Xtra! Xtra! Read all About it! Effective E-Newsletter and Email Campaigns

Xtra! Xtra! Read all About it!

Effective E-Newsletter and E-mail Campaigns

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Introductions and expectations

• Around the room in 80 seconds – What do you want to walk away with today?

• A quick show of hands– Does your organization currently have an e-newsletter or e-campaign?

– What’s your current number of subscribers? < 500, Between 500 and 2 500, > 2 500?

– Do you use a e-mail marketing service such as Constant Contact or Industry Mailout?

http://www.constantcontact.com/

http://www.industrymailout.com/

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Workshop overview

• Planning your e-mail campaigns

• An effective e-newsletter in 5 easy steps– What’s in a name?

– What should my newsletter look like?

– Writing tips and tricks

– Subject lines

– Hit send!

• Post mortem (e-mail metrics & campaign evaluation)

• Expanding your audience

• The good, the bad and the ugly

• Q&A

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Planning your e-mail campaigns

• Develop a rolling production calendar– Map out your entire campaign or year

– Select your publication or send dates

– Work back from your send dates

Publication Date Content Contributors Notes

June 15, 2009 • Donor campaign• Client profile• Community Corner

Executive DirectorProgram Manager

Get photo of executive director in action

July 15, 2009 • Trillium Grant • campaign update• Second client profile• Community Corner

Grants WriterProgram Manager

Incorporate thermometer image for campaign total

August 15, 2009 • Campaign results• Impact statements• Community Corner

Board ChairExecutive Director

Event photos from campaign announcement

Donor Campaign E-mail Plan

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Planning your e-mail campaigns

• Line up content and contributors– Identify and solicit potential content at staff / board meetings

– Connect with peers at similar organizations

– Share news stories from the media (scour RSS feeds and news sites)

• Set up templates – Newsletters, invitations, press releases etc.

• Allow for flexibility– Have content ‘in the can’ for slow news months

– Be prepared to shuffle content based on relevant events (leverage external events or news)

• Solicit feedback from your readers– What kind of content do they expect and when?

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An effective e-newsletter in 5 easy steps

• Step 1: What’s in a name?

• Step 2: What should my newsletter look like?

• Step 3: Writing tips and tricks

• Step 4: Subject lines

• Step 5: Hit send!

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Step 1: What’s in a name?

• Why is a name important?– Unique identifier for your readers – a measure of consistency and recognition

– Opportunity to integrate/extend your organization’s brand and visibility

• Newsletter names in the room

• What makes a great name?– Linked to your organization (mission, vision, values)

– Short and simple

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• Making the case – The Ten Oaks Project

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• Coming up with a great newsletter name – Group Activity– Take 15 minutes

– Use the case study examples or real examples from your group

– Come up with great newsletter names

– Show & Tell

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Step 2: What should my newsletter look like?

• Keep it clean, clear and simple– Plenty of white space

– Avoid flashy colours and special effects

• Should match your organization’s brand identity and website– Use the same colour palette as your website

– Simple, clean and easy to read typefaces (2 or 3 fonts – no more!)

• Write and design for the preview pane

• Keep accessibility in mind– HTML & Text versions, ALT descriptions

• Never send an all-image e-mail newsletter

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Step 2: What should my newsletter look like?

• Making the case – Imagine Canada

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Step 3: Writing tips and tricks

• Appeal to skimmers– Use lots of headlines, subheadings and short chunks of text

– Active verbs and vivid nouns will grab the reader’s attention

– Excellent online resource : Copyblogger - http://www.copyblogger.com/magnetic-headlines/

• Brevity– Write tight. Omit unnecessary words

• Sentence structure - Be straightforward

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• Text formatting– Use short paragraphs - A 100-word paragraph looks pretty long on a web page

– Headings should make absolutely clear what the page contains or concerns

– Use subheadings to help the reader scan the page efficiently and happily

• Links– A link must give the reader a reasonable expectation of what she will get when she clicks

– Avoid using ‘click here’ or ‘website’

