Difference between revisions of "Learn/Tips-for-Sending-Email-Newsletters"

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| Date          = July 20, 2010
 
| Date          = July 20, 2010
 
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==Email newsletters are good business==
 +
----
 
Using email to send out marketing pieces and newsletters can be a powerful way to touch your customers on a regular basis, prompting them to come back to your website or tell a friend about you.
 
Using email to send out marketing pieces and newsletters can be a powerful way to touch your customers on a regular basis, prompting them to come back to your website or tell a friend about you.
  
 
Sending email is pretty cheap, too. It can cost as little as 1 cent per email, and many companies let you send unlimited emails for a low monthly fee.
 
Sending email is pretty cheap, too. It can cost as little as 1 cent per email, and many companies let you send unlimited emails for a low monthly fee.
  
While [[social media]] is gaining prominence and popularity in the Internet marketing space, email is still important.  You can reach a wider audience with an email campaign than with a social campaign, because more people use email than any social network. It's also easier for people to check email while they're at work -- it's less obvious than opening a social media site, which may be frowned on as a waste of time.
+
{{SiteReportMedRecAd}}While [[Learn/Social-Media|social media]] is gaining prominence and popularity in the Internet marketing space, email is still important.  You can reach a wider audience with an email campaign than with a social campaign, because more people use email than any social network. It's also easier for people to check email while they're at work -- it's less obvious than opening a social media site, which may be frowned on as a waste of time.
 +
<br />
 +
Compared to posting something on Facebook or Twitter, email is a more likely way to reach people. Your message will sit in your prospect's inbox until he or she deletes it. But someone can easily miss your post on a social site if their stream is full of postings from lots of friends, or if they don't happen to log in on the day you broadcast your marketing message.
  
Compared to [[Using Facebook and Twitter for Your Business|posting something on Facebook or Twitter]], email is a more likely way to reach people. Your message will sit in your prospect's inbox until he or she deletes it. But someone can easily miss your post on a social site if their stream is full of postings from lots of friends, or if they don't happen to log in on the day you broadcast your marketing message.
+
Below you'll find a few tips for sending great emails and some email marketing services that can make your life easier and your email marketing more effective.  We also have an article dedicated to [http://www.aboutus.com/11-ways-to-stay-out-of-spam-folders/ keeping your emails out of spam folders].
 
 
Below you'll find a few tips for sending great emails and some email marketing services that can make your life easier and your email marketing more effective.  We also have an article dedicated to [[Learn/Staying-Out-Of-Spam-Folders|keeping your emails out of spam folders]].
 
  
 
==Tips for Creating and Sending Email Newsletters==
 
==Tips for Creating and Sending Email Newsletters==
 +
----
 
* '''Keep your goal in mind.'''
 
* '''Keep your goal in mind.'''
 
: Whether you want to get people to click a particular link, become your fan on Facebook, or contact you, make sure to craft your email to guide readers in that direction.
 
: Whether you want to get people to click a particular link, become your fan on Facebook, or contact you, make sure to craft your email to guide readers in that direction.
 +
 
* '''Make sure your email looks okay in various email clients and mobile phones.'''
 
* '''Make sure your email looks okay in various email clients and mobile phones.'''
:An email can look great in the email client you're using -- but it may not look so great in Yahoo, Hotmail, or on an iPhone.
+
: An email can look great in the email client you're using -- but it may not look so great in Yahoo, Hotmail, or on an iPhone.
 +
 
 
* '''Make sure your email looks okay without the images displayed.'''
 
* '''Make sure your email looks okay without the images displayed.'''
 
: Many email clients don't display images in emails by default. Make sure to create the content of your email as actual text, rather than placing your important message in an image. The tools I recommend below allow you to create your message as text.
 
: Many email clients don't display images in emails by default. Make sure to create the content of your email as actual text, rather than placing your important message in an image. The tools I recommend below allow you to create your message as text.
 +
 
* '''Pick an appropriate time to send your emails.'''
 
* '''Pick an appropriate time to send your emails.'''
 
: Sending emails during the middle of the business day on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday is generally recommended. People tend to be busy catching up on Mondays, and are rushing to complete work and leave on Fridays. But use your knowledge of your own business and customers -- other days may be more effective for you.
 
