Does Amazon know why I opted out?
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 14 Jan 2010
This week's Masterclass is all about how Amazon.co.uk handles opt-outs. I use today's example from Amazon because it somehow missed the point. (All e-mail marketers get  opt-outs, around 0.2 to 0.3% is an average opt out rate.)
My story: I have an old Amazon account registered to an old e-mail that I am retiring from active service.
When I got this morning's e-mail from Amazon I opted out. I don't want any more e-mail sent to that address - I have another separate Amazon account that I use.
I actually read their next e-mail. I got the usual e-mail from Amazon confirming my opt-out in a really polished way. Look at their e-mail to me here.
 It says I have 'changed my communication preferences' - perhaps they can't bring themselves to say the word 'unsubscribed'. (A bit like getting fired 'changes your work preferences' maybe?) Face it Amazon - I opted out.
Then the e-mail tries to tempt me back in with a breakdown of what I am now missing - legal, products, surveys, partners and offers.
OK, I see what the marketing guys at Amazon are doing. Very laudable, but not appropriate to my needs. Maybe they should have asked me WHY I was opting out?  The answer is actually good news for Amazon - I will still shop on my newer account, and therefore in fact their open, click and buy rates go up by removing my old e-mail from their lists. They can stop trying to tempt me back and worrying that I resist their futile efforts and make their stats plunge. I love Amazon and they will continue to see my credit card.
 Come on Amazon - just ask me WHY I OPTED OUT and then send me something more appropriate. Takeaway = find out WHY your e-newsletter readers opt out. Then tailor your goodbye e-mail accordingly. There is a reason behind every click (especially opt-outs) and it is your duty to understand those reasons. Not all opt-outs are bad news.
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E-newsletter essentials checklist
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 06 Jan 2010
This week's Masterclass is all about how to avoid driving yourself nuts this year with your e-newsletter. Not that I am suggesting you might, but here's how to avoid getting too complicated.
I love that old maxim 'Keep It Simple Stupid'. In the year TMB rolls out its 2010 KISS programme.  The focus for our UK and European clients is on e-marketing essentials, because that's what works. (Complex = BAD, simple = GOOD. We like simple.)
<- In 1913 that clever Professor E Rutherford worked out how to measure the size of a nucleus with this easy-peasy (not) formula.  But as most of us e-marketers are not blessed with this type of mental faculty, but instead have the usual family, work, home, money, fitness, car, bla bla, bla worries, we avoid such complexity like a curse. Doh!
Sorry Prof but, having done this for 15 years now, there are only 3 items on my e-newsletter essentials checklist:
1. get issues out on time (time and tide etc...)
2. make links look like links (stop 'uber-cool' design disguising links)
3. measure your results (know what works and do more of that!)
1. Getting issues out on time ensures continuity - in a world riddled with uncertainty, make sure your brand stands up and gets counted.
2. User testing keeps telling us that customers click links that look like links - clicks are king, so why disguise any links with uber-cool 'discover me' design?
3. Marketers love reports that show graphs that show success - they travel into meetings in PowerPoint and create marketing heroes - go on - we all crave our daily fix of praise from on high!
 Simple is good. This year's e-newsletter campaigns will bring you success if you can keep it simple. (After a certain point the extra cost of being clever with your e-newsletter is simply a waste of budget.) TIP: your e-newsletter sits in each customer's in-box alongside 200+ other e-mails today, so what can you do to be truly remarkable? Seth knows.
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Money talks in e-mail marketing
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 10 Dec 2009
This week's Masterclass is all about how you talk about money in your own e-newsletter. Are you shy or forthright about it? Each approach has its merits and drawbacks. (How comfortable are you asking for those pounds, euros or dollars?)
 Money in subject lines? (100%+)
If your subject line contains 'arrival of exciting new products' you only get a fraction of the open rate you get if it contains '50% discount in your e-store'.
Q. Why Dom? Because money in subject lines motivates. If your subscribers think there is a deal to be had they will open your e-newsletter to investigate. Our TMB e-mail marketing clients see significant uplifts when A/B testing money vs product subject lines.
Money in links? (300%+)
Things change inside the e-newsletter however. If you give subscribers the choice between 'buy now' or 'more info' they click 'more info' around three times as often as 'buy now'.
Q. Why Dom? Because money in links intimidates. They choose the link with the least potential financial commitment. The link that leaves them in complete control over the next step. User testing has demonstrated that clicking a 'buy now' link is too strong for subscribers who do however go on to become shoppers after clicking the softer 'more info' link.
 So, to maximise opens and clicks; talk money in your subject lines but not in your links.
ABOUT THAT FREE GOLD BAR - talking about money, next week I am giving away free gifts from www.iwantoneofthose.com in a moment of festive celebration. You will be able to browse a selection of 24 hand-selected gifts (chosen by TMBers) in a hand-crafted Xmas e-card where you can ask your TMB Santa for a gift worth up to £50.00 for FREE! Choose from hampers, speakers, gold bars, guinea pigs, grannies, sumo suits, stylophone etc. My way of saying thank you for continuing to receive my Masterclass e-mails.
 Summary: recession-busting e-commerce growth of a zillion % up on last year is yet more evidence of our continuing online affluenza. We still avoid financial commitment until the last minute however. Give your e-newsletter subscribers every opportunity to explore without forcing them to commit financially too early. The ones who buy buy anyway plus you also pick up extra window shoppers ('more info' clickers) along the way.
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Did Apple's e-mail break two rules?
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 29 Nov 2009
This week's Masterclass is all about time-limiting and timing of special offers in your E-newsletters - you know the sort of offer - 'click for special discount, but hurry as offer ends next (week, month, year), etc'.
 Q. Dom, why did Apple send you a one-day offer in the early hours?
I am an Apple customer and get their e-mails. This e-mail from Apple arrived in my in-box on 27 November 2009 at 04:24 (unusually early so they made the most of the day?) Apple don't often do discounting but for one day only they discounted accessories in their Apple Business Store. Just one day - in fact I had under 20 hours* to respond - if I had been awake at 04:24 that is!
Prices dropped on Apple's UK e-store for one day by as much as 36%.  See the one-day only web page here. Come back the next day and you would have missed it.
Apple's e-mail got me thinking - did they break two e-mail marketing rules?
Rule #1: Time of day - "if you send overnight, people are more likely to treat it as junk mail as they do their in-box 'sweep up' over their first coffee in the morning - you get lower open/click rates." (Fact or fiction?)
Rule #2: Duration of offer - "if you offer a one-day only price what happens on day #2 to everyone who clicks through too late? You alienate your customers and reduce long-term loyalty." (Fact or fiction?)
In the TMB Report Centre we track open and click activity for our e-mail marketing clients. This typical chart shows activity up to 28 days (e-newsletter with e-store offers with no time limit), with just under 70% of all activity happening on Day 1:
Within the first 24 hours (this example was broadcast at noon) most activity was within a couple of hours, and tailed off into the early hours:
I doubt that Apple missed out on day 2 sales, in fact I bet their day 1 sales were better than spreading it out over 2 days. (I know our e-mail marketing customers are now going to want to test that one for themselves!)
 Ask yourself: are the so-called 'rules' really rules after all? 'Time of day' and 'Duration of offer' - are you following the rules because you have measured it for yourself and KNOW they are right? Oh yes, and here is a completely unrelated video of lemmings being thrown off a cliff to fake it for a 1958 Disney documentary: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMZlr5Gf9yY Remember: track everything and build your own e-mail marketing rules from the results.
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Want to see my Masterclass KPIs?
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 05 Oct 2009
This week's Masterclass is all about using KPIs to measure the performance of your own e-newsletter. To show you the reports you should be using I will be sharing this e-newsletter's Key Performance Indicators with you. (Yes - my real numbers from last week! I am happy to share my numbers with you.)
 Last week's Masterclass got delivered to 412 subscribers, most of you are TMB clients, and the rest of you may become TMB clients one day. Yes it's a modest affair compared to some of the e-newsletters we broadcast for our clients with hundreds of thousands of recipients, but it works really well. Using the TMB Report Centre, I rely upon 10 reports to monitor this e-newsletter, each with KPIs.
 My KPIs display in the 'KPI bar' above each report. Without them I would have to read the full report details to extract the goodness - but usually I am in a hurry, so it's the KPI bar for me. Help yourself to my private reports:
* Campaigns
* Broadcasts
* Template
* Summary
* Links
* Individuals
* Optouts
* Bounces
* Domains
* Credits
Next is the detail of the Summary Report KPI bar above - showing that, for last week's issue, I got 99.04% delivered, 21.36% open rate and a 13.64% clickthrough rate. 
To put that into context, last week's delivery was better (hooray!) than the industry average 97.1%, my open rate was better (hooray!) than the industry average 19.7% but my clicks were lower than the industry average 17.9% (boo!).
(By looking at my Broadcasts KPIs I can see that over the last 48 broadcasts I have averaged 16.85% CTR, so last week's lacklustre 13.64% CTR needs improving - maybe this week I can beat my highest ever CTR of 39.02%). Only if you click a lot of links in this week's Masterclass...
 Like the new reports? The links above all click to screenshots of the full performance reports designed for e-marketing success. As these are only available in the new Report Centre, please drop me an e-mail and I will send you a new log-in to replace your current eDrops log-in. Now you can see the e-mail marketing reports available to you - could your next campaign benefit from being inside TMB's Report Centre?
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Barclays 8-week unsubscribe delay
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 28 Sep 2009
This week's Masterclass is all about unsubscribing from your e-newsletter. Perhaps 0.10 to 0.50% opting out from each issue is acceptable (if not exactly desirable) - but how you treat subscribers who decide to stop receiving your e-mails says a lot about you.
Look at the following example from Barclays Bank:
Today, Barclays asked me to tick a box (online) if I preferred not to receive their marketing e-mails. Their 'help' icon caught my eye when it popped up an interesting message saying it might take up to 8 weeks. This is it:
 So should any customer request take up to 8 weeks to process?' Or even 4 weeks? Should it not be instant?
 When someone leaves your list they do not forgive you for subsequent unwanted e-mails your out-of-date system might send them. 'Take me off your list' means just that.
(Hint: Your job is is find the database technology to support your customers' needs.) So why do some firms still ask their customers to 'bear with them' whilst they inflict their out-of-date systems on them? Doesn't make sense to me.
 It seems that Barclays are not alone when it comes to unsubscribing - Graham Charlton recently published his test (on the brilliant e-consultancy.com blog) to see how difficult it was to unsubscribe from Tesco, Amazon, Argos, Next, M&S, B&Q, HMV and TopShop e-mails.
Graham came up with 7 recommendations for improving your unsubscribe process, one of which the dear old ICO could heed: (quote) 'Don't insist that users sign in to opt out'.
Sadly the ICO require your e-mail and password to opt out, see the ICO opt-out form here. As Graham goes on to say: '...they may well have also forgotten login details, and I can't see many taking the effort to retrieve these...'
Q. Does your unsubscribe process work in favour of your customers or your systems?
 Summary: try at least to say goodbye with grace, having first made it easy to find your unsubscribe link (convention still says in the footer) and then ensure your data processing is swift. I think overnight is long enough. If your database takes up to 8 weeks to respect a customer's request, take a packet of chocolate hobnobs and chat with your top IT hero about their ideas to speed things up.
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Brand 5Fs: Finance, Fones, Food, Fuel & Fags
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 30 Jun 2009
This week's Masterclass is all about your e-newsletter's brand in your subscribers' in-boxes. How recognisable is your brand? Just what are the Top 10 power brands in the UK today?
 (NB: Please phorgive my alliterative spelling of 'fones' but this issue title works so much better when I spell it like Racal Telecom Ltd did.)
And it is all finance, fones, food, fuel and fags at the top of the Top 50 British Brands from MarketingWeek's cover story in their 25 June 2009 issue.
HSBC is the #1 UK brand - have you seen that amazing fishing TV advert from HSBC? (Why can't I see any string in the TV ad? I've just read that the Chinese fishermen tie string around the birds' throats to stop them swallowing the big fish they catch. Must really hack those poor birds off but lead to some really tall tales about 'the one that got away' in the local Cormorant Arms.)
Links to the top 10 brands in the UK today:
#1: HSBC, #2: Vodafone (spelling!), #3: Orange, #4: Tesco, #5: Shell, #6: BP, #7: Price Waterhouse Coopers, #8: Barclays, #9: Benson & Hedges and #10: Deloitte.
For the top 50 UK brands from #11 to #50, here they are:
#11: BT, #12: KPMG, #13: Sainsbury's, #14: Aviva, #15: Ernst & Young, #16: ASDA, #17: Marlboro, #18: Standard Chartered, #19: Morrisons, #20: O2,  #21: Prudential, #22: M&S, #23: BBC, #24: The Co-operative, #25: Sky, #26: Virgin, #27: Lloyds TSB, #28: RBS, #29: Cadbury, #30: Thomson Reuters, #31: British Gas, #32: Scottish and Southern Energy, #33: British Airways, #34: Unilever, #35: Rolls Royce, #36: Yellow Pages, #37: Next, #38: Reebok, #39: Standard Life, #40: B&Q, #41: Legal & General, #42: Capita, #43: Halifax, #44: NatWest, #45: RSA, #46: Scottish Widows Bank, #47: BAE Systems, #48: Waitrose, #49: Guinness, #50: Bank of Scotland
To read the full article, read this week's (25 June 2009) issue of MarketingWeek. Or subscribe online here www.marketingweek.co.uk and get it in the post and online every week.