– Avoid spanning links over two lines

– Links are a great way to drive traffic to your website

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• Making the case – HR Council

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Step 4: Subject lines

• Effective subject lines are critical to the success of your newsletter or campaign

• You’ve got three seconds or less to get someone to open your e-mail message– First second is spent on the ‘From’ line

– Next two seconds are spent scanning the subject line

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• Lee’s inbox

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• Keep it short and sweet– Aim for less than 50 characters (including spaces)

– Note: Aim for less than 50 characters (including spaces) = 50 characters

– Most mobile devices, like Blackberries and iPhones, can only show 14 characters

• Be specific– Vague and generic subject lines are a waste of real estate

– Avoid things like “Humane Society March 2008 Newsletter”

• Be a tease– A clever subject line can be enticing when executed properly

– Teasers require some creativity and the content needs to deliver

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• Get personal– A personalized message will cut through the clutter of an over-filled inbox

– This can be as simple as using the words ‘you’ ‘your’ ‘our’ or ‘we’

• Use numbers to get attention– ‘Fundraising gala tickets still available’ vs. ‘Only 10 seats left for premiere gala event’

• Listen to WIIFM – When a person gets your e-mail, the first thing they consider is "what's in it for me?”

– Do they open your e-mail, leave it for later, or delete it?

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• Don’t get caught in spam filters– Your e-mail needs to be delivered to even stand a chance!

– Avoid words like free, ALL CAPS, excessive punctuation etc.

• Avoid using the same subject line every time– Seeing “Society Newsletter” every month isn’t going to spark interest

• Write it last– It's important to determine all the elements of your e-mail first

– Pick your top story and feature it e.g. “3 tips for new puppy adopters”

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Step 5: Hit send

• Double check that everything is in order– Do all of the links work?

– Are the template elements updated? (month, issue number etc.)

– Is my subscriber list up to date?

• Put an unmistakable name in the ‘From’ field– Typically use your organization, campaign or initiative name

– Use an individual’s name carefully

– Keep it consistent to help build up reader recognition

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Step 5: Hit send

• When to send it out – Consider your audience first

– Avoid the purge!

• Best days: – Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays

• Best times: – Between 10 and 10:30 a.m. or 1 and 1:30 p.m. [The Pavlovian Ping]

– Be aware of seasonal and time zone issues

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Post mortem (e-mail metrics & campaign evaluation)

• Demonstration of online e-mail marketing service– Service providers include:

• Industry Mailout

• EmailNow

• Constant Contact

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Expanding your audience

• Place a sign-up button on your homepage– This can be as simple as an e-mail link or it can be a text field

– Highly visible and ‘above the fold’

– Example: David Suzuki Foundation

• Place a sign-up button on your newsletter– Allows people who were forwarded your newsletter to easily subscribe

• Collect e-mail addresses at conferences, events or workshops

• Use social media– Include a link on your organization’s Facebook page

– Start related discussion topics

– Update your status to include a link to the latest issue

– Update your Twitter feed

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The good, the bad and the ugly – Newsletter evaluation

• Amnesty International Canada – http://www.amnesty.ca/updates/latest.html

• CanadaHelps.org– http://www.canadahelps.org/Newsletters/InsightsDec08.htm

• CharityVillage– http://newsmgr.charityvillage.com/display2.aspx?SID=5c5df1ed-ae14-45d4-b74a-

116460d0d5d7&N=298

• Foundation for Rural Living– http://www.frl.on.ca/frl/NewsAndUpdates/newsletter/2006_Jan.htm

• Maytree Foundation– http://www.industrymailout.com/Industry/View.aspx?id=149154&q=127755563&qz=504caa

• Ottawa Humane Society– http://www.ottawahumane.ca/enews/apr2009/

Note:

The presenter has not assigned good, bad or ugly ratings to any of these newsletters!

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Q & A

Questions?

Xtra! Xtra! Read all About it!

Effective E-Newsletter and E-mail Campaigns

Xtra! Xtra! Read all About it! Effective E-Newsletter and Email Campaigns

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