Digital Spin by SubscriberMail

4 Quick Ways to Improve Your B2B Email Newsletter

Posted by Drew Miller on September 25th, 2009

If you’ve read The Email Newsletter 3-Course Meal, you understand the importance of grabbing readers attention from the appetizer (your email) all the way to dessert (purchase or other desired action). This is an especially important concept when it comes to B2B Email Marketing. There are several ways to improve your Newsletter if you are in this space – Here 4 quick ways that can make a big improvement:

1. People are People

Believe it or not B2B customers are people too.  Keep that in mind when you are conceptualizing your Newsletter content and design.  Sure you want to keep within company guidelines, but don’t be too formal with your approach or the results could be deletes and unsubscribes. Make your content easy to comprehend and keep the design simple and appealing.

2. Think VALUE with Your Subject Line

With work inboxes flooded with everything from meeting requests from your boss to soccer schedules from your spouse, it’s become even more important to have a subject line that breaks through the clutter and delivers relevancy.  Instead of using something passive (”XYZ Company Newsletter: Vol 3. Issue 12″), think VALUE and entice an open by highlighting your most compelling content in the newsletter (”Learn How To Save Money on Office Supplies”).

3. Don’t Make it a Scavenger Hunt

Even if your Newsletter contains some of the best copy ever written, your readers are busy people too.  Some might take the time to read through five paragraphs on “How to Choose Better Paper Products”, but odds are they are just don’t have time right now. A better approach is to give them a tease (sentence or two) of why they should click to learn more, then send them off to your landing page where they can read, bookmark for later, or find something else that peaks their interest. This way you create multiple opportunities to connect and interact with your company. Your email acts as the appetizer, and your landing page as the main course.

4. Make it Interactive

The goal of your Newsletter shouldn’t be to solely inform readers with written content – Make it interactive and get them doing something actionable.  This could be anything from watching a quick video on a new product or service, interacting on your Facebook page, or signing up for a sweepstakes to win something. Think about your brand and audience and get them doing instead of just reading.

When it comes to Email Marketing and your B2B Newsletter, remember to take steps that align with company goals and objectives, and always think from your customers’ perspective. Is this something you would read if it was sent to you?  If you can answer, “yes” to that question, you are on your way to a better Email Newsletter.

What are the biggest challenges with your B2B Newsletter? Would love to hear your feedback.

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• Category: Email Marketing Strategy | No comments »
• Tags: B2B Email Marketing, b2b newsletters - best practices, email newsletter

The Email Newsletter 3-Course Meal

Posted by Drew Miller on May 27th, 2009

An email newsletter (aka e-newsletter and eNewsletter) is often the cornerstone of an email marketing program. They are often used by companies to inform and educate their readers on various subjects of interest – anything from fashion to home improvement.  Regardless of the industry, most newsletters serve one primary purpose: reader engagement.

Email newsletters typically contain multiple articles in order to appeal to a few different reader tastes. The main goal, more often than not, is to drive readers to your website to engage further with your company or brand. To get the most out of your e-newsletter efforts, plan it out like a 3-course meal.

The Appetizer
When a reader opens your message, you literally have seconds before they make the decision to spend time with you or move on to the next best thing. Using a sentence or two to entice the reader with a tease of what’s to come is one of the best ways to drive clicks. This is your appetizer – hopefully delicious enough to keep them wanting more, without making them full.

The Main Course
If readers click on the link you provided in your email to continue the meal, it means an order has been placed for the main course – your landing page. The obvious objective here should be to keep customers interested, engaged and ultimately satisfied. Make the reading experience easy on the eyes to keep your readers focused on finishing what they started. A landing page shouldn’t be a buffet of distractions, it should leave them licking their chops, using a wet wipe and singing to the tune of “mmm, mmm, mmm”.

The Dessert
Dessert is the ultimate customer temptation and should follow the main course quickly before second thoughts pop up. Of course its not for everyone, and should align appropriately with the overall goals and objectives of your eNewsletter. But for those who do see the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, the prospect of getting readers to buy after a satisfied main course is a good one. The verbiage at the end of your landing page, overall design, navigation choices, etc. should all lead your customers to a product or offering that is too tempting to pass up.

It’s important to remember that no 1 meal fits all.  We all have different appetites so do some testing before you offer something that might give your readers food poisoning. By planning your email newsletter like a 3-course meal, you will be well on your way to a more satisfied, more full customer.

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• Category: Email Marketing Strategy, Email and the Law | 1 comment
• Tags: Effective email content, Email Marketing Strategy, email newsletter