 Want more brands? To celebrate The Marketing Society's 50th Anniversary they've selected the 50 brands that shone most brightly in each of the last 50 years: www.50goldenbrands.com (Hi to all our subscribers from across the pond - you already know that the fags in this issue's title are of course what we funny old Brits call our cigarettes.) Until next week.
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91.35% to abandon e-metrics today?
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 10 Jun 2009
This week's e-Masterclass is all about abandoning all e-metrics - should you abandon the idea of using e-metrics altogether? We all measure our e-marketing - first measure then improve (here's looking at you Six Sigma). I do think the world of e-marketing however divides into two camps:
#1. those who love the numbers, and #2. those who don't.
 If you love the numbers, this e-Masterclass may seem like heresy.
If, however, you have no time for fiddling around in spreadsheets looking for meaning all day long (and in my long experience of over 14 years in direct marketing that's just over 90% of you!) this will make sense.
You (camp #2) all have my permission to abandon e-metrics from this day hence. Enjoy the freedom! (In fact, freedom from what? - you never read the reports anyway! Maybe I should console the number-crunchers left out in the cold.)
 And that's the point really. Some truly gifted, creative, innovative e-marketers don't do e-metrics. Ever. Their campaigns succeed. How do they do it? Would they do even better with data to drive decisions? Probably.
As I put the finishing touches to our new TMB Report Centre I wonder if anyone will ever convert some of the 90% who don't do e-metrics? Perhaps they might start doing e-metrics if their e-marketing activity reports were: a) easier to find, b) easier to read, c) easier to share, d) delivered just in time, e) interesting, and above all else f) helped them to improve their campaign performance!
 Why 91.35% Dom? Wasn't it Vic Reeves who stated that '75.63% of all statistics are made up'? Sounds about right to me. Today's (and TMB's) e-marketing technologies have great stats built in to measure opens, clicks, opt-outs, etc. They take the guesswork out of e-marketing. See the omnipotent Google Analytics for number-crunchers who really need to put the 'anal' in 'analytics'. However, for e-marketing, I predict e-metrics will be the new rock and roll in 2010. Just you see - those that do abandon e-metrics won't be stars.
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Mind the gap as competitors are watching
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 04 Jun 2009
This week's Masterclass is about stopping the competition from stealing your e-newsletter subscribers in the middle of the night.
 If you have a list of subscribers who all expect your e-newsletter each week, fortnight, month etc - don't leave any gaps by failing to send one or two issues out.
The gap will soon be filled by your competitors.
They are watching you for any opportunities to increase their frequency during your downtime. What might seem like a harmless break in your publishing will be an open invitation to companies more hungry than you - and in they go!
"Q. How can they be watching for gaps in my e-newsletter Dom?"
A. They use an online tool that monitors your e-newsletter's frequency and alerts them when opportunities arise. It monitors you and the other top players in your industry. Very clever.
You must know that your competition has subscribed (using neutral e-mail addresses) to your e-newsletter. They read every issue. Now there is a new breed of online e-marketer, hungry to maximise every opportunity by harnessing the 24:7 always-on power of monitoring services built especially to monitor their competitors' e-newsletters.
It learns when you broadcast, and sends alerts when you don't. In the gaps you leave, this new breed of online e-marketer is waiting ready to pounce.
 "Stealing my subscribers?" Don't imagine they have to hack into your subscriber list (they can't) but can you be sure that at least half your subscribers don't already subscribe to your competitors' e-newsletters too? Of course they do. You do not have exclusivity. You both want to build a relationship with the same customers. How do you win? Well at least be consistent and get every issue out on time. Mind the gap.
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E-metrics boosted CTR by 89%
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 26 May 2009
This week's Masterclass is all about a very profitable use of e-metrics - those fiddly little numbers that get calculated, tracking activity from your customer e-newsletter.
For one client's e-newsletter, we increased their clicks from 18% to 34% - that's an amazing 89% improvement in CTR!
 Looking at this client's e-metrics (deliveries, opens and clicks) a pattern emerged over the past few months of gently declining clicks.
(Yes falling clicks is a global trend in 2008/9. Today is not like the good old days of hitting 40%+ CTR each month!)
List growth however for this client was consistent, as was open rate, so whilst the actual numbers went up each month, the CTR % was actually falling.
Analysing CTR per section in all previous e-newsletters, TMB Account Manager Stephanie Stevens found certain content types and positions consistently scored either well or poorly with customers. A new layout was proposed that was tested over several issues, with dramatic results. More clicks and more baskets. Very profitable.
Read the full story here. See the before layout here. See the after layout here.
Q. Can you see why we made the changes we did?
 No guessing, give me data every time: the layout and content changes were all driven by analysing the e-metrics. Our analysis showed clicks were higher when content was delivered in a certain style, size and location, and common elements soon emerged. The new design (the changes are subtle but effective) improved CTR on subsequent issues, up from 18% to 34%. I've saved the best until last: the client didn't have to lift a finger, we did it all as a part of TMB's Managed E-mail Broadcast service.
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Over 100 full-size examples online
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 19 May 2009
You can see that this week's Masterclass looks different. Welcome to the new, improved Masterclass e-newsletter from me, Dom Yeadon at TMB.
 After a few weeks in design, both this e-newsletter and our main website have had a makeover. Check out the extra links above and in the sidebar.
We now bring you much more than ever before - in fact you can now browse a collection of TMB's e-marketing work in our online Gallery. We've selected some of our favourites - are some of yours in there?
It's a fact: e-marketers like to check out what other e-marketers are doing. Just how do you get as many clicks as they do?
Q. Where else can you search over 100 full-size examples of e-marketing creativity at the click of your mouse?
A. Only at our new TMB website, visit here: www.tmb.uk.com/gallery
 * Banner ads (drive more traffic)
* Microsites (in 20 languages)
* Flash games (engage, play, win)
* E-mail templates (get views and clicks)
And - as they say - 'much, much more' (thought to self: what does 'much, much more' mean exactly? I suspect it might just be meaningless padding copy - you know - the kind of junk copy that can end up in an e-newsletter if you're not careful. Must try harder.)
 Don't be shy: Back in Nov 2007 my Masterclass issue was: http://www.tmb.uk.com/Masterclass/remind-your-readers-what-you-do-they-dont-know - all about promoting your entire range of services to customers who only know you for the one they bought. I see this all the time: 'why do customers only buy one line?'. This issue is my way of putting that into practice and demonstrating TMB's capabilities beyond what you may know us for. Final thought: Which new lines could your customers buy from you if you promoted them in the next issue of your own e-newsletter?
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Update your 'view online' texts now
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 23 Mar 2009
This week's Masterclass is all about how the small print at the very top of 50% of e-newsletters out there creates a negative impression straight away. Read on to see how you can prevent this common mistake from ever appearing in your e-newsletter. Check to see if you need to update yours.
 First, let's remember why we send out e-newsletters. To create a good impression, to keep in touch with our customers, to remind them why we still occupy a special place in their lives, to amuse, inform, educate and ultimately of course to sell to them. We also love sending our customers our e-newsletters because it is quick, cost-effective, friction-free and straightforward (with the right team and technologies).
So why do so many e-newsletters make the same mistake in the small print at the top?
You probably have some belters like these in your in-box right now:
* Does this e-mail look wrong to you?
* Are the images broken in this message?
* If you can't see this message properly...
These are all bad examples of the 'view online' small print. Reading these doesn't inspire confidence in the sender if even the sender thinks it might be 'wrong' or 'broken'.
Safe text for you to use:
 I recommend the simple and neutral: 'View this e-mail online, click here' (see the top of this Masterclass issue):
Q. Why have a 'view online' link at the top anyway Dom?
A. Browsers are more stable than e-mail clients which (less now than in previous years) can sometimes wreck a carefully-constructed HTML e-newsletter design, so you provide a quick way to click out of the (mangled) e-mail onto the proper version. Not many readers need to click now as e-mail software (with the notable exception of Microsoft) is better, and more people are using web-mail like Google Mail, so it's online anyway.
It usually sits above the HTML in a tiny font and, for now, yes it is worth having one.
 Worth checking: The gifted Arabella Weir built her famous catchphrase 'does my bum look big in this?' in the Fast Show and everybody laughed at her insecure cosmetics saleswoman character. Have a look at your own e-newsletter's 'view online' small print to check that you say nothing negative. Every little helps... Dom (and before you ask - no that's not a photo of me, it's Arabella).
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The greatest minds in advertising movie
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 13 Mar 2009
This week's Masterclass is all about, errr... it's all about... well, actually it's NOT all about your e-newsletter this week - it's about the Comic Relief Red Nose Day's excellent Greatest Minds in Advertising movie on YouTube. It's everywhere you look this week, and now it's in Dom's Masterclass too.
 The Honey Monster, The Meerkat, Monkey, the Pepperami animal, Bertie Bassett, Captain Birdseye, the Admiral Insurance 'Admiral' and the Smash robotic Martian all get together (with their other iconic advertising character buddies) to do their bit for Comic Relief.
Watch the movie here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCfGC_dGn4M
So, I have shelved this week's real Masterclass issue until next week - this one's for Red Nose Day.
Oh yes... and you'll love the movie!
 How they get their sign-ups: how does this movie fit into your own e-newsletter campaign strategy? You can see the Red Nose Day e-newsletter sign-up form here: http://www.rednoseday.com/user/register and they will be taking thousands of registrations today. See how your own e-newsletter sign-up form measures up. Theirs follows the rules nicely: 1. benefits, 2. keep it simple, 3. set expectations, 4. reassure. Until next week, have fun... Dom.
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OK, but that's going too far
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 22 Feb 2009
This week's Masterclass is all about creating a buzz in the next issue of your own e-newsletter. But have you got what it takes to pull it off? When 'new + unknown + risk + career + fired = forget it', is there actually a better way? Read how Dr Jon created a buzz...
 (TIP: It's too easy to turn your nose up at this one and dismiss it. Don't bale out halfway down this issue, stick the course for a lesson in bad taste. WARNING: This is not delicate or PC in any way.)
Dr Jon sells burgers at The Heart Attack Grill in Arizona.
Dr Jon sees his target audience as being red-blooded, blue-collar, American men who are into burgers, fries, beer and girls. Big market. He sells the famous (thanks to his own marketing efforts) 2lbs $12.99 Quadruple Bypass Burger and Flatliner Fries. He says if you eat his food every day you will die.
If you weigh over 350lbs you can eat there free, all day, forever. He says 90% of his customers are men because women are too smart to eat there.
 His waitresses wear skimpy nurse outfits. He courts controversy in his TV interviews by being 100% straight about his lard-soaked offerings and T&A service.
 Dr Jon is not a real doctor, but this is a real restaurant. And a marketing case study one day when someone smarter than me figures it out.
In previous issues of this Masterclass I showed you Honda's spectacular live TV advert with the skydivers, and wrote about creating a Special Edition in my Marmite with Champagne issue. How tame and utterly British those two look in comparison. But then again it's horses for courses.
 Summary: creating a buzz was easy for Dr Jon - he just let it all hang out. He has no friends in the British Heart Foundation (www.bhf.org.uk) and I still shake my head in disbelief, however he sells burgers and does have 444,000 results in a Google Search. Undeniably successful marketing. Q. Have you now recoiled in horror from the very idea of creating buzz in the next issue of your own e-newsletter?
 Follow me on Twitter: I found Dr Jon's unique marketing story http://www.heartattackgrill.com thanks to one of my (very few) new followers on Twitter http://twitter.com/DomYeadon (yes I'm still a tweating newbie, thanks to http://twitter.com/DaveChaffey for the nudge into experimenting with Twitter for e-marketing). Are you in e-marketing but don't know about Twitter? Info here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddO9idmax0o Yes, Dr Jon created a buzz for his restaurant, but at what price? Until next time, Dom.
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Why won't you put ten times too much copy in?
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 31 Jan 2009
This week's Masterclass is about using really long copy in the next issue of your own e-newsletter. In a previous Masterclass issue I looked at the length - how much sits (hidden) below the fold when viewed by your subscribers. I have also previously looked at how you can use an online tool to check if your copy is easy to read. This is about really long copy and I have an example e-newsletter to show you. But where did it come from?
 Many years ago I bought my first book from marketing legend Seth Godin, and was hooked. Since then I have bought everything (12 books to date) Seth publishes, half as 'real' books and the rest as audio books via iTunes. (My iPhone is now my business library as well as CRM, e-mail, etc). Seth got into blogging in a big way and I still follow his (sometimes too random) marketing thoughts via Seth's regular e-mail updates.
This morning, with the deepest snow in 18 years bringing traffic to a solid line of chuffing gridlock outside my house, I stayed inside and checked my e-mail to discover an insanely long e-newsletter was the subject of a Seth rave.
 It was from Paul McGowan, founder of PS Audio and here is that January issue, and it does go on... and on... and on! In fact it contains 3,920 words. That is ten times more than one of my Masterclass issues, and I have to hold back when I hit 400 words for fear of taking up too much of your time! Not to say mine when writing all that copy.
But the PS Audio e-newsletter is a hit with Seth. It's authentic, trusted and wanted. Each issue continues to build a relationship that will serve both parties well over time. The fact that it is ten times too long is irrelevant.
Maybe it's ten times more passionate than a Masterclass?
Or ten times more interesting?
Or ten times more authentic?
That's got me thinking.
(Still this Masterclass issue is well under 500 words. Too short? Too long? You decide.)
 Wrap up warm: staying within prescribed boundaries (ie: 'don't write long copy, subscribers don't have time to read it all') doesn't always lead to the best results from your e-newsletter. In a world where ten times longer works, how many of your other assumptions could do with a review now? Aim for authenticity in your e-communications, and be passionate above all else and you will be forgiven any minor 'rule infringements' by your loyal subscribers. Until next time... Dom.
