Writing customer-centric newsletters

A recent article in the Email Insider was at pains to explain why email newsletters need to be effective, and what makes them so.

 I was a little surprised by the article: it seemed as though it were reciting a list of the obvious. Determine the best sending frequency. Make the newsletter relevant. Choose whether to require a separate opt-in. Add navigation, table of contents, and calls to action. Find a balance between text and imagery.

 Do marketing professionals really not know these things?

 The reality is that some don’t. But for most companies sending out regular newsletters as part of their emarketing strategies, best practices pretty much cover the Email Insider’s concerns, and looking beyond them to finding customers’ sweet spot is the major task of any newsletter writer.

Perhaps we’re going about this the wrong way. Marketing has always been about finding a need or a problem, and then meeting that need or solving that problem. Many companies, however, launch newsletters not with customers’ needs or problems in mind, but rather because there’s something that the marketer wants to say. The result? Unsubscribes and apathetic response rates.

So let’s put the horse back in front of the cart. If you want to launch a newsletter, ask yourself some questions first. The answers will tell you right away more than reading about best practices ever will.

• What is the goal of this newsletter?
• Is every part of the newsletter speaking to that goal?
• What do your customers want? Are you giving it to them?
• Do you know how often to send?

 If you don’t know the answer to any of these questions, or only have a vague idea of what it might be, then it’s time for some analytics. Ask your customers what they want! A questionnaire that offers options is always easier to fill out, so don’t ask the broad questions, be specific: Would you find a tips section helpful? Do you want a regular monthly column about xyz? How much time would you spend reading a newsletter? How often would you like one?

 Once you have these answers—and they need to be fairly granular, so that you can really construct a vehicle that will work for you—then incorporate them into your newsletter strategy.

The bottom line is, never undertake any emarketing strategy without first determining its value for your customers. Otherwise, you may find that you’re the only one reading it!