: Sending emails during the middle of the business day on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday is generally recommended. People tend to be busy catching up on Mondays, and are rushing to complete work and leave on Fridays. But use your knowledge of your own business and customers -- other days may be more effective for you.
 +
 +
* '''Give your emails an accurate and enticing subject line.'''
 +
: You want people to open your emails, right? Tell them what to expect in a way that will make them want to open and read it.
 +
: Note: A misleading subject line can get you [http://www.aboutus.com/11-ways-to-stay-out-of-spam-folders/ dinged for spam], and remember that a subject line should only contain plain text because [[Glossary/HTML|HTML]] or other markup won't do anything but make your email look broken.
 +
 
* '''Make sure you send your emails from an email address that you actually check.'''
 
* '''Make sure you send your emails from an email address that you actually check.'''
 
: It's common for people to reply to marketing emails, asking to be removed or with some other customer service issue. You don't want to risk missing these messages.
 
: It's common for people to reply to marketing emails, asking to be removed or with some other customer service issue. You don't want to risk missing these messages.
 +
 
* '''Build your email list by giving people ways to opt in:'''
 
* '''Build your email list by giving people ways to opt in:'''
 
** Make sure your website offers either a link or another way for people to sign up for your newsletter.
 
** Make sure your website offers either a link or another way for people to sign up for your newsletter.
**If customers visit your physical location, offer them a way to sign up while they're on the premises.
+
** If customers visit your physical location, offer them a way to sign up while they're on the premises.
 +
 
 
* '''Keep it short and sweet.'''
 
* '''Keep it short and sweet.'''
 
: Long emails and big blocks of text can make people gloss over and not read what you have to say.
 
: Long emails and big blocks of text can make people gloss over and not read what you have to say.
 +
 
* '''Include a plain text version of your email.'''
 
* '''Include a plain text version of your email.'''
:Not everyone will view your email in its pretty HTML glory, either because of their email client or a preference they set. Many of the email marketing services below will help walk you through this.
+
: Not everyone will view your email in its pretty HTML glory, either because of their email client or a preference they set. Many of the email marketing services below will help walk you through this.
* '''Consider inviting your subscribers to connect with you on [[Using Facebook and Twitter for Your Business|Facebook or Twitter]].'''
+
 
 +
* '''Consider inviting your subscribers to connect with you on [[Learn/Use-Twitter-To-Engage-Your-Customers|Twitter]] or [[Learn/Getting-Started-With-Facebook-For-Your-Business|Facebook]].'''
 
: Many businesses post to these [[social media]] sites more often than they send out an email newsletter, because it's easier and cheaper. Direct people to these sites so you can touch them more often.
 
: Many businesses post to these [[social media]] sites more often than they send out an email newsletter, because it's easier and cheaper. Direct people to these sites so you can touch them more often.
 +
 
* '''Using an email marketing service is probably your best bet.'''
 
* '''Using an email marketing service is probably your best bet.'''
: There really aren't good ways for you to send and manage bulk emails or craft a beautiful email without using some sort of service -- that is, unless you're an email marketing expert yourself, in which case you probably wouldn't be reading this article. In the next section below I have recommended some services that I know of.
+
: There really aren't good ways for you to send and manage bulk emails or craft a beautiful email without using some sort of service -- that is, unless you're an email marketing expert yourself, in which case you probably wouldn't be reading this article.
 +
: See our related article, [[Learn/Find-the-Best-Email-Marketing-Service-for-You|Find the Best Email Marketing Service for You]], for more info and a list of [[Learn/Choose-the-Email-Marketing-Service-That's-Right-for-You|email marketing platforms]].
 +
 
 
* '''Don't be a spammer.'''
 
* '''Don't be a spammer.'''
: See our related article for further tips on [[Learn/Staying-Out-Of-Spam-Folders|staying out of spam folders and blacklists]].
+
: See our related article for further tips on [http://www.aboutus.com/11-ways-to-stay-out-of-spam-folders/ staying out of spam folders and blacklists].
 