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More nuclear sub than Subway?
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 17 Dec 2008
This week's Masterclass is all about customer retention and the central role your e-newsletter can play in keeping hold of the customers you already have. A major part of keeping your customers loyal to you is being visible. Your e-newsletter makes you visible.
If you have 1,000 customers today, will you still have them all next month if you are invisible? A good retention strategy stops customers drifting away. Some may be leaving you today.
 Q. Is your retention strategy a bit like a nuclear submarine?
Does it stay hidden below the surface for months on end, only popping up to the surface once in a blue moon? Stealth and invisibility. (Ring any bells? Won the war yet? Probably not.)
NB: Pick up a bargain on Ebay right now - offers around AU $4.9M will secure this Oberon Class submarine! See it on eBay here.
 Or are you more like Subway - the rapidly-expanding high-street sandwich store with over 1,390 outlets in the UK? Subway is everywhere, successful and growing, they are fighting traditional junk food 'restaurants' with their 6g of fat or less range. And yes, as a nation, we are buying our lunch from Subway, primarily because they are right there when you need them. (High visibility, relevant, topical messaging, strong branding - lovely!)
Only your e-newsletter gives you the right (privilege) to deliver your brand, your message, your thoughts direct to your customers in an instant. Your customers pick up new e-mails every day, some every minute! Make sure you are there every week/month and that you build upon your existing customer relationship. At the very least be visible every month (week, day even?)
Sub or Subway? In many ways I prefer retention to acquisition. It offers more opportunities to get to know and delight your customers, than are offered by attracting first-timers in to buy from you. Yes, all businesses needs both retention and acquisition, but as e-newsletters are the perfect vehicle for retention, it's a firm favourite with me. NB: I recommend you ditch the nuclear sub strategy and follow Subway's example. Now I'm hungry! See you (I couldn't resist it!) next week... Dom. | | |
Can your e-newsletter be 3,668 pixels long?
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 12 Dec 2008
This week's Masterclass examines the length of your e-newsletter - the actual size measured in pixels. The example I use is a Firebox e-newsletter that is 3,668 pixels long (that's 4 pages when printed out).
The question is: how long should your own e-newsletter be? Is 3,668 pixels too long?
 It's always good to see what other people are doing with their e-newsletters, so to answer this, I am going to dissect this Firebox.com e-newsletter. Why not use this to compare your own issue against to see if Firebox are doing anything you can profit from.
OK, out with my scalpel and here goes...
1. Header - Logo, date-stamp and navigation with anchors to speed you down without scrolling. 194 pixels.
2.Lead offer - product images, copy, price and 'buy' link. 335 pixels.
3. Staff Picks - the Firebox team recommend top pressies and give away a free delivery checkout code. 265 pixels.
4. Products - eleven products in a two-column grid going 2/3rds across the width, leaving a sidebar down the right. 1,689 pixels.
5. Sidebar (On Our Site) - links to product categories.
6. Sidebar (Puzzle Corner) - a quick quiz.
7. Sidebar (Answerland) - answers to the previous quiz.
8. Sidebar (Fun Stuff) - low-impact filler.
9. Sidebar (banners x 2) - Photobox and Magic cube offers.
10. Competitions - Hellboy II to win iPod/MP3 accessories, and a Sphereing experience, didn't that used to be called 'Zorbing'? 348 pixels.
11. User-Generated Content (UGC) - customer photo, video and review of the week. 494 pixels.
12. Footer - sign-off and legals. 322 pixels.
TOTAL = 3,668 pixels long with 12 sections.
Dom's thoughts: the majority of this content is about products, as it should be, after all Firebox is a leading e-tailer. I like the way each product is nominated by a staff member, it feels hand-selected. The lead product is funny and positions Firebox perfectly - a good mix of humor and silliness that sets the tone well. This is a light-hearted fun communication. The use of UGC is great, something I want to see far more of. (I am struggling with the sidebar, it does seem like filler content to me, and whilst it does not detract from the overall effectiveness of this communication, it is not earning its keep.) Overall, however this e-newsletter has a light, uncrowded appearance and the copy is all well written. Good work Firebox!
PRINT THIS OUT
View/print this as a PDF here: http://www.edrops.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/firebox.pdf
or you can view the live html version here: http://www.firebox.com/newsletter/firebox_newsletter_220.html?itc=136&src_t=nwt&src_id=220
UPDATE: and then Play.com came along with this 3,840 pixel whopper! http://www.edrops.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/play-dot-com-newsletter.pdf
 Do Firebox pay TMB? No, Firebox is not a TMB client so this is not simply me talking about our own work. As you know we broadcast e-newsletters for lots of clients but I got this Firebox issue as a customer, I think I purchased about 12 days ago. I was surprised at how long it was (3,668 pixels) but having looked at it with a critical eye, it stands up well to close scrutiny. Will this change the way you think about your own e-newsletter now? Until next time... Dom.
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Add a YouTube video into your e-newsletter
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 12 Nov 2008
This week's Masterclass is all about using YouTube videos in your own e-newsletter. YouTube is a rich resource of professional and amateur videos, some of which could be just perfect in the next issue of your own e-newsletter. Read why and how to brighten up your next issue with a YouTube video.
 Q. OK, Dom, why use a YouTube video?
A. It's free and easy to do, plus it's interactive and your subscribers like watching videos online. It's fun and therefore increases the value of your e-newsletter to your readers. Free, easy, valuable and fun.
In this Masterclass I feature the brilliant Evolution video made and uploaded by the cosmetics company Dove in October 2006. Funny response parody video here. Like them you can do it too - remember how Blendtec did it with their home-made 'will it blend?' videos?
 OK, Dove's is an expensive shoot, I confess. However some of the best videos are the authentic (low budget) ones. Forget high production values. Grab your mobile and show your customers how to connect the leads to your widget, or unpack a delivery to show what your customers get when they order from you. Easy, low tech and use real people. (TIP: If you find yourself wanting to storyboard you are going too far. Grab your mobile instead Spielberg!)
Geek alert! For those who care about web code, please remember that simply embedding the YouTube embed code does not work in an HTML e-newsletter, although it's fine on a web page. To get around this, I take a screen grab of the YouTube web page and crop it down to just the movie itself, as a jpg. (For advanced geeks, grab the first few frames and make an animated gif). Then I copy the URL of that movie (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hibyAJOSW8U) and link to it from my movie jpg (see above). Readers clicking on the 'movie' jpg in their e-mail, will automatically play the YouTube movie in their browser - and don't feel a thing!
 YouTube say Broadcast Yourself : Dove uploaded their Evolution video in October 2006, since when it has had (at the time of writing this) 1,758,354 views. Think about how you can grab a mobile phone or a cheap camcorder and film a quick 'how to' video showing the best way to use your top product, or film some customers talking about how they decided to buy from you. Upload it to YouTube (it's free video hosting) and then link to your own company YouTube video in your e-newsletter. Stay tuned... Dom.
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Where to get great images for your e-newsletter
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 07 Nov 2008
This week's Masterclass is all about where to get great images from, for your own e-newsletter. Loyal followers of this Masterclass will know that I usually start off my posts with an image - but where do I get them from?
 You have several choices when sourcing an image: use your own company stock, buy in microstock photography (definition) or make use of free resources. (It is important that you check whether permission is required - sometimes a credit to the photographer is enough, sometimes a fee.) For your own company's product shots, you already have these in house, however sometimes you need something a bit different to make your point. Time to search online...
I source everything online, and very quickly. These are my recommendations:
Shutterstock: Shutterstock.com (5,067,486 images) provide a free vector and photo every week to tempt you in to buy a subscription. Very high-quality images and a fantastic range. Subscription costs around £150 a month for 750 hi-res downloads a month - that's 20p per image. My favourite.
 Flickr: free shots available at www.flickr.com (zillions of images - they don't say how many) as long as you check the rights of the photo you want to use (and always credit and notify the photographer). I use them occasionally but it has lots of amateur photography to wade through.
 Stock Xchng: A free microstock site worth a visit is stock.xchng www.sxc.hu (380,000 images) - search, view and download free images, or choose their premium range at www.stockxpert.com (2,200,000 images). You get free and premium results returned after a stock.xchange search.
NB: If you are wondering about images from Youtube, I will cover this in a future issue. By all means include links like the one back to Flickr above (their webmasters love links in), but the golden rule is: "don't use other people's online images to promote your service, unless you have permission."
 Start with a search and see what comes back: Microstock websites have great search tools - Shutterstock.com has the best search by far. Very often you will find a quirky image that helps you spin your article in an interesting direction. Don't to be tempted to use Google images http://images.google.co.uk and just download an image and use it. The chances are the one you use is protected and it will come back to bite you later. Yes Google is great, but not for sourcing free images. Until next week... Dom.
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Get visitors to sign up to your e-newsletter
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 30 Oct 2008
This week's Masterclass is all about how visitors sign up to your e-newsletter. This is about the practical and technical web requirements - a bit geeky but a bit vital too.
 OK, the easy stuff first:
Q. Why get sign ups? A. More readers. more views, clicks and sales (we love sales) so far, so good.
Q. How? A. Provide a web form online so visitors can subscribe themselves. Hmm, a web form? Here is where I unleash the geek within in Dom's six easy tips:
1. At the very least, ask for their e-mail address only (this is enough to deliver your message). Some forms ask you to type it in twice, but my experience is that people don't mis-type their own e-mail, so I don't ask for it twice.
2. Don't ask for extra info unless you will use it. I ask for your first name on the Masterclass because I use it 'Hi (firstname)' at the top of every issue. (Yes it's our system, not me personally typing your name, but you knew that anyway).
3. Don't ask 'which format - html or text?' Your e-newsletter is html as are very nearly all your readers' e-mail capabilities, so you communicate in html as standard. No text option.
4. Don't offer an 'unsubscribe' option next to the 'subscribe' option. It is confusing and negative. Readers can unsubscribe using the link in your e-newsletter.
 5. Some forms use 'Captcha' (a random computer-generated graphic with a combination of letters and numbers you have to type in) to try to prevent naughty spammers from hacking the code. Few forms actually get hacked and are quick to lock down if they do. I use a 'Captcha' -ish widget - see the random: 'KLK2Y' here on my form ->.
6. Say thank you. Ensure your visitor (now 'subscriber') knows they have been successful. At the very least an on-screen message, if not a 'welcome' e-mail, or even a double opt-in 'was this you? Click here to confirm you signed up' (more on opting in a future Masterclass).
 Signing off now: As always, a bite-sized Masterclass, so six easy tips only. Those black belt e-marketers out there (you know who you are) know, as do I, that advice on anything technical like web forms could go on for several pages, but I kept this one short - but useful. Until next week... Dom.
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Long or short copy - which is best?
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 22 Oct 2008
This week's Masterclass is all about whether to use long copy or short copy in your e-newsletters. Are fifty words too few? Is a thousand too many? Many e-marketers don't know when to stop typing - read on for my take on when to quit pounding the keys.
 Does this customer have the attention span of a gnat?
Aren't today's readers too busy to stop and read long e-newsletters? Shouldn't it all be short and quick? (Aside: hmmm, like junk food?)
Each issue you assemble the words, picture and links. Too many words and you risk turning readers off (who wants War & Peace in their in-box?) but too few words and aren't you short-changing them?
Getting the balance right seems difficult - or is it?
Everyone has an opinion on this topic, I think quality copy, however long, almost always works, but not for special offers:
Long copy (up to 1,000 words) - go for it! Chop up one issue into a number of sections and keep each section between 30 to 70 words, excluding links and pictures. A headline per section allows readers to scan and stop on sections that grab them. Long copy issues get re-visited over time, creating a 'long tail' in your stats. I like long copy that is interesting. I find time to read it, and so will your readers. (This peroxide axe thrasher will read long copy packed with tabs, YouTube riffs and band tour news, and will come back to it five times over the next 3 months - because it delivers value).
 Short copy (<100 words) - you must be selling something! You can also use your e-newsletter for a single-purpose special offer (maybe mid-month if your regular issue is month-end). This is where short, punchy copy works best. Your stats spike within 2 days usually and then fall right off. Use fewer than 100 words to promote a single offer, not your whole catalogue. (Yes, I know that some e-tailers like ebuyer.com do send out e-newsletters with a grid of thirty or more products, but it's always their headline product that gets the clicks, the rest are just padding, see this eBuyer e-newsletter example ).
Quick recap: Standard issues up to 1,000 words (be interesting and deliver value). Special offers in under 100 words (be focused and get clicks). Remember this Masterclass is about e-newsletters, not all marketing e-mails, so the rules change for product launches, updates, newsflashes, reminders, thank yous and so on. OK, get on your keyboard, your readers are waiting! Until next time... Dom. | | |
Landing pages must meet expectations
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 08 Oct 2008
This week's Masterclass is all about the landing pages your readers click through to from your e-newsletter. Often you put so much into the e-newsletter content, that the landing pages can be an afterthought. Beware this expensive oversight!
 One small step for man. (Here is his footprint.)
American astronaut, Neil Armstrong, stepped onto the Moon's surface (in the Sea of Tranquility) at 02:56 GMT on 21st July 1969, and left this actual footprint in the moon dust. NASA asked him to take a snap of it for posterity - maybe they thought it might be useful in a blog 39 years later? I like to think so.
Neil wasn't sure what landing on the Moon would feel like - but he stepped off the ladder anyway. See the moonwalk footage on YouTube here.
Your readers need to 'step off the ladder' out of your e-newsletter onto your landing pages - and most importantly - they need to perceive value in doing so. Or they will stop stepping.
