Blog Minx

Phew! We’ve covered how to write an e-newsletter, how to build an e-newsletter and now we’re ready to hit send. Are you still with me? I know it’s a long lesson but it’ll help you make kick-ass newsletters.

Newletter pre-send checklist

Once you’ve written it and built it (if you have a template) you’re ready to click send. But wait! If you’ve made a mistake you won’t be able to undo it. This is it. You’re about to push the button. First, run through these questions.

• Are your links all working? Broken links will frustrate users and kill traffic
• Do you have a clever subject line? A good subject line will get them clicking – keep it honest, though,and nothing raunchy. Is it SFW (Safe For Work?)
• If you have a template, have you tested it in all the main email clients? Just because it looks good in your Gmail in IE7 doesn’t mean it’ll look like that for everyone
• Has someone proof-read your copy? Staring at it yourself won’t be enough. You’ll miss things
• Does the email contain branding? You’ve worked so hard… don’t forget your logo if it’s an html newsletter, and put your brand in the ‘from’ section so it’s clear who’s sending the email
• Does the email contain an easy Unsubscribe option? You don’t want to encourage it, but make it a simple click process – better than being labeled ’spam’
• Is your database full and ready to go? Have you checked it for de-dupes (an email address added more than once)? Did the people in the database sign up? Don’t send unsolicited emails, it’s a dangerous path
• Is your site running? Sounds silly, but if your server goes down as you send, of your links won’t open. That’s traffic lost and annoyance all round

When you’ve run through the list above and had a shot of whiskey, click send. Now comes the tracking which may happen immediately if you are using snazzy software.

Tracking involves answering the following questions which will help you tweak and plan more newsletters:

• How many people opened the newsletter? When? Read time can play a key part in when you send the newsletter and your content (for example, I sent a recipe newsletter mid-afternoon when people were hungry and considering dinner)
• How many clicks did you receive? One of the main aims of a newsletter is to drive traffic to your website. If users aren’t clicking then there’s a problem (note: a clickthru rate of 7% or more is considered positive)
• Which links were most popular? Tracking the popularity of links is key to building future newsletters which should be tailored to your users
• How many people unsubscribed? It’s tragic, but you will get some rejections. Keep the number as low as possible, that’s all, and don’t email people too often or they’ll opt out
• How many people wrote to you complaining they couldn’t read it or the code was all wrong? Good of them to let you know. If you’re struggling, enlist the help of an IT friend to check your code

It seems like a lot of work…

Well, you can always just paste some copy and click send if you’re only sending to a few people. But once you’ve grown a big database and want to go all professional, you’ll want a template and system. It is a learning curve, but with a few repetitions you get the hang of it and it’s fun tracking the stats and seeing your traffic boosted!

Done! Thanks for reading. Are you planning to send a newsletter, or have you sent some before? Do you sign up for newsletters all the time, and which are your favorites? Do tell.