. Keeping the same format every time, with each section located in the same spot in every issue gives a sense of organization and familiarity.

Paragraphs should be short, to the point, and never use all capitals for any reason, unless it’s to occasionally emphasize a word or two. Email newsletters should be completely free of errors and typos, so read, read again, then re-read your work before sending the final copy out.

To truly accommodate all of your readers, consider including a link to a printer-friendly version of your newsletter, as well as a plain text version as opposed to HTML.

You’ll also want to establish your “voice” or the tone of the newsletter from the first issue whether it’s serious, funny, newsworthy, or however it relates to and reflects your business or products.

4. Know your goals

Before even attempting to start an email newsletter and build a subscriber base, it’s important to know your goals and what you’re exactly trying to achieve by sending this newsletter. Ask yourself questions such as:

- What is the main purpose of the newsletter? Attracting visitors to your website? Selling your product? Increasing your readership?

- Who is your target audience?

- What will you say to connect with your readers and gain their respect?

5. Provide accurate contact information

Don’t forget to include your contact information, or at least a link to a working email address in every newsletter you send. You may list all of your pertinent information, including your postal address and phone numbers, or you can choose to keep it limited to just your website and email address.

Links to contact you or that lead to your website should be prominently listed in the newsletter placing one at the beginning, the middle, and the end. It’s also a good idea to include several “forward to a friend” links throughout the newsletter to encourage readers to share with their peers, which will hopefully generate more subscribers and customers.

It’s imperative to include an unsubscribe link in all email newsletters you send. Readers should have an easy way to remove themselves from your mailing list if they wish to do so.

6. Offer quality content

Email newsletters should be long enough to be interesting by offering a wide variety of useful information, but not lengthy enough to be boring. No one wants to receive a newsletter full of fluff, or one that’s repetitive, or contains out of date information. Consider periodically asking your readers for their feedback, or offer surveys if you’re having trouble gaging what keeps people involved in your particular niche interested and coming back for more.

Readers also love to get something for free. Whether it’s an e-book, or some type of course, free samples of your products, or a free software download, bonuses and freebies keep people interested and are a great way of expanding your marketing plan and spreading your company’s name. Be careful about using the word “free” in your newsletter as some spam filters are programmed to weed out mail using that word.