A step. A click. It's the same thing.
Q. How can your landing pages deliver value?
A. The basic rule of thumb is to generate a clear expectation in your link and then check that the landing page meets that expectation.
For example: If you are running a special offer 'widgets at 50% discount' make sure your link clicks through to the actual discounted widgets page inside your webshop. Don't just leave them at the front door - go deep and show them the 50% discounted widget page with only one more click to buy. The landing page must be relevant and useful.
 Nothing frustrates a reader more than trying to work out why the link went to some obscure landing page. The home page seems to be the default destination for lazy e-marketers - 'if all else fails, link through to the home page'. No, no and no a zillion times! Readers are not Google bots happy to crawl your site hunting for clues. If your e-newsletter creates an expectation in a link - meet that expectation with a properly thought through landing page.
 End of rant footnote: I guess it's easily overlooked. But only once! Examine the next issue of your own e-newsletter (before you broadcast) and write down what expectation each link creates. If that doesn't put the cat amongst the pigeons (and gets you to re-write some of those links with a strong call-to-action), then check that the landing pages meet those expectations - that'll do it! Until next time. Dom.
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What your e-newsletter's header does
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 16 Sep 2008
This week's Masterclass is all about your e-newsletter's header. The header is at the top and is the very first thing your readers see when they get your next issue. It has a very important job to do, way before you start to deliver content further down.
 Q. What does your e-newsletter's header do?
A. Your header delivers your brand (your logo and strapline), the date of this issue, the 'in this issue' text links section (linking to online content), some topical content (a photo from the lead story) and possibly a navigation bar (similar to your website).
Dom's tip: Brand and date are vital, however 'in this issue', topical content and nav bar are optional.
OK, in order of importance:
1. Your brand reassures readers that it's you again. Good old familiar and trusted you. Mmmmm! Warm and cosy, defences down. VITAL.
2. Your date states this is the latest issue, 'come and get it whilst it's hot'. Helps with your back catalogue too. VITAL.
3. 'In this issue' previews 'below the fold' content, plus it can help with those dreaded spam filters if your issue is image-rich but text-light. OPTIONAL.
4. If each issue starts to look the same, include a topical image in your header bar to differentiate between issues. OPTIONAL.
5. Readers often can't tell the difference between e-mail and browser - the transition is now seamless. Many will use your e-newsletter's nav bar to explore your website. Great! More clicks! OPTIONAL.
 Summing up: your e-newsletter's header is at the top of every issue of your own e-newsletter, so even though you may overlook it after a few issues, it matters to your readers. I see this all the time: the same old header, month after month (and maybe therefore the same old contents underneath?). Isn't it about time you gave your header a spring clean? Think of it as a regular publication - what do these (online) news publishers do with their (OK, website) headers? www.timesonline.co.uk , www.guardian.co.uk , www.thesun.co.uk and http://news.bbc.co.uk .
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Thank you, here's a gift from me
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 03 Sep 2008
This week's Masterclass is about saying 'thank you' to your readers. After all, you are in the privileged position of being granted permission to communicate with them via your e-newsletter, so why not say 'thank you'? (This issue includes a free gift from me, read on...)
 It's all about permission. Your readers can always opt out of future issues, so your e-newsletter has to keep them entertained, educated, amused, intrigued, shocked, etc (whatever your own e-newsletter style is) or they will leave you. Ouch! When that happens, it hurts.
Isn't it about time you rewarded their loyalty to you?
STOP! This is not about disguising a special offer, this is not about generating revenues and adding on a free widget if the order exceeds £100.
I am talking about something for nothing. No deal or 'if you do this, we give you that' approach. Just plain old fashioned giving. No acres of small print required.
Yes, it will cost you. No, the bean counters won't see a direct ROI. Live with it.
 My gift to you, dear Masterclass reader, is a free book worth £24.69 - Total E-mail Marketing (2nd edition) written by the Yoda of e-marketing, Dr Dave Chaffey, very possibly the ultimate Jedi Master in e-mail marketing today. 'Hmmm, make your e-marketing strong, this will'. Examine the book here on Amazon. If you like it, then just e-mail me your details (sorry, all copies have now gone!) and I'll order it and get it shipped directly to you. For free.
I have to limit this to twelve books, so it's first come, first served, one each. I will reply to you one way or the other, don't worry.
 Summing up: This is my little way of saying 'thank you' to you for continuing to receive and read my Masterclass. I know you always have the option to opt out, as do the readers of your own e-newsletter. Your e-newsletter is a commercial vehicle with clear financial objectives. This is one of the running costs. Also, it's a warm fuzzy feeling for me and you. What will you give away in your next issue?
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Show your links to get them clicked
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 21 Aug 2008
This week is all about making your links look obvious in the next issue of your e-newsletter. Making links look obvious is almost too basic isn't it? Why then do more companies send out e-mails with great images and graphics, but apparently nothing to click?
 So, does this image hide a link? Try exploring every pixel with your mouse. Very often, images in e-newsletters do actually click through, but there is not a link in sight to let you know. Is that a good idea?
If your readers can't see links to click - they can't click them.
 You can't expect your readers to explore every inch of your e-newsletter with their mouse, looking for the cursor to change into a hand. (No, there is NO link in the image above, so sorry about that but I hope I made my point.)
This is what a text link looks like. It's the classic underlined hyperlink - usually in blue, but actually pink (unclicked) in my blog - and still gets higher clicks than clever links hidden in images. Some designers however don't want to use traditional text links in their e-newsletter designs. They prefer a Utopian world where their readers 'get it' and know where to click instinctively to unearth the links hidden in their designs. This approach is faulty and is costing them valuable clicks. Make links obvious.
 Summary: your own e-newsletter must communicate clearly. There is no time for design subtleties. It works best when it is clear what your readers should be clicking. It works against you if your readers have to try hard to 'get' your designs, discovering hidden links. Have a look at your next issue - make sure clicking links is child's play. Simple always works.
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Static vs dynamic - 50% more clicks?
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 13 Aug 2008
This week is all about creating dynamic versions within the next issue of your own e-newsletter. Why create dynamic versions? Why doesn't the 'one size fits all' approach generate as many clicks?
 (Olympic distraction: Before I start - did you know that the Bronze medal is solid bronze, the Silver medal is solid silver, but the Gold medal is only gold-plated silver? I didn't. As I write this China leads the medals table.)
Back to the Masterclass: To start with, let's assume you send a monthly e-newsletter to 50,000 subscribers (customers and prospects) and everybody on the list gets the same STATIC version.
Q. Does that generate the highest clicks and sales? No. Because what you want to say to a customer you can't say to a prospect, so you end up writing compromise copy. This copy is halfway between both messages and works badly for both. You need two messages if you want to be relevant to two different groups, ie:
1. Customers can extend their service agreement at a 25% discount this month.
2. Prospects can request the 'try before you buy' free sample.
Q. Can a single issue work for both? It can but only if you merge in dynamic content to that issue - dynamic content that delivers one message to customers and another to prospects.
If your subscriber list has 25,000 customers and 25,000 prospects, here is how the numbers might look comparing the 'static' approach with 'dynamic' content - over 50% more clicks:
A piece of cake for your ESP: As your ESP (E-mail Service Provider) broadcasts your e-newsletter for you, their special broadcasting software looks out for customers and dynamically inserts the customer offer, and for prospects it inserts the prospect offer - automatically. Just like an old-fashioned merged direct mail letter used to, but it can merge in whole graphics, text, links inside your e-newsletter. It can even change the subject line.
 Today's takeaway: Dynamic messaging is more relevant than static messaging. If it is more relevant, it will get higher opens and clicks (and sales). You don't need to change everything. Most of your e-newsletter content will be suitable for both customers and prospects, however your main offer may be entirely different. Take the time to write two relevant offers and drive those clicks even higher! And finally, if the legendary Olympic breakfast from Little Chef is more your type of Olympic feat, have a great breakfast! Until next time... Dom.
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When you shouldn't personalize your e-newsletters
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 30 Jul 2008
 This week is all about personalising (using subscribers' names) each issue of your own e-newsletter. Either in the subject or inside the message the choice is yours - do you personalize the text with your subscribers' names?
It would be nice to think that using personalized text like 'Hi Charlie' increases the effectiveness. But does it?
Let's start with the easy part - personalising the Subject line. It's a 'NO'. It looks contrived and can reduce the open rate and irritate your subscribers.
OK, what about inside the message, in the text? Well, using 'Dear Charlie' is no longer appropriate (a hangover from the good old direct mail days). Certainly use 'Hi Charlie' if you have a good relationship with your subscribers - my own rule of thumb for a good relationship is 'would I take this person to lunch?' if 'yes' address them with their first name, if 'no' don't. This is not about food, it's about how well you know your subscribers and whether both parties would be comfortable using first names. Lunch is a good test.
Why does this matter?
If your subscribers want you to greet them personally you have a higher chance of generating revenues. If they keep you at arm's length then sales will be harder to win. Remember that your e-newsletter is building and developing the relationship, and must work to increase the chance of doing more business. E-newsletters survive when they achieve solid commercial goals. Go for the clicks (and then the sales).
 Retire your fountain pen: Yes, classic direct mail letter copy often went for the personal touch (topping and tailing in Royal Blue Quink ink). E-mail however is not direct mail. E-mail allows a shortened style of communication and can be just as effective without personalisation. Bear in mind that there are almost always hidden (data processing) costs if you are going to use firstnames. If in doubt - leave it out.
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Why are you e-mailing me?
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 09 Jul 2008
This week's Masterclass is all about explaining why you are e-mailing your subscribers. To you it is obvious (hopefully) but is it quite so clear for your subscribers? Ask them and they will say 'no it isn't'. Learn how to fix this common problem before it's too late.
 Let's set the scene: you are about to launch a website using a monthly e-newsletter. You have a list of e-mails (all in-house, no third-party rentals or dodgy web-scraped directories) and you have a 'welcome to our new web site' message to deliver. Just hit 'send' then, yep?
Whoa Neddy! This is all about permission and legislation. Gone are the wild west days when careless e-mailing had no comeback.
You should assume they can't remember or don't know why you are e-mailing them. Also assume they are too busy to understand your marcoms planning like you do. Nowadays you can be caught out if you are not clear about this, so listen up pardners.
How to get this right: before you upload your list for broadcast, do a bit of homework, ie: find out where those lists came from. They will be one of three types:
 1) Customers - you send them e-newsletters for retention and extension.
 2) Enquirers who have expressed an interest in buying from you (got a quote, requested a catalogue, made an online enquiry, etc), but not bought yet - you send them e-newsletters for acquisition.
 3) Subscribers who signed up to your e-news - you send them e-newsletters for a mixture of acquisition, retention and extension.
To avoid the suspicion of you spamming them, each reader should be able to read (in their e-newsletter) a clear explanation of WHY you are e-mailing them. A real english sentence like this:-
"we are e-mailing you because <reason> and <benefit>."
You supply the <reason> ie: 'you are a valuable customer' and the <benefit>, ie: 'this issue brings you real savings not available elsewhere'.
  The power is three-fold: firstly you ensure that your list is clean and contains no-one who shouldn't be there, secondly you lower your subscribers' natural defences by being upfront about your aims, and finally you actually STOP AND THINK before you broadcast. Why am I e-mailing these people? For me? For them? For a hobby? (Only by questioning do we find the true path) - is that Zen or Origami? I always confuse those two. Until next week, dear reader. Dom.
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Launching your new website using WIIFM
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 04 Jul 2008
This week's Masterclass is all about using your e-newsletter to launch your new website. Everybody eventually upgrades their website and wants to generate as much extra traffic to the new site as possible.
 This is where your e-newsletter comes in. Also WIIFM - no, not the Wii. (The Wii is soooo addictive, but I digress.)
A site launch broadcast is so important I recommend that you dedicate at least one entire issue (two or three entire issues if you broadcast weekly) to this cause. That means temporarily replacing standard content items with site launch special articles. You must aim for clicks to your new website, so tempt your readers to click through and take a look. Go for clicks. Clicks = traffic.
GO! or rather... STOP! Just stop and think before you broadcast. Think like a customer - client, reader, subscriber, whatever you call them - these people shape the future of your business, but they don't think like you think. Their first reaction to the news that you have a new website is 'so what?' followed by WIIFM 'what's in it for me?' Not exactly as excited about your new website as you, are they? Of course not. But they can get excited if you approach it properly.
Behind the scenes, your actual reasons for a new website may have included:
[ 1 ] we needed to upgrade our e-commerce/stock systems
[ 2 ] we finally have control over page content" ('the CMS myth' )
[ 3 ] we need to embrace new technologies like AJAX, Flash, affiliate tracking, bla bla bla...
[ 4 ] it was time for a makeover, the design was looking so tired etc...
You get the idea - mainly all about fulfiling corporate/marketing/technical objectives (boring, yawn...) - absolutely diddly-squat about the customer's needs, or improving the customer experience, or responding to those 20 neat ideas that came in from your 'Contact Us' web form completions. The bottom line: your readers don't care about your boring strategic objectives. Your new website must be sold purely on benefits to readers. Your site launch must be benefit-driven, not feature-driven.
Stick to benefits - banish the boring:
"Quickly compare best-value products based on customer reviews"
"Save money with today's recipe/tip/idea - a new one every day, 365 days a year"
"Search, choose and buy in under a minute"
Yes, your e-newsletter broadcast is only one part of your site launch. I found e-consultancy.com's 4-part series of how to launch a website here: 1. design/creation, 2. Pre-launch, 3. Launch week, 4. Post-launch an interesting take on what else is required.