 
==Choosing an Email Marketing Ally==
 
Creating beautiful emails and sending them to numerous people isn't something that just anyone can do. That's where an email marketing service company comes in.
 
 
 
A good email marketing platform can make your email marketing efforts simpler and more effective than they would be otherwise. You can choose a provider that does much of the work for you, or one that gives you a good do-it-yourself platform.
 
 
 
Below is a list of some providers. There are many more out there to choose from, but these are ones that come with a recommendation.
 
 
 
Many of the sites listed below offer a free trial so you can see what features they have and how easy they are to use. Depending on the size of your email list, some of the services offer a free version.
 
 
 
* '''[[MailChimp.com]] <small>[http://eepurl.com/EB59 (visit)]</small>'''
 
: This is the tool I use here at [[AboutUs.org]] to send our newsletters. I like its friendly interface and options to customize my own email template. It even has simple A/B testing so you can see which subject line works best and make your email campaigns more effective. MailChimp is a good option if you're comfortable with poking around and building your own email (they do have lots of help pages) or using one of their ready-made templates. MailChimp has 400,000+ clients and it's used by several technologically-hip companies like [[Firefox.com|Firefox]] and [[Foursquare.com|Foursquare]].
 
: If MailChimp sounds good, you can [http://eepurl.com/EB59 sign up] for a free account. <!--[http://twitter.com/ahockley/status/9898708954 This person] and [http://twitter.com/NowIKnowEmail/status/18165891626 this person] also like MailChimp.-->
 
* '''{{LinkPair|MyEmma.com}}'''
 
: Before choosing MailChimp, I looked at Emma's tools and generally liked what I saw. Emma [http://twitter.com/randfish/status/16722586191 impresses] SEO guru [[SEOmoz.org|Rand Fishkin]].
 
* '''{{LinkPair|ConstantContact.com}}'''
 
:This is a popular provider used by a few hundred thousand small businesses. It seems to offer a bit more of a comprehensive service that is less do-it-yourself. [[AboutUs.org]]'s Director of User Experience, [[User:Randall Hansen|Randall Hansen]], has [http://twitter.com/sonofhans/status/9944240379 heard good things] from ConstantContact clients.
 
* '''{{LinkPair|CampaignMonitor.com}}'''
 
:This is a popular provider for web designers doing email marketing for their clients. It is re-brandable, so designers can sell the service as their own. CampaignMonitor has at least two [http://twitter.com/maestrojed/status/18388198370 big] [http://twitter.com/geekygirldawn/status/18388732023 fans].
 
* '''{{LinkPair|eROI.com}}'''
 
: eROI is an Interactive Agency that helps companies with email marketing in addition to a slew of other services like SEO and brand identity. They have some big name clients like [[HP.com|HP]] and [[RedBull.com|Red Bull]].
 
* '''{{LinkPair|AWeber.com}}'''
 
: A colleague who taught me a lot about Internet marketing, [[Corey Burke]], says that AWeber is great for follow-up emails and that they've "been around for a long time and know their ish".
 
* '''{{LinkPair|ExactTarget.com}}'''
 
: I would call this a full service email marketing company because they offer much more than just email marketing, and doing it yourself doesn't seem like part of the package.  It seems to be geared for larger businesses and budgets, and it is used by many well-known companies like [[Groupon.com]], [[BestBuy.com|Best Buy]], and [[CareerBuilder.com]].
 
<!--
 
* '''{{LinkPair|MadMimi.com}}'''
 
: [[GetSatisfaction.com]] used to use these guys to send their newsletters.
 
* [[MyEmma.com]]
 
* [[StrongMail.com]] http://twitter.com/tedder42/status/9957072484
 
* [[VerticalResponse.com]]
 
* [[iContact.com]]
 
* [[InfusionSoft.com]]
 
* [[SubscriberMail.com]]
 
* [[Swiftpage.com]]
 
* [[Phplist.com]]-->
 
 
 
''Know of another good email marketing provider? Say something about it on [[Twitter]] and include me, {{Twitter|KristinaWeis}} in your tweet. (Or [[Kristina Weis/Contact|email me]].)''
 
