How To Leverage The Positive Perceptions of Email Newsletters

Email newsletters are much more than mere "SPAM."

Growing evidence suggests that email users are bonding to their online subscriptions. Done well, with concise copy and compelling content, an email newsletter program can build better relationships with customers than any other single enhancement you can make to your current website.

According to The Nielsen Norman Group (NNG) Report on "Email Newsletter Usability," online subscribers can often experience very emotional and positive reactions to email newsletters (see http://www.nngroup.com/reports/newsletters/summary.html).

Indeed, this significant finding is good news for marketers who want to enhance their online relationships. The emotional attachment people feel with email newsletters can create a stronger bond between readers and companies. More so than anything a website can achieve. When users glance at a website, their immediate task or question reins supreme. Users want to get in and get out of a website "as quickly as possible."

Not so with Email newsletters, which "...feel personal because they arrive in users' inboxes and users have an ongoing relationship with them." In fact, according to the NNG report, the email inbox is "information central" for most of us, a special place where we check for personal messages and mail.

Here's a few points to remember when designing an email newsletter:

• Though people are emotionally attached to email newsletters, there's so much traffic, the stress of processing the mailbox continues to make them wary;
• Skimming is the "dominant mode" of dealing with a cluttered inbox. Over 69% of readers skim the contents rather than read each issue.
• Only 23% of email newsletters are read thoroughly.
• With so much to read, a rigorous edit is needed so readers can scan the contents. The writing style needs to support readers who will focus on a limited portion of the layout.
• Be relevant, address specific needs with work related news, professional tips or advice, events, prices, deadlines, sales, premiums, important dates, personal interests and hobbies (remember, this is a personal medium).
• Your attitude counts a great deal. An email newsletter that's a pain to use, unsubscribe from, or that comes in too frequently, can create real animosity. Never attempt to trap the user into accepting your email newsletter or keeping them from dropping out by making the unsubscribe link hard to find. It's far better to let them go and focus on building a quality permission based list.

How do you gain subscribers in a saturated market?

Your pitch to the reader should be made from a position of strength. Place your new Email Newsletter in its rightful place of importance and support it accordingly. Commit to a regular publishing schedule that's not too frequent. The emotional engagement of readers is a precious commodity, offering strong potential. Don't take it lightly.

• Your best prospect may be someone who is literally waiting to hear from you.
• Make his life a little bit easier, better, or more profitable.
• Let him know that your email newsletter will be easy to read and use.