What to expect from a site launch broadcast: Firstly, you will get extra traffic for 2 days, most of it on the first day. If your landing page is engaging, this will continue for another 1 or 2 days. You will sell more products that week. You will be blogged about (especially if you ask visitors or provide remarkable content) and start to get unexpected traffic from bookmarking sites like digg.com, del.icio.us, etc. If the new website visitor experience is now truly remarkable, provides extra value and has compelling, engaging content, expect repeat visits and extra purchases. Above all, your e-newsletter site launch must promote the benefits only - just think: WIIFMR 'what's in it for my readers?'. | | |
Longlife mayflies
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 18 Jun 2008
 This week's issue is all about writing content that stands the test of time. Why write an issue and only deploy it once with a 24-hour life span?
The mayfly only lives for 24 hours. Just like some of your e-newsletter issues. All that hard work and it's over in a day. Ho-hum. Read on to find out how to extend the life of your mayfly issues.
To extend the life of my hard work, this week's Masterclass contains a review of the thirteen most recent issues. Usually only viewed on my broadcast day (Wednesday) but worth reviewing. If you missed a Masterclass, catch it again below.
Re-discover hints, tips and examples you had forgotten (or missed the first time around):
Ask for help with research
Spectacular sky diving and innovation
Get noticed by making a stand
Christmas comes early
Marmite & Champagne
Writing three little words
Fight off the bean-counters
How to do a how to do
Free template for phone research
The big when question
Get out of jail free card
E-mails from top shops
Use 'em or lose 'em
In your own e-newsletter you should refer to previous issues if they still have currency today. Don't fall into the trap, however, of believing that everything is still valid - it isn't. (This is particularly true if you refer back to a sales offer that now has a broken link because your online store sold out weeks ago. Remember to check links!)
How to get maximum value from each issue:
1. Include content that stands the test of time, ie: tips or testimonials.
2. Make each issue available online as a web page, in an archive - mine is in a blog.
3. Get Google to visit your archive/blog every week/month.
4. Ping the blog directories too - the blogosphere is a big community.
5. Add a periodic review - recycle previous content.
Make your e-newsletter content available to the world, not just your subscribers and for 24 hours only. Allow new customers to discover old issues and click through.
 It makes sense to maximise each issue. You put a great deal in, so why must it only live for one day like the mayfly? Talking of mayflies, Vodaphone's 'Make the most of now' campaign has a great microsite, worth a visit: www.vodafonemayfly.co.uk (not convinced their data capture policy is compliant) but the creative is sheer genius.
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8 out of 10 cats
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 11 Jun 2008
This week I am going to talk about asking for help in the next issue of your own e-newsletter. This is all about asking your e-newsletter readers to take part in some (research) activity as they read your latest issue.
 This worked really well for a national children's charity we worked with for 11 years. As a (profitable) sideline the charity sold branded merchandise but had to choose the most popular item from a shortlist of new potential products each year. Difficult with unproven products.
The last thing they could afford to do was to gamble on a hunch. They needed to know which product would sell better than the others. Their e-newsletter readers had the answer.
The charity asked their e-newsletter readers to choose their favourite product from a shortlist, and type in why they liked it. Sometimes the answers surprised us, but the product with the most votes always went on to sell really well. (NB: The reasons given also guided future product shortlisting until product selection was down to a fine art.)
Here's how it worked:
1. The e-newsletter was a single-focus issue - 'we need help'.
2. It linked to a web page with (4) products on.
3. Readers chose their favourite and typed in their reason.
4. They clicked the 'vote now' button to send in their answer.
5. The research lasted for 6 days only.
6. Answers were stored online and analysed on day 7.
The outcome:
Readers felt good about helping the charity get it right. Readers were always right about the products - and to prove it, many then came back later and bought the chosen product. We eliminated guesswork. From start to finish we had the answers in a week. Fast, easy and reliable.
 Salmon, prawns, duck, lamb & carrots, chicken & peas? Had to look at the Whiskas website and now think we have gone mad. It seems 8 out of 10 cats now eat better ingredients than our grandparents did! However, Whiskas also have a great e-newsletter sign-up - they give away a FREE Whiskas Kitten Care Pack to get you to sign up to their e-newsletter. Just purr-fect for cat owners.
 Summary: Stop guessing and start asking. Your readers will help you because they want their opinion to make a real difference. Remember to finish off with feedback - in the next issue thank everyone and publish the results for all to see, ie: '8 out of 10 customers chose our X product because of its reliability' - link to the product and see interest in that product soar. REMEMBER: People like what other people like, so find out why your top product/service is popular and tell everyone.
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Squeezing a Honda spectacular in
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 03 Jun 2008
This week I am going to talk about staging a spectacular in your own e-newsletter. It's a special, never-been-done-before event that your e-newsletter promotes and links to. It's about being different, innovative and breaking the traditional e-newsletter mould.
Honda's UK agency Wieden & Kennedy rose to the challenge with Honda's 'Difficult is worth doing' campaign and staged Britains' first LIVE skydiving TV advert last Thursday. It aired at 8:10pm on 29th May 2008 on Channel 4.
Nineteen skydivers formed the word "Honda" in mid-air - in three minutes and 20 seconds. Shot, mixed and aired live - awesome! Watch the advert on YouTube.
(The ASA don't let you run live TV adverts normally because they need to regulate broadcast content - they worry that you might show your bum, so this was a big deal.)
How to relate this 'Jump' advert to your own e-newsletter:
Well, to start with, not too literally. You don't need to hire skydivers over Spain, and you don't need to persuade the ASA to let you air a live TV advert.
 1. Use issues leading up to the event to announce that something big is coming. (Don't give the game away, just tease and drop hints).
2. Create an online experience (a microsite featuring your spectacular). A microsite because it can deliver video, sound and extreme interactivity - like a Flash game maybe? A standard e-mailed newsletter just does images and words.
3. In the actual e-newsletter issue, link only to the microsite with a killer call-to-action. Nothing else - so you don't dilute the clicks. You might say it a dozen different ways, but you will only link to your spectacular microsite.
Summary: The spectacular issue's job is to drive microsite traffic - nothing else. In this issue, you must hold the news, product releases, customer reviews, hits & tips, etc. Be single-minded about this. 100%. Your microsite awaits, so give your entire issue over to ensuring you get traffic.
 Honda's advert re-wrote the rules: you may well know by now that I am a Honda (TV ad) fan (read my 7th January post with 3 Honda ads in) - I am constantly impressed by their creativity. You can read Honda's blog about the making of this advert. Honda's skydiver, Pam, (here on the right) is smiling because they pulled it off, live on TV. Could your e-newsletter re-write the rules, linking to a microsite including live content - a product demo maybe?
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Gaining visibility for your e-marketing
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 28 May 2008
This week I am going to talk about gaining visibility for your e-marketing messages - in your own e-newsletter. You have subscribers, you broadcast regularly, but how visible are your marketing messages? Aren't your e-mails just getting ignored?
Hmmm... maybe I have got ahead of myself here. OK, I assume you broadcast (or are planning to broadcast) a regular e-newsletter, and your motivation is commercial. This e-Masterclass is my weekly nudge towards your continued e-marketing success, using e-newsletters.
A really hot topic right now is standing out in a crowded in-box, being visible, increasing views, clicks, loyalty and revenue.
Three more assumptions:
1. Your subscriber list is clean (you have a decent subscribe/unsubscribe mechanism).
2. Your editorial team (hey, is that you on your own mostly?) generates content each month/week.
3. Your goal is to get your e-mails read, and then clicked (driving readers online, closer to buying from you).
How to get noticed:
Stop doing what the competition does - do everything very differently. (Saab cars want you to disregard their unconventional styling and believe that they have strapped 4 wheels to a jet fighter - it sells Saabs.)
 Write your e-newsletter from a particular standpoint - disagree with the status quo (not those rock dinosaurs, I mean the usual platitudes peddled in your industry). Go take a stand against the way it has always been (caution here: Dove admits their 'Campaign for Real Beauty' hasn't pulled in the sales expected, despite being highly visible, beauty still outsells reality!).
Start smoking and swearing - be edgy, take a risk. Guaranteed to frighten the board and shorten your marketing career? Think again. How many albums sell because of the swearing? Unlike smoking warnings on cigarettes, the 'Parental Advisory' warning label is a badge of honour for street-smart iPodders (and yes, some even pay for their downloads!). Fifty Cent is not short of a bob or two thanks to this one. (Do I need to remind you about the pinch of salt with this one?)
 Summary: why add one more apple to a row of apples and expect to be seen? Aren't there enough boring, pointless e-mails out there without you contributing one more? Aim for visibility every time and increase your chances. Just think of the numbers - zillions of stay-safe, forgettable messages already out there! (Make sure your editorial team reads this one.)
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Is your Christmas issue ready yet?
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 20 May 2008
This week I am going to talk about the Christmas 2008 issue of your own e-newsletter. (It's no accident that this is the middle of May, with over seven months to go.) This issue is special and needs planning, and if you are going to run a Christmas promotion, start early.
 I make no apologies for the Christmas kitten photo. It is absurd and it's the wrong time of year. (But would a Year Planner photo really have got your attention?)
Your Christmas issue is obviously not ready yet, but may I suggest you make a start next week with the planning?
Your subscribers are going to expect something special at Christmas - because that's what they are used to - decent marketers the world over end up firing off hasty and ill-conceived, last-minute bargains and offers. But not you. Not this year. This year you will create and send out something rather special.
Still think I'm being premature? Read how seven months is just not long enough - be honest, can't you hear yourself saying the following?
 May: "way too early! we're still counting results from Easter..."
June: "figuring out whether we will run a summer promo..."
July: "planning and writing that summer blockbuster..."
August: "everyone off on holiday, no decisions possible..."
September: "back to work, back to school, ages yet, too early for Christmas..."
October: "hmm, maybe we should think about Christmas? Do it next month?"
November: "Christmas ideas anyone? Original, quick, and creative please!!!"
December: "HELP! WHAT ARE WE SENDING OUT?"
 Summary: This year, your Christmas issue will get more views, clicks and sales revenues than ever before. You are planning ahead and by the end of this month, you will have given your creative team approval to develop their ground-breaking concept. Hmmm, maybe that sounded a bit didactic? "3-2-1 you're back in the room." Stage Hypnotist Kenny Craig (Little Britain) on YouTube here.
 "Chestnuts roasting by an open fire..." Nat King Cole sings it here.  To avoid getting your chestnuts well and truly roasted by your FD as you close Q4 down on revenues after a last-minute crappy Christmas promo, delight him with a request for your Christmas promotional budget early! (I resisted the urge to say: "don't let this year's Christmas issue be a real turkey" but I'll leave you with the thought instead!) Merry Christmas everyone! See you next week.
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Special edition - Marmite with Champagne
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 07 May 2008
This week I am going to talk about creating a Special Edition of your own e-newsletter. It's about presenting the ordinary (your usual e-newsletter format) in a unique way to increase views and clicks.
 My wife gave me a gift this morning - a golden 250g jar of Marmite with a touch of Champagne, packaged as a Limited Edition gift with the wording 'for my lovely Marmite Lover'. You either love it or hate it - and I love it!
What a great concept! How easy to reproduce the effect in your own e-newsletter. A Special Edition e-newsletter.
OK, let's face it: adding Champagne to Marmite is crazy. I doubt you could taste it, in fact I doubt you could taste petrol added to Marmite, but that's not the point. The lesson to learn is that you can produce a Special Edition of your own e-newsletter to get readers to take a closer look.
Q. What could you do to create a Special Edition?
1. Could you run a collection of special offers for one week only?
2. Could you present your service/product in a unique combination?
3. Could you change the graphics in your Header for one issue only?
4. Could you create extra interest by producing a different version?
Throw this idea at your freshest web designer and see what comes back. Don't be surprised if her response is a raw and unique take on the e-newsletter you and your readers have all become very used to. She might suggest an edition in Russian? Maybe an edition just for Project Managers? Go with the idea - produce your own Special Edition e-newsletter and drive up views and clicks with your own take on Marmite and Champagne. Rule: Different gets noticed, Same gets ignored.
 Summary: Marmite have 2 websites: www.ilovemarmite.com and www.ihate marmite.com to suit both tastes. You can buy a Little Book of Marmite Tips on Amazon.co.uk or even a Solid Silver Lid for connoisseurs. Yes, Marmite's branding thrives on controversy, so what if your brand is a little more modest? Brilliant! It will make your Special Edition stand out even more. Go for it. Brief that designer today!
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I don't care what you say - I love you
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 30 Apr 2008
This week I am going to talk about adding three little words into the next issue of your own e-newsletter to improve clicks and revenues.
 Q. Are those three little words really: 'I love you'?
A. Yes and no.
I'll explain: It's easy to overlook the power of words, when you are creating content for the next issue of your own e-newsletter. You have too much to do, so sometimes ANY copy, as long as you have SOME copy, will do.
Writing copy is difficult. Writing great copy seems impossible for a lot of people. So we settle for OK copy. Then we get frustrated that we only get OK results. You get back what you put in.
Think about how you feel when someone whispers 'I love you' to you. It triggers some deep instinctive response, maybe also curiosity (if it isn't your partner/spouse saying it!) and your emotional state alters. Words affect you. You know it.
Those particular three little words have impact. We use them judiciously and deliberately. Now let's look at how you choose the words you send to your own e-newsletter readers.
How to write your own 'three little words':
1. Stop saying what you want to say - start saying what customers want to hear. Don't know? Easy, take your Sales Director a coffee, he will tell you why customers buy (and it isn't money!).
2. Provide value - if you list your service or product features you will only drive readers away. If you describe the benefits they get instead you have their attention.
