October 2004

Hit the Bull's-Eye with email Communications

Online newsletters can be an effective way to communicate with a target audience, but a focused strategy and concise message are essential to rising above the clutter.

By Nikki Goth Itoi

When Forbes.com readers navigate to the publisher's free email newsletters, they can test-drive 28 daily and weekly reports by clicking on a title they wish to receive. Meanwhile, customers who opt in to Bamboo Reef's monthly newsletter for scuba divers find a considerate tip near the beginning of the each edition: "Approximate reading time: 3 minutes." In this evolving channel for targeted marketing messages, these reader-focused details make all the difference.

Businesses large and small have embraced the online newsletter as a low-cost, high-touch way to maintain regular contact with their target audience. Consumers sign up to receive dozens of them each week—and many more arrive unsolicited. Appearing as colorful HTML layouts or plain text emails, newsletters contain everything from discounted airfares and world news headlines to restaurant reviews and tips for using consumer electronics.

When designed effectively, e-newsletters can influence, inform, and even sell. They draw members and customers to the page by sharing useful information, bestowing insider status, or offering bargain prices. But the sheer volume and variety of e-newsletters in circulation today means consumers have increasingly less time to read the swelling tide of information. Marketers have to stay one step ahead in order to stand out from the crowd.

Consider the questions below as you begin to plan and execute an e-newsletter program:

What is your goal?
Online newsletters can support many different marketing goals. Some build awareness for products, services, and capabilities. For example, "Liquid Treat," produced by Dynamic Graphics, promotes new graphic designers. Earthlink's "eLink Newsletter" aims to educate customers about consumer technology issues related to its Internet access business. And weekly updates from major airlines including American and United are designed to increase sales through deep discounts on undersold flights.

With so many possibilities, the key to an effective newsletter program is to define a clear set of goals at the outset, and then tailor the audience, content, and design to meet those goals.

Who is your audience? (And how will you reach that audience?)
Are you trying to reach existing customers or a new market segment, senior managers or employees at all levels? Tailor content to specific roles and demographics, and you'll engage a greater number of readers in a more meaningful dialogue.

You'll need to gather and qualify participants through an opt-in process. There are three ways to complete this step:

• Opt in by default: Enroll visitors automatically when they register at a website and give them the choice to opt out.
• Opt in by choice: Give registered visitors the option to sign up when they qualify by registering or purchasing a product from a site.
• Double opt in: Set up a two-step process in which the customer must respond to an email message from you in order to receive the newsletter. This method validates the customer's email address, as well as the request to receive the communication, ensuring a highly targeted marketing program.

Before communicating with any target readers via email, get up to speed on antispam legislation and be sure your plans comply with the laws as they evolve.

What's in a name?
Newsletters with catchy names—aand quality editorial—aoften take on a life of their own. "Above the Crowd," written by venture capitalist Bill Gurley, staked an early claim to the high-tech startup community with intelligent commentary on the business trends of the day. In the consumer arena, "Daily Candy" has become a trendsetter in dishing out fashion advice, while "This Week's Tip" from ihatefinancialplanning.com uses humor and sass to explain timely financial trends. In the absence of creative inspiration, however, go for straightforward names, such as Member News and Tip of the Day, that clearly tell readers what to expect inside.

What do you have to say? (And how often do you need to say it?)
The best online newsletters reflect the immediacy of the Web. They take a stand on important issues and provide relevant information or services—not simply marketing jargon. They live by the mantra, "less is more," communicating more in two paragraphs than most companies communicate in a four-page brochure. And they listen as well as they speak, soliciting customer input through interactive features such as surveys and contests.

Although the relative ease of online distribution means you can provide up-to-the-minute information, few readers have the tolerance for excessive communication. A fact-a-day can work well, if it's short and entertaining, such as the single fashion tip that arrives daily in "Daily Candy" or the Forbes "Thought of the Day." More practical weekly or monthly updates save readers time, while still providing regular customer outreach.

How should you send it—plain text or HTML—and what should it look like?
Resist the temptation to over-design for the medium. HTML newsletters loaded with images are more likely to end up in the spam folder, and images may not display at all in email clients AOL 9.0 and Outlook 2003. Instead, send newsletters as text-only HTML. This approach allows the use of simple formatting—such as font size, bold, and italics—that will give your newsletter eye-catching appeal. And, you'll be able to use software to track how well your communications are received. (Subscriber Mail, IMN, and Neighborhood Email all offer tracking solutions.)

Keep newsletter copy short and include links to your website where readers can view the fully designed version in all its glory. Finally, a personalized greeting, or better yet, customized content based on reader interests, goes a long way toward establishing a long-term relationship.

How to measure success?
To track the progress of your online communications, decide in advance what measures of success you want to follow. The number of people who opt in will give you a baseline level of interest in the content you are providing. But to get an accurate view of how many people you are reaching at any given time, you'll need to subtract the churn rate from the number of opt-ins.

The rates at which recipients open the email you send and click through to articles or special offers will give a more precise indicator of how engaging your newsletter is. Finally, be sure to build in reader feedback mechanisms to gather subjective responses to the program.

Whether they stand alone or complement other customer communications initiatives, online newsletters add a new dimension to traditional marketing tools. Develop them according to the guidelines above, and they will help forge lasting relationships with members of any audience that uses the Internet.

About the author:

Nikki Goth Itoi is a managing editor at Tendo. She's pretty sure that if people just answered her questions about newsletters, the online world would be a better place.