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?
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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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An effective e-newsletter in 5 easy steps
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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An effective e-newsletter in 5 easy steps
Step 1: What’s in a name?
• Making the case – The Ten Oaks Project
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An effective e-newsletter in 5 easy steps
Step 1: What’s in a name?
• 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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An effective e-newsletter in 5 easy steps
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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An effective e-newsletter in 5 easy steps
Step 2: What should my newsletter look like?
• Making the case – Imagine Canada
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An effective e-newsletter in 5 easy steps
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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An effective e-newsletter in 5 easy steps
Step 3: Writing tips and tricks
• 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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An effective e-newsletter in 5 easy steps
Step 3: Writing tips and tricks
• Making the case – HR Council
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An effective e-newsletter in 5 easy steps
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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An effective e-newsletter in 5 easy steps
Step 4: Subject lines
• Lee’s inbox
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An effective e-newsletter in 5 easy steps
Step 4: Subject lines
• 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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An effective e-newsletter in 5 easy steps
Step 4: Subject lines
• 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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An effective e-newsletter in 5 easy steps
Step 4: Subject lines
• 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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An effective e-newsletter in 5 easy steps
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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An effective e-newsletter in 5 easy steps
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