3. Fix their pain - what you sell must relieve a business or personal pain that your reader has. Can you increase revenues or decrease expenditure?
Your e-newsletter is at the heart of your regular marketing communications. It is there to drive revenues. You must find your own three little words. You don't literally want just three words of course, but you do want to write and use words that have the power to affect people.
 Of course I care what you say: as with many aspects of running your e-newsletter campaign, it often comes down to time and resource. Invest in good copy writing and you will see an instant uplift in clicks and revenues. Find a budding writer colleague with ability and nurture them or outsource it. Great copy affects people at a deep level. Just remember: 'I love you'.
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The business case for your own e-newsletter
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 23 Apr 2008
This week I am going to talk about putting the business case for your own e-newsletter. If you haven't yet justified this marketing spend, sooner or later you may have to, so be prepared for building a good business case. This should help.
Different companies react in different ways to tough economic conditions (I hesitate to say 'recession'). A drop in revenues, real or anticipated, certainly concentrates the mind. The bean-counters give us all two stark options - grow revenues or cut expenditure (or both).
 Q. How smart is it to cut marketing expenditure and still expect revenues to grow? A. Not very.
Think of your marketing as the flowing water that continually feeds your seedlings (marketing messaging that nurtures your customers and leads towards sales, repeat or first-time).
Cut back on (e-newsletter) marketing and the water turns off. Your seedlings wither and the chances of a bountiful harvest later in the year are nil. Don't cut marketing, increase it.
Six reasons why e-newsletters work well in tough times:
1. They keep your brand visible between sales, more visible than your competitors.
2. They keep your readers updated about new services/products and offers.
3. They are measurable and can be optimised over time.
4. They position you as a leader, authority or specialist in your field.
5. They nurture relationships with a 'drip-feed' approach, preferred by readers.
6. As the competition (foolishly) cuts back, you are the only one left to take the orders.
Tough times reward the steadfast and punish the weak. It always has been a jungle out there, but cutting back on business-building activity (marketing) simply dries up those prospects who are coming on nicely right now.
 Present your business case with confidence: Maintaining a professional e-newsletter programme is a fixed-cost, high-value contributor to revenues. Cutbacks may become inevitable, but in marketing they really don't help to generate revenues. An e-newsletter sent on a regular basis builds relationships, revenues and a solid business presence. All vital in troubled times.
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Adding a "How To" into your e-newsletter
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 16 Apr 2008
This week I am going to talk about adding a 'How To' article into the next issue of your e-newsletter. (I also include my tip on how to fix your own biggest problem with your e-newsletter - how did I know?)
 It's not all about money. (But don't tell your Financial Director I said that for fear of apoplexy!) Remember, your own e-newsletter fulfils many purposes - yes - the most important one undoubtedly is to build sales revenues, but...
... as not all readers want to, need to or are able to buy from you each issue (wouldn't that be nice?), are you are often left wondering what to (pad out) your next issue with? Try unlocking the solution to a common problem for your readers, a 'How To', like this example, written by me for all readers of this e-Masterclass:
Problem: you need to create content for next month's e-newsletter, but somehow time just seems to have slipped by. It's now too late to do anything, so you have no option but to cancel the forthcoming issue. Bad for readers, bad for sales.
Solution: Set up a free nagging service online and remind yourself when you need to make a start on each issue, ahead of time. Set it up once only.
 http://www.hassleme.co.uk will send you your own reminder e-mails at 'semi-unpredictable intervals'. You can add in your colleagues if you like, so the whole team gets nagged at once.
 http://brompt.com will do the same for you if your e-newsletter runs off your latest blog post (like this e-Masterclass does here at TMB from my e-Masterclass blog). It sees if you have not posted for a while and nags you. Excellent!
Not all readers want to, need to are are able to buy from you each time, so publish a quick and easy 'How To' in your next e-newsletter. Be smart and address a burning issue for your readers that using your own products/service will fix, and you will be back onto sales again and can delight your FD!
 Nothing left in the tank: If you are regularly out of ideas, despite reminders, you can always outsource all production to an outside agency, which takes responsibility for everything for a fee - often the easiest and quickest way because you do nothing. We do this at TMB for our clients, either as one-offs or on a contract basis. Call us on 01202 483244 for more info.
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Customer feedback - good, bad and ugly
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 02 Apr 2008
This week I am going to talk about adding customer feedback into the next issue of your own e-newsletter. Letting your readers know what your customers think about you. Gold dust! I even provide a free template to make your life easier.
 Why this is a good idea: your readers like seeing what other people think about you, alongside what you think about your own products/services. Your e-newsletter is bound to be promotional, and hence your readers expect you to put your best foot forward in everything you write. Publishing what your customers say is refreshing, honest and rare.
Also, the trend towards UGC (user generated content) such as YouTube, MySpace, Ebay, etc means that this has a currency right now. We love reading what real people just like us said (thought, sang, videoed, etc).
How to get quick customer feedback for your e-newsletter:
 1. List twenty customers with phone numbers, call them all and ask them what they think about your product/service.
2. Ask no more than five questions, with the customer scoring each one from one to ten (ie: 'speed of delivery', 'politeness on the phone', etc).
3. Finish off with a 'what sums us up?' question.
4. Do it all by phone with a pen and paper.
5. Collate the answers in Excel. Publish, no names.
(This need take no longer than 1 hour to plan and 2 hours to do if you download my free Excel Feedback template. All the hard work already done for you.)
What you can expect from this exercise:
* Happy customers who like the way you care what they think.
* Answers from 50% of your twenty attempted calls within 24 hrs.
* Ten one-liners where clients say what does it for them.
* Reasons to reward internal teams, and areas to fix before you do it next year.
 Don't be reckless: Yes, publish what your customers say, warts and all, with your own comments on what you need to fix in the future. Your openness and transparency will say a lot about the sort of organisation you are. This cements your reader relationship like nothing else. (NB: Big issues that you need to fix don't need to be aired if they will harm your organisation. Be realistic not reckless.)
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What is the ideal frequency for e-newsletters?
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 26 Mar 2008
This week I am going to look at the ideal frequency for sending your own e-newsletter out.
  We all know it's a balance. Yin Yang.
You want to send out enough marketing communication to be effective, but not so much as to become offensive.
The standard choices are: daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly. (Tip: anything less frequent than quarterly is a waste because readers can't string issues together between such big gaps.)
So you need to keep momentum but not over-do things. Think about it, as marketers we all want to increase MARCOMs to increase SALES, so we always tend towards MORE rather than LESS. It's in our nature. If we had our own way, we would prattle on endlessly about what great value our widgets are, imagining that everybody wants to listen every bit as much as we want to speak.
The ideal frequency is of course different for everyone. It depends on how dynamic your Marketing and Sales operations are. Very dynamic businesses manage daily e-mails with ease - see Seth Godin's blog. Dynamic businesses manage weekly - see eBuyer's customer enewsletter. Big, complicated businesses do well managing a monthly broadcast. As for quarterly, you need to think just how beneficial your messages are at just 4 per year. Not very.
 The acid test: tell your Marketing Director you think you should now send out your e-newsletter more often - and listen to his response. If it's POSITIVE ('hey, yes we can manage that, our team can generate good content quickly, there's plenty going on', etc) then you will probably produce a valuable extra lift in sales. if however it's NEGATIVE ('no way, how can we do more right now? We can barely cope with once a (month) as it is!') then either you really are at full capacity or you need to streamline how you produce each e-newsletter issue.
 Special Offers don't count: Yes you can send a special offer out at any time, regardless of when you sent your last e-newsletter. These are fast, high-value, short-burn goodies. Use them wisely but do use them. My rule of thumb is you can broadcast one special offer for every two regular e-newsletters with no problems at all. Some do more.
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All filler no killer - on bad hair days
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 12 Mar 2008
This week I am going to show you how to get out of trouble one day. This article is all about what to include in the next issue of your own e-newsletter if you run completely out of ideas. It happens.
 OK, we all want killer content in every issue, not filler. (Don't put filler in every issue - this is for emergencies only. But, this kind of filler content can be really useful when you are having the editor's equivalent of a bad hair day.)
What to do: list your products/services in a catalogue-style layout. A list of what you do. Sounds too simple? What if you are a B2B company specialising in high-tech engineering solutions? What if you sell 3,000 lines of imported consumer goods? The answer is to break it down into a handful of service offerings or top level product categories and include three key elements per item:
- Name (what it is called if they enquire about buying one?)
- Picture (a product, an installation, a satisfied customer)
- One-liner (max 10 words describing what makes this extraordinary)
See these examples taken from our www.DataHarvesting.com website, eight products each named, with a picture and a one-liner (click the thumbnails to see full size and read the one-liners):
   
   
And remember, just a handful - not the whole yellow pages! Now you're probably thinking 'Dom, it's not that easy, etc...' but the point is - it HAS to be that easy for your readers to understand it. If you can focus very simply on a name, a picture and a one-liner, you will succeed. If you load each item with detail or can't differentiate what you do (the 'extraordinary' one-liner) from the competition - think again.
This 'filler' is easy to create. It's quick and easy because you have everything you need at your fingertips today. Your e-newsletter readers will see what it is you do (some for the first time), as you set out your market stall. It will get you out of trouble one day. Bookmark this one!
 Quick fix: remember, this is your 'get out of jail free' card. For emergencies only. It will however generate a surprisingly high click-through rate as your readers explore items they never knew you did. Try a list of what you do next time you are stuck for content. It really focuses your mind on what your offer actually is.
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How UK's high street stores use e-mail for retail
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 05 Mar 2008
This week is all about improving your own e-newsletter to boost online and in-store sales. See how the top 67 UK retailers do it. You can increase clicks and sales by copying what the best do.
 Thanks to a new dotMailer report just out, you can now see how B&Q, Currys, Mothercare, John Lewis, Waterstones, PC World, etc use e-mail to drive retail. The top 67 UK retailers were evaluated - all your high street favourites are here.
Learn why Topshop and Marks & Spencer lead the way in e-mail marketing.
Download the free 2.9MB PDF 'Hitting the Mark' report by dotMailer - click here: http://www.dotmailer.co.uk/321.asp
TIP: This is a 'must read' for all e-marketers - I only see a couple of these each year, and this is one of them for 2008 - screenshots, tips and plain talking. Recommended reading.
Reading this report will increase sales for you
- Download it, print it out a few copies and give them to your team.
- Pick three retailers from pages 38-39 that you want to be like.
- Visit their websites and subscribe to their e-newsletters.
- Using the 20 criteria, see how your own e-mails score and improve them.
Did you get your share of £46,600,000,000 in 2007?
A great big dangly carrot for all e-marketers - according to recent DMA research:
* 70% bought online (UK) after getting an e-mail.
* 86% bought in store (UK) after getting an e-mail (yes, lots do both).
* UK online sales rose by 50% in 2007.
* UK online sales now £46.6 billion - thats 16% of UK consumer spending.
* UK online sales set to quadruple to £162 billion in the next decade.
 Are you like Argos, Millets, Superdrug or Waterstones? Either be the best or be LIKE the best: it's no accident that Marks and Spencer's e-mail marketing works well. They have set their sights on a share of that carrot and got the basics right. Their results show that their investment in e-mail marketing has paid off. Be like M&S, or Blooming Marvellous, or Ethical Superstore etc... there are 67 to choose from.
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Fresh e-mails worth three times as much
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 26 Feb 2008
This week's article is all about the shelf-life of e-mail addresses - the older they get before you use them, the more they decay. A list of fresh, regularly used e-mails will outperform older e-mails (read on for the actual numbers). Your own e-newsletter therefore absolutely MUST be broadcast (on time, every time) to keep each e-mail address fresh. Regular monthly or weekly broadcasts are best.
 The "Fresh vs Old" contest: If the e-mails are fresh, more get delivered (90% vs 73%), more get viewed (35% vs 31%) and more get clicked (36% vs 18%).
On a 100,000 list, you get 11,340 unique clicks (fresh) vs 4,073 unique clicks (old). That's nearly three times as many people getting closer to your products.
The longer you leave e-mails after collecting them, the lower the delivery rate falls. As a rule of thumb I found that you lose 5% delivery of the whole list every 3 months.
Not plucked out of mid-air - I crunched the numbers:
To find out exactly how much value was lost, (a while ago) I measured the value of e-mails by looking at our clients' business and consumer e-mail lists.
I knew the age of each e-mail, the delivery rate (D), views (V) and clickthroughs (CTR). I worked out a simple formula: VALUE = (D x V x CTR x 100). I calculated:
e-mail freshness = 0 to 3 months
Delivery rate = 90%, Views = 35%, Clickthroughs = 36%
VALUE = 11.34% (values around 12% are good)
e-mail freshness = 12 months
Delivery rate = 73%, Views = 31%, Clickthroughs = 18%
VALUE = 4.07% (values around 4% are poor)
Regardless of my journey into deep maths above - I have an important message for you: even if I didn't have numbers to back this up, wouldn't it just feel right to keep in touch with your own e-newsletter subscribers as often as possible? Isn't e-mail marketing all about providing valuable content in each issue? And doing so regularly. We are creatures of habit.
In a nutshell... if you are collecting e-mails, use them quickly. Fresh e-mails (0 to 3 months old) are each worth three times as much as older emails (12 months old). If you have a list of e-mails all expecting the next issue of your e-newsletter, make sure you broadcast it on time, every time. The e-mails stay fresh, you stay visible and sales figures stay up. | | |
Back in time with a review
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 19 Feb 2008
This week's issue is all about adding a review into the next issue of your own e-newsletter. Every now and then it's fun to look back at your old articles. A review is where you reminisce - and recycle - some would say it's environmentally friendly, very green!
