If we developed a new email approach for a client, we’d certainly follow-up with some analysis on whether or not the redesign was successful and adjust our strategy accordingly. So, we’re doing the same for our internal effort and want to share the results [>>]]]> In January 2008, we redesigned Tendo’s monthly email newsletter, The Tendo View.

If we developed a new email approach for a client, we’d certainly follow-up with some analysis on whether or not the redesign was successful and adjust our strategy accordingly. So, we’re doing the same for our internal effort and want to share the results with you.

(Some call this “eating your own dog food” but we think it’s just fair play. If we’re going to hold our clients accountable, we should do the same for ourselves.)

What Did We Do?

The Tendo View is an email newsletter that we send to approximately 1,000 recipients each month. Our audience includes past, present, and potential clients as well as freelancers and marketing professionals that are part of Tendo’s extended network.

Given our business, we have many marketers and Web-savvy folks on our list—the type of people who receive a LOT of email newsletters.

In 2007, our newsletter metrics were very respectable. We averaged a unique open rate of 20.71% and an average click-through rate of 12.21%.

We believed that the content we delivered was good. It provided value to our users and we had a nice mix of different content types, from feature pieces to site reviews to our popular “jargon watch” to blog entries.

But we wondered if the look and feel of the newsletter was inhibiting our ability to generate even more opens and better click-through rates. So we decided to make some tweaks to the design—not a wholesale redesign, just tweaking some elements—to see if we could improve our metrics.

Here’s what we found…

1. Size Matters

We did something simple that made a big difference—we increased the font size of our headlines in the newsletter. It makes them “pop” more, they’re easier for people to scan at a glance, and it’s obvious where they are supposed to click if they want more.

The result: average click-throughs jumped from 12.21% to 17.09%.

2. Placement Matters

In our original redesign, we placed “jargon watch” in its own box on the right-hand side. We thought we were giving it a special feature spot. But the “jargon watch” click-throughs in that first edition were just .44%, one of our lowest performers in the issue.

We moved the “jargon watch” back to the left-hand side, with the other feature content (and larger headlines) and the click-throughs went way up—an average of 2.87% over the last three issues. (“Jargon watch” was actually our best performer in the May issue.)

3. Subject Lines Matter

The subject line is the single biggest factor in your open rate. (Although, with email preview panes, people can also get a visual hit and may see some of the headlines within the newsletter itself, but for the most part, you must grab interest with the subject line.)

We use the subject line to highlight the reader benefit offered by the main feature article. Recipients should be able to quickly answer the question, “What’s the value here and is it worth my time?”

The result: average unique opens jumped from 20.71% to 25.89%.

4. Call to Action Matters

What do you want your readers to DO? There has to be a clear call to action. We did two things in this area.

First, is the aforementioned font-size change on the headlines. Again, the size and color makes it obvious where we want people to click to read and learn more.

Second, we added a new feature called “The Tendo Tip Sheet,” where people could actually download a practical guide to address a particular Web marketing challenge. We made the button to download obvious and large: “Get it Now.” We use this as a lead-generation tool and can develop better insight about what type of help our customers are seeking. (Of our openers, 3% are downloading the tip sheet.)

5. Less is More

We try to keep each monthly newsletter short and sweet, with five or six links to content. You can see almost everything above the fold and it’s clear at a glance what’s available.

We believe that the increase in open rates and click-throughs is a confirmation of this strategy.

The Bottom Line

By making some small changes, we’ve seen significant improvements in our email metrics. We encourage our clients to do the same. —John Kovacevich, VP, marketing services

Keeping your content fresh, accurate, and relevant tells users—and search engines—that your site is alive and well. But just like in your garden, there’s [>>]]]> Spring is the perfect time to prune many plants. Removing extraneous matter allows your plants to devote all their energy to creating new growth. Your website needs the same sort of maintenance.

Keeping your content fresh, accurate, and relevant tells users—and search engines—that your site is alive and well. But just like in your garden, there’s a danger of pruning too aggressively. Removing too much content will upset users and search engines alike, and may ultimately kill your traffic. So how do you find the balance? Read on.

Weeding out inaccuracy

The dynamic nature of the Web has conditioned us all to expect instant access to information. As soon as we get wind of the latest celeb scandal or hilarious comedy skit, we immediately head to YouTube—and are incredulous if the video isn’t available yet.

This is the environment in which we’re all operating: Users require timely and accurate information as a baseline. One bad interaction—an outdated stat, an incorrect stock status message, or a 404 error—is all it can take to lose a user forever.

Unlike print, the Web is dynamic; your content is never “finished.” Evergreen content, especially, needs to be monitored regularly to ensure that it’s accurate and not misleading.

Delete at your own peril

One thing you don’t want to do is start removing pages pell-mell or changing URLs. Doing so could wreak havoc both on your human users and search engine spiders. People may have bookmarked your pages, so deleting a page or changing a URL even slightly will mean their bookmarks will no longer work, and they may give up trying to access your site right then and there.

“Web users require timely and accurate information as a baseline.”

Deleting pages and changing links may also undermine your search engine ranking. Most search engines institute a “sandbox” in which new sites, links, and pages are placed for a period of time (usually between two and six months). After that time, the pages in question are released from the sandbox and can compete against the rest of the World Wide Web for search engine ranking. If you change the URL of a six-month-old page, you risk the revised page being placed in the sandbox. If you delete the page and replace it, you’re in the sandbox. If you don’t replace it at all, any search-engine equity you have built up is lost forever. So, whenever possible, keep your existing pages and their URLs, but keep the content within fresh.

Maintenance is ongoing

Unfortunately there’s no WWW equivalent of the Sunset Garden Book to tell you when to feed and care for your website. Basically, the nature of your site will determine how often it needs pruning and maintenance.

If you run an e-commerce site, your website’s front end better be tied to a back-end database that keeps a real-time tally of your inventory. On the other hand, if you run a mostly static content site, the question is tougher to answer.

Depending on the nature of your site, you need to comb it at least once a year at a bare minimum. If your site purports to offer the latest and greatest info, though, you should be constantly auditing your content. Make sure all your facts, figures, and other information are up-to-date. You should also be thinking about a site redesign about once a year, so it’s conceivable that you could undertake the content refresh and redesign at the same time. It’s a lot to tackle at once, but both things need to take place regularly.

Tread lightly

But where does simple revision cross the line into revisionist history?

I’d never advocate going back and changing facts and figures in a news story or even a press release. Readers understand that these communications are, by nature, timely, and editing them after they’re published is unethical. But if your content is meant to be evergreen—think major content or advice sites like About.com or CNET—it’s essential that information is current and reliable.