  
 
{{LearnBottomBio
 
{{LearnBottomBio
Line 85: Line 64:
 
| Name          = Kristina Weis
 
| Name          = Kristina Weis
 
| Image        = Image:KristinaBluesFest.png
 
| Image        = Image:KristinaBluesFest.png
| AuthorWebsite = AboutUs.org
+
| AuthorWebsite = KristinaWeis.com
| ShortBio      = Kristina is a community manager for [[AboutUs.org]] who talks with a lot of website owners who are trying to promote their business online.
+
| ShortBio      = Kristina is a community manager for [[AboutUs.org]] who talks with a lot of website owners who are trying to promote their business online. {{Twitter|KristinaWeis}}
 
}}
 
}}

Latest revision as of 13:08, 12 November 2013

By [[User:|]] on

Email newsletters are good business


Using email to send out marketing pieces and newsletters can be a powerful way to touch your customers on a regular basis, prompting them to come back to your website or tell a friend about you.

Sending email is pretty cheap, too. It can cost as little as 1 cent per email, and many companies let you send unlimited emails for a low monthly fee.

While social media is gaining prominence and popularity in the Internet marketing space, email is still important. You can reach a wider audience with an email campaign than with a social campaign, because more people use email than any social network. It's also easier for people to check email while they're at work -- it's less obvious than opening a social media site, which may be frowned on as a waste of time.
Compared to posting something on Facebook or Twitter, email is a more likely way to reach people. Your message will sit in your prospect's inbox until he or she deletes it. But someone can easily miss your post on a social site if their stream is full of postings from lots of friends, or if they don't happen to log in on the day you broadcast your marketing message.

Below you'll find a few tips for sending great emails and some email marketing services that can make your life easier and your email marketing more effective. We also have an article dedicated to keeping your emails out of spam folders.

Tips for Creating and Sending Email Newsletters


  • Keep your goal in mind.
Whether you want to get people to click a particular link, become your fan on Facebook, or contact you, make sure to craft your email to guide readers in that direction.
  • Make sure your email looks okay in various email clients and mobile phones.
An email can look great in the email client you're using -- but it may not look so great in Yahoo, Hotmail, or on an iPhone.
  • Make sure your email looks okay without the images displayed.
Many email clients don't display images in emails by default. Make sure to create the content of your email as actual text, rather than placing your important message in an image. The tools I recommend below allow you to create your message as text.
  • Pick an appropriate time to send your emails.
Sending emails during the middle of the business day on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday is generally recommended. People tend to be busy catching up on Mondays, and are rushing to complete work and leave on Fridays. But use your knowledge of your own business and customers -- other days may be more effective for you.
  • Give your emails an accurate and enticing subject line.
You want people to open your emails, right? Tell them what to expect in a way that will make them want to open and read it.
Note: A misleading subject line can get you dinged for spam, and remember that a subject line should only contain plain text because HTML or other markup won't do anything but make your email look broken.
  • Make sure you send your emails from an email address that you actually check.
It's common for people to reply to marketing emails, asking to be removed or with some other customer service issue. You don't want to risk missing these messages.
  • Build your email list by giving people ways to opt in:
    • Make sure your website offers either a link or another way for people to sign up for your newsletter.
    • If customers visit your physical location, offer them a way to sign up while they're on the premises.
  • Keep it short and sweet.
Long emails and big blocks of text can make people gloss over and not read what you have to say.
  • Include a plain text version of your email.
Not everyone will view your email in its pretty HTML glory, either because of their email client or a preference they set. Many of the email marketing services below will help walk you through this.
  • Consider inviting your subscribers to connect with you on Twitter or Facebook.
Many businesses post to these social media sites more often than they send out an email newsletter, because it's easier and cheaper. Direct people to these sites so you can touch them more often.
  • Using an email marketing service is probably your best bet.
There really aren't good ways for you to send and manage bulk emails or craft a beautiful email without using some sort of service -- that is, unless you're an email marketing expert yourself, in which case you probably wouldn't be reading this article.
See our related article, Find the Best Email Marketing Service for You, for more info and a list of email marketing platforms.
  • Don't be a spammer.
See our related article for further tips on staying out of spam folders and blacklists.


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