 Remember that little Internet start-up, Google, nearly 10 years ago? I love the way their first website said: 'Index contains ~25 million pages (soon to be much bigger)'.
Click the Google logo to see how that original Google website looked back in Nov 1998 courtesy of the Wayback Machine - it stores websites from way back and lets you see them today exactly as they looked years ago.
 Visit the Wayback Machine website for a trip down Memory Lane at: http://web.archive.org and simply type in any website to go back in time.
Did you ever meet a marketer who looked back? I haven't. They all look forward to tomorrow's campaign, they never look back over their shoulder at what has always been. Try it sometime, it can be fun. To help you look back over recent issues of this e-newsletter, remember the recent issues when I...
wanted x-ray specs as a boy?
insisted you get funky and odd?
made an iPhone smoothie?
wired up Sam and get cerebral?
said 'think like an athlete'?
asked for complaints on a postcard?
scored good and bad text?
linked to free tea and perfume?
showed that awkward BBC interview?
praised a PR agency for NOT launching the iPhone?
compared your products with diamonds?
reminded you that readers come first?
warned you not to miss even one?
Each issue of this e-newsletter is an article on my eDrops Masterclass blog. Each new article I add to the blog gets automatically merged into the e-newsletter template and e-mailed to you each week. It's our nifty hands-free service specially for bloggers (like me) who also like to broadcast what they write.
A final thought: add a review into your own e-newsletter and your readers will actually read some of your articles for the very first time. Really. Remember that only you truly remember every issue - your readers are always way too busy to have read them all or remember much of anything. (It's the Internet generation and we've all got a 2-second... umm.. oh yes, a 2-second attention span.) | | |
Better than x-ray specs or scrolling
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 13 Feb 2008
* Discover the power of the Johnson Box
* No more X-ray specs!
* 1.5 seconds is long enough (if you've got a Johnson box)
This week I am going to show you a simple method to increase response rates to your e-newsletter. It's called the Johnson Box and it works in e-newsletters today just like it did in direct mail sixty years ago.
 The Johnson Box (Wikipedia definition) sits at the top of your e-newsletter and contains text. The text summarises the contents of your e-newsletter in a few words. It always shows in the preview pane (because it is high up), and its purpose is to retain quick-draw, time-poor readers who spend 1.5 seconds assessing whether your issue deserves a read. It buys you time and attention. Remember Sam's brain?
After all, you don't expect every reader to scroll, or use X-ray specs to see beneath the fold do you? (As a boy I always wanted a pair of X-ray specs but never did send off my postal order to buy them. Available online today but I am having serious misgivings now I see the URL of the website selling them: http://www.fakecrap.com/products/xray_specs.html) You mean they might not work?
Remember direct mail? Imagine opening an A4 direct mail letter, folded into 3 and inserted into a DL envelope. As you pull out the folded letter you see the top third only. Besides the letterhead, you only see your name and mailing address, the salutation and the Johnson Box. All in the top third. No unfolding required to make a decision.
Here is how Navman (we work for Navman) used a Johnson Box at the top of their e-newsletter:
Compare this with your own e-newsletter. When your e-newsletter arrives all your readers see is the 'top third' in the preview pane. No mailing address this time. They will see the top of an article, not much more. You need to add a Johnson Box here. You need a 'what's in this issue' box.
 Summary: your readers are quick-draw because they are time-poor. Quick-draw means that they can get their finger clicking that 'delete' button before they have given your hard work a chance. You can increase your views and clicks with a Johnson Box. It's not rocket science but it does work.
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Do oddballs write better subject lines?
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 05 Feb 2008
This week I am going to show you how to write better subject lines for your own e-newsletter, and increase opens and clicks as a result. More recipients open messages if you have a good subject line. It's all about being an effective communicator, so here's how to stop driving people way and instead, how to write a better subject line:
 First, I want you to understand some basics:
1. Most e-newsletter owners concentrate on what's inside, and forget the subject line.
2. The better the subject, the higher the opens and clicks (you are judged by your subject line).
3. There are simple DOs and DON'Ts you can follow (try these on your next subject line).
As well as a DO list and a DON'T list, I have added a TRY list. Every e-newsletter is different and the TRY list is where you can innovate.
 DO
* Include your company name
* Keep it under 50 characters long (this tip is 49)
* Keep it as a straightforward headline
* Describe what's inside
DON'T
* Repeat the exact same subject line each issue
* Use fizzy, hyped-up or cheesy (SPAM-magnet) sales copy
* Shout (CAPS or exclamation marks!!!)
* Bother merging in the recipient's first or last name
TRY
* Framing it as a question, did I do this?
* If discounting, use '50% off' rather than '£25 off'
* Being different, taking a chance (be an oddball - people love it)
 In summary: Each issue should have a fresh and interesting subject line, but when viewed alongside your other messages, should be recognisable a part of the same 'family'. Keep your brand consistent. Be funky and odd.
You know when you get it right - your open rate improves.
You know when you get it wrong too: a) your open rate drops, b) recipients unsubscribe, c) you get reported as SPAM or 'junk'ed (you need to be pretty bad for this but it does happen, so beware your 'let's play it safe' inner voice. It is only driving you into mediocrity.)
At the last minute, I re-wrote this article name (which is merged into this e-newsletter subject):
OLD: "Can you write better subject lines?"
NEW: "Do oddballs write better subject lines?" (I predict a 20 to 30% uplift in opens, but as I am not doing an A/B test this time I will never truly know! Next time maybe.)
Think about this: in 'bang for your buck' terms, time spent on testing and refining your subject line strategy is time well spent. Better in fact than time spent polishing the press release that sits inside your e-newsletter at the bottom somewhere. (If I had only 10 minutes to spend on your e-newsletter I would always spend it all on the subject line. Every time.) Dominic A Yeadon F IDM, e-Marketing Consultant and blog author. Let us manage your e-newsletter for you. | | |
Viral but don't try this at home
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 28 Jan 2008
This week I am going to talk about adding viral marketing video content to your own e-newsletter. If you are really talented/lucky you will send one particular issue of your own e-newsletter that will live well beyond its shelf life. Your readers will send it to their friends and so on - it goes viral.
 So here's a story of a little product with a big viral kick. It's also a favourite of mine.
Blendtec makes the best kitchen blenders in the world. To prove it, founder Tom Dickson puts on a white lab coat and protective glasses and blends anything within reach.
Unbelievably, the 1500W Blendtec Total blender (the £200 baby of the family) has blended: an iPhone, an iPod, golf balls, glow sticks and a video camera and more. It's only meant to make smoothies and milkshakes! Despite the tough teeth, munching motor and crackproof casing of this 'can do' blender, Tom insists that you don't try this at home.
All 'will it blend?' videos are an instant hit on YouTube, and together have been viewed by more than 30 million people in total. This viral's even got its own website: http://www.willitblend.com and blog: http://blog.blendtec.com
 Sales up by 500 per cent
Blendtec employee George Wright came up with the viral idea: 'because we're a smaller company, we were able to put out something edgy and fun. In terms of the product you see on YouTube, our sales have gone up by 500 per cent.'
The 'will it blend' videos are now legendary. After you finish gasping at what you are watching, you sell yourself a story about how powerful they must be. If you want a new blender, it has to be a Blendtec blender. Thanks to George's 'will it blend' viral idea, they have extended their reach around the world.
This one won the .net magazine's 10th annual 'Viral Campaign of the Year' for 2007. See the awards here: http://www.netmag.co.uk/zine/discover-culture/net-awards-2007
Where is yours hidden? Could you video your product/service withstanding extreme testing? What would make people gasp in amazement at what you do? (Remember, you may well have gone past the gasping stage and may already be too close, like Tom Dickson. Tom had been trying to jam test his blenders with lengths of 4"x2" for years before new employee George saw the unique video viral opportunity.) Where is yours hidden? Can you ask your newest team member?
*** BREAKING NEWS *** SSI Industrial Shredders easily adapted 'will it blend' to 'watch it shred' - watch as a hippie gets his beetle shredded. Ouch!
Final thought: Push for something different in your own e-newsletter. Be open to new content (viral?) ideas, break the pattern every now and then. Only by being different will you stand out from the crowd. Purple Cow. And, yes it is getting crowded out there in your customers' in-boxes. Dominic A Yeadon F IDM, e-Marketing Consultant and blog author. You are too busy.
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How Sam's brain processes e-newsletters
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 21 Jan 2008
This week I am going to analyse a typical e-newsletter user experience. Discover what is going on in your subscribers' heads as they read your e-newsletter. See how your e-newsletters crash into their consciousness and invade their space. Learn how they also end up driving up the value of your marketing stock.
 Subscribers employ a structured (subconscious) mental process when processing your e-newsletter.
The four stages are:
1. Interruption - "do I want this?"
2. Examination - "yes I recognise this"
3. Decision - "might be something, I'll explore"
4. Investment - "interesting, I'll stay awhile"
So let's wire up a typical subscriber's brain and monitor him (we will call him 'Sam'). As he receives your e-newsletter, we will listen to Sam's inner thoughts.
Here goes, let's follow (in detail) your e-newsletter on its way to Sam:
1. Interruption - another e-mail in:
FX: 'ping': Sam scans subject line text, and thinks: "Do I want this? Ah ha, it's Company X again, with the latest issue of their monthly newsletter. I know these guys." [Effect = your subject text is interrupting his thought processes. Sam is curious but still naturally defensive.]
2. Examination - looking for safe signs:
FX: 'click': He opens the e-mail and he takes in the corporate branding, publication title and issue number/date, thinks: "Yes, I recognise this as coming from Company X, it's dated today so it's new, so far so good. This feels familiar. OK just a quick look then." [Effect = your logo/brand reassures him so he examines your e-mail. Sam's curiosity wins so his defence mechanisms stand down.]
3. Decision - give me a reason to dwell:
Eyes start to scan, now looking for a reason to dwell. Visually checking for products, faces and unusual text. "Hmmm, there might be something worthwhile here, so I will explore." [Effect = Sam now feels positive about having just risked valuable time on your e-mail. He prepares himself to invest time and energy, his mind opens up and he becomes receptive.]
4. Investment - now the message is absorbed:
Sam has now created a window of time and a receptive state of mind to read what interests him. Your e-newsletter can now deliver its message. "It's interesting - so I can stay awhile and get pleasure from absorbing this." [Effect = the publisher:subscriber relationship is strengthened, sustained. A mental tick is put by your company, and your marketing 'stock value' increases in value. Your job is done.]
 Summary: These stages are your checkpoints. Each stage describes how subscribers react to what you have sent them. Remember that subscribers are looking for reasons to STOP paying attention, so double-check everything before your next issue goes out. Walk your own e-newsletter draft through all four checkpoints before you hit 'send'. Make it easy for Sam's brain to process your next e-newsletter.
Getting every issue read is important, but don't worry if you have one bad day:
 If, despite your best efforts, you're just not getting through to Sam today, why not give him a break? Today might be the day YOU choose to send your e-newsletter, but spare a thought for poor old Sam. Is today really the best day for him? He might have just had a row with his wife, got stuck in traffic, had someone cancel on him, got a nasty surprise on his credit card statement or is just having a bad day at the office.
Glimpse inside our gallery: see smart cars, sat navs, free flights and kite-surf holidays.
 PS. Your e-newsletter's continued and growing success is my ultimate goal. For those readers who currently produce a company e-newsletter but want to outsource all that hard work, see what we offer with our fully-managed service. Dominic A Yeadon F IDM, e-Marketing Consultant and blog author.
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Boost your e-newsletter clicks
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 15 Jan 2008
In this week's issue I am going to talk about increasing clicks from the next issue of your own e-newsletter.
 You invest time and money into each issue of your own e-newsletter. You should be measuring how well it performs per issue and over time.
Measure your clicks as a percentage of those who open your e-newsletter. For example: in Issue #27 we can see that 298 subscribers clicked, out of the 942 who opened it, giving us a 31.6% clickthrough rate (CTR).
Ideally you get better at creating valuable content whilst your subscribers continue to recognise value by clicking your links. Either this or you just broadcast junk, your subscribers opt out and you close it down. NB: I believe that most e-newsletters that stop, do so as a result of issues with the newsletter team's output quality and punctuality (read my earlier post on punctuality), and not because of external factors.
There are two (activity) metrics that determine success: opens and clicks. Forget opens for now, let's see how many people click on the links in your e-newsletter.
 Knowing how to increase CTR is a skill you must acquire. Getting it right is a business process like any other. Start by measuring clicks. Then get dissatisfied with the numbers. Then drive for improvement.
Think like an athlete. Not every lap is faster than the last, but over time your performance improves until you end up winning. Become a clicks athlete.
Start here: Record metrics from the last four issues of your e-newsletter and see if each issue improved slightly. Share a morning coffee for a 15-minute brainstorm 72 hours after each broadcast. From that 15-minute session, decide to pilot one new click tactic each issue. Check that you have optimised the text and length of the links people click, the preceding call-to-action text and the number and placement of links in each issue.
Summary: Each issue of your e-newsletter should be measured. Your aim is to generate clicks. Remember these facts:
1. Subscribers click on links that interest them.
2. Subscribers click on links that look like links.
3. Subscribers like being entertained more than educated.
4. Subscribers like buying from you, not being sold to.
5. Subscribers who click, tend to buy.
6. Subscribers who click build the future value of your business.
Boosting your clicks is the fastest way to boost your revenues. It's also the neatest way to measure your progress. (Think about your links and how you get more of them clicked in your next issue.)
PS: I can hear you saying: 'but Dom, getting a click is surely just one half - what about where the link clicks through to? What about the landing page?' Yes, quite right, but let's deal with one topic at a time. I have some top tips for developing killer landing pages in a future issue, stay tuned! | | |
Marketing your product in the next issue
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 07 Jan 2008
This week's article shows you how to market your product successfully in the next issue of your own e-newsletter.
Your e-newsletter can be the perfect way to put product in front of prospect. Do it carefully however. Getting product marketing wrong is the fastest turn off there is for an e-newsletter. To help you get it right, welcome to my Marketing Products In Your e-Newsletter Checklist:
 1. No bullshit - if it's a stock clearance prior to a new model release, just say so - no jargon or disguising. You are in this relationship for the long haul, not just a quick buck. Only integrity stands the test of time.
Try Leslie Lee's fun bullshit generator to see examples:
http://dack.com/web/bullshit.html
2. No bullets - the kiss of death. Don't list all 20 bullet points just because your product has 20. This is an e-newsletter, not a tech spec.
3. No babble. Don't waste time trying to invent your own 'Everything we do, we do it for you-ooo' (Ford) moment. Time is limited.
 4. Helluva Headline - make a bold headline claim that you can substantiate if required. Don't be timid, your competitors aren't. Everything does something - what do you claim your product can do? (Take a break - create absolutely pointless slogans here: http://thesurrealist.co.uk/slogan.cgi)
5. Push the Pictures - display product photography. Nothing gets the eyes, left brain:right brain action going quite like an image on screen. This is the ace in your hand every time.
6. Bring on the Benefits - instead of (big yawn) features. Nobody buys features, just the benefits that features brings them. Present your product as a 'how to', ie: how to conquer, reduce, save, increase, accelerate, improve, eliminate, etc.
7. Clickthrough is King. Your e-newsletter's job is to stimulate interest, your call to action gets a click to the landing page where interest is converted into sales. Understand this topography. (I will cover this vital topic in a future article).
Summary: this is my own checklist, based upon years of broadcasting e-mails for clients. Use my checklist to ensure that your next e-newsletter issue markets your product for maximum return:
1. No bullshit
2. No bullets
3. No babble
4. Helluva Headline
5. Push the Pictures
6. Bring on the Benefits
7. Clickthrough is King
NB: For those of a sensitive disposition, I really did think twice about cussin'. Even thought of typing 'BS', but that seemed a bit mealy-mouthed. Complaints on a postcard please.
 Yes, if I can sneak in a favourite YouTube movie you know I will. So, talking about product marketing, I still love Honda's 'Impossible Dream' advert:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x13DH6IoIcQ&NR=1
See how my favourite advert was made here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uel3ZE0_bEk&NR=1
Or is yours the (really worth a visit) Honda Cog advert?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGngcQb_0qg&feature=related
PS. This article scored: 8 years' education and 64.62 reading ease. What's this? | | |
Write copy that is easy to read
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 30 Dec 2007
This week (and while I think about it, Happy New Year!) I am going to explain how the next issue of your e-newsletter can contain copy that is easy to read and understand. Read on for a cool online tool to make your life easier...
When you write copy, please assume that your readers have an average education. They have no time to waste working out what you meant to say. You must convey your message in simple speak, so more people get it (unless you are editing the Rocket Scientist Weekly!). Don't write long, technical, waffly, boring copy. Just don't. Write copy that scores highly and your e-newsletter benefits. It will get read, understood and clicked. All good things.
It's just a chart, take a look...
This chart scores three of my recent articles, with the best at the top ('Try before you buy'). Readers required fewer than 7 years' education, and it scored a very respectable 71.85 for reading ease.
Compare this with 'Interviewing an expert' What went wrong? Readers required nearly 13 years' education, and it scored a miserable 47.79 reading ease.
I must have swallowed a dictionary that day. The longest blue bar and the shortest red bar - ouch!
OK, stay with me now, I know you want the best for your own e-newsletter, so here is the last bit of technical detail before I show you the shortcut. Compare those two articles - the best and the worst. The best one is measurably better, in three distinct ways:
- Sentences had fewer words in (13.22 words rather than 19.67).
- Each sentence had shorter words (4.24 letters rather than 4.64).
- The words themselves were more simple (1.44 syllables rather than 1.64 per word).
No more maths, so here's that shortcut:
How can you do this too? Simple. It took me under 10 seconds to cut and paste my text into a really cool online tool that did it all for me:
http://www.online-utility.org/english/readability_test_and_improve.jsp Over the years I have used (and loved) several similar tools, but this one, written by Mladen Adamovic, is simple and does the job. Check it out.
 Now you can check your copy before you publish. Your next e-newsletter issue will get read, understood and clicked. "Clicks mean sales - what do clicks mean?" (how do I type that in a Bruce Forsyth way?) - all together now... "sales!". You can't beat a bit of Brucie can you - and, after all, didn't he do well? (CBE).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQgF0uNMiqQ
Yup, starting 2008 with a catchphrase - it can only get better.
PS: if you are wondering how this article scored - readers require 7 years' education and it scores a nice high 71.20 for reading ease. NB: I only test the first 120 words from all my articles. | | |
Try before you buy - sample requests
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 18 Dec 2007
This week I am discussing how to use a sample request in the next issue of your e-newsletter.
 Sampling is the oldest form of 'try before you buy' and it works. Risk-free for both parties, yet representative of what they would get if they bought from you. Your readers type in a few personal details for a free sample. Easy. Leads for your team.
'But Dom, we don't sell widgets - so we can't send out a sample' I hear some of you cry. Yes you do, even if you don't. And here's how: if you provide a service you must commoditise it before you can sample it. Make it into a thing, a widget, an experience, something your readers can sample.
If you sell inexpensive widgets by the pallet, give some loose as free samples. If you sell high-ticket widgets (luxury yachts) give away the experience of owning one. If you sell a bespoke service, give away an experience. of using your service. Think about it - how can your customers try before they buy, without breaking your bank?
Free tea sample from Yorkshire Tea (£1.26)
www.bestteainbritain.co.uk/try.php
Free perfume sample from Mariah Carey (£40.50)
www.mariahcareybeauty.co.uk/freesample/index.php
Free Disneyland holiday sample on DVD (£5,000+)
www.disney.co.uk/usa-resorts/waltdisneyworld/index1.htm
Free Aston Martin sample test drive (£90,000+)
www.hwm.co.uk/testdrive.asp
Remember, if you think about what you sell in terms of how you could give away a free sample in the next issue of your e-newsletter - it becomes easier to sell and easier to buy. Adding a sample request can rocket your e-newsletter's ROI overnight. | | |
Interviewing an expert
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 11 Dec 2007
This week is all about interviewing an expert for the next issue of your e-newsletter.
Change your mindset. An interview is no longer simply a matter of you being creative on your own - you need to work with someone else (your expert) and that dynamic is powerful and can make for compelling content. Here's how to do it, plus some examples below.
(Actually first, here's how NOT to do it: Remember when BBC News interviewed the wrong guy about Apple? Here is that embarrassing clip showing how BBC job applicant Guy Goma - not expected IT expert Guy Kewney - is plunged into the spotlight and interviewed as an online media expert. He deserves a medal for keeping his cool. See what Have I got News for You did with this story.)
The moral of this story? Research your expert before you go ahead.
If you want the practical HOW TO of conducting an interview for your e-newsletter try blogger Darren Rowse's great post on his blog: 'How to Get and Conduct Interviews for Your Blog'. Blog, e-newsletter? Same thing.
Choose your format:
The easiest format is going to be e-mail (but it can consume space in your e-newsletter unless you link off to the full interview). Next is phone for an on-screen write-up (after the call you type it up, but again it can be big). Audio recording is your third option (VOIP or speakerphone recorded to your PC and into a neat little space-saving MP3, RAM or whatever). Finally (for the ultimate experience) go for video. Here are some examples:
- e-mail: Marketing guru Seth Godin takes part in an e-mail interview.
- phone: Tamara Adlin interviews by phone for great on-screen write-ups.
- audio: Radio Alta interviews Internet marketing experts using traditional audio interviews. Another Seth Godin audio interview here on his 'All Marketers are Liars' book.
- video: David Brent from The Office is interviewed by training consultants and gets it about as wrong as you can - see David Brent's funny interview here. (If this is your first-time video venture, think camera phone and YouTube rather than Spielberg - keep it easy to shoot and fun to watch on the web.)
An interview is special content. As such it is powerful content. Shortlist three potential interviewees (how about your boss? a hero from your customer service dept? an outspoken customer? think outside of the box!), and this time next month your e-newsletter could have compelling content driving clicks like never before. And remember, where there are clicks there are sales. | | |
Hot News story that isn't about you
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 03 Dec 2007
Do you want to add a hot news story into the next issue of your own e-newsletter, but don't have any hot news of your own? No problem at all.
All you do it take the hot news story of the moment and present your own take on it. Let me show you an example:
 See how Boston PR agency Schneider Associates cleverly rides in on the launch of Apple's iPhone. They have no direct iPhone news of their own (ie: they do product launches but didn't do this one for Apple), but they showcase the iPhone product launch to do the job for them.
I do admire this guerilla marketing approach. It's clever. It's affordable. Schneider Associates start by finding the biggest product launch news story and then adopt it as their own. They come across as being almost involved somehow with the iPhone launch, and they engage readers. I guess you might then want to call these guys and see what they can do for your own PR. (I am not associated in any way with them but I do get the feeling that you would get a lot of bang for your buck.)
So is a hot news story still out of reach for the next issue of your own e-newsletter? Do you have an opinion on any current issue? Can you pass or invite comment?
Can you position your company as strategically as Schneider Associates did? They specialise in new product launches. They took the most memorable new product launch for 2007 and delivered a good news story about it. And yes, just for the record I did queue to buy an iPhone from O2 and am therefore 100% biased - I put my Sony Ericsson in a drawer that night and have long since forgotten all about it! | | |
Remind your readers what you do - they don't know
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 28 Nov 2007
 This week I'm going to get you to think about what it is you do. And then you're going to remind your readers.
Remind them because they don't know - either you never told them, or you did once but now they've forgotten. Understand that you can't expect your readers to know anything about you unless you keep telling them. They certainly won't go exploring your web site (like they have the time!).
The truth is that they would be hard-pushed to recall anything about you, other than the one service/product they bought from you. I guess you thought they might have bought something else from you by now didn't you? After all don't you sell (x) number of (widgets) besides the one they bought?
You're missing out on extra sales by not reminding your readers exactly what it is you do. All the new stuff. The stuff they have never heard about.
- Picture this: Think of a diamond. It only sparkles when you turn it around. More facets catch the light as it sparkles, it catches your eye and looks more appealing and valuable. See what I mean? You need to turn your diamond around so that it sparkles. Your next e-newsletter provides you with the perfect opportunity.
Why does this work? It works because your readers are waiting to be spoon-fed. It is too much hassle for them to remember, explore, figure it out, put 2 and 2 together, etc. Remember - the stronger your story, the more it reinforces their original decision to buy from you in the first place, and it makes them feel good about buying from you again. Tell your readers about all the new stuff you now do. Catch their eye. Take a new order. | | |
Warning! Your e-newsletter might be boring
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 23 Nov 2007
 Only two people matter with an e-newsletter - the reader and the writer. In that order.
Two people, two perspectives, two agendas - do you agree?
I really hope not, for your sake. Only one person matters, and that is the READER. The writer is there to serve the reader's needs, not the other way around.
In fact if your readers' interests aren't the highest priority in your communications agenda you are falling into the same trap as many big companies today.
You are using your e-newsletter as a vehicle to push company propaganda, company news, stock clearance deals, press releases, etc. The top-down drive is 'push what we want out there', 'we have a communications agenda and this is a cheap channel', 'we can get our message in front of half a million people this afternoon, so what should we send?'.
Your subscribers think this approach is a load of cobblers (to quote Royal Mail's CEO Adam Crozier as he fought the CWU recently - welcome back plain English!). Your subscribers are right. Boring cobblers.
I maintain that most e-newsletters lose focus fairly quickly after launch. They go stale. Both parties lose interest in the content and it becomes a numbers game.
Ask yourself if you have gone stale. Do you need to win more and more subscribers as fast as possible to counteract the unsubscribes from each issue. Two steps forward and one step back? Serve your readers, vary your content, entertain, amuse, inspire, provoke, educate. Vary your content, but serve your readers. | | |
What's so bad about missing just one issue?
Posted by Dominic Yeadon 23 Nov 2007
 Everybody does it, so what's so bad about missing one issue of your e-newsletter?
Does it matter?
"After all it's just one issue... and er, we have been really busy."
Does that excuse sound familar? It probably does, but not sending out one issue of your e-newsletter is a big deal. Here's why:
- Your subscribers completely forget all about you that month, it's human nature. They are way too busy to remember and wait for you.
- You give your competitors two clear months to get in and make a better impression. They will get in because winning new customers is what they are good at.
- Once your subscribers miss an issue you are history - albeit fairly recent history. This is the Instant Internet age - they wonder: did you go out of business or just lose focus?
- You lose the momentum you have worked so hard to build up. Keeping the rock rolling is easier than stopping and starting.
- It's disrespectful to your subscribers. Thought: Would you be comfortable broadcasting the minutes of that "it doesn't matter" meeting that you had the month you missed an issue?
Remember, subscribers like routine. They value your regular e-newsletter and like the way it is always there - just like you and your company, always there. Always there to take the next order when they call you. Don't let them down.
Do whatever it takes to get each new issue out on time. Shift heaven and earth, call in favours, burn the midnight oil, pull out all the stops, and then a few more. You get the idea. Never miss another issue. | | |
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