Does Everyone Ignore Your Newsletter?

Have you ever been frustrated by the lack of response your newsletter receives? You put hours into writing it, but barely anyone opens it and only a handful of people actually click on anything. Don't worry, these are all common problems that many companies face! Here's some advice for how to improve the number of clicks and people reading your newsletters.

One way is to focus on sending out short, concise emails that contain content relevant to those who have signed up for them. Research shows that people prefer shorter emails with limited text for more interactive experiences than long emails with blocks of text. Another way is to use subject lines or titles as a hook to get the reader’s attention. If you have a major story coming up it's best to address that with your message.

I also highly recommend using click-to-take actions on all of your links. These actions are tiny little boxes that pop up in front of the reader after they've clicked on a link. They give the reader an incentive to read further by making them feel like they're accomplishing something when they click through to it. You can also use social media buttons, such as Facebook, to help spread the word about your newsletter and projects and ask for feedback directly from people who sign up.

Frequent readers will be more likely to open the newsletters, so make sure you please a wide range of people. Remember, many of your readers are volunteers and supporters, so there's no need to bore them with information that they already know or rarely need. Make sure you also keep your articles short and easy to understand. Finally, don't forget to promote your newsletter on social media! Post about it across all of your pages in order to get more eyes on it from outside sources.

Overall, just remember that a newsletter subscription is an active choice made by a reader in order for them to take part in the dialogue you're creating with them. Don't be afraid to experiment with different kinds of content and subject matter in order to find out what works best for you.

:) -Kristen

Posted by ::: Kristen @ MarketingProfs.com :: at Wednesday, March 23, 2012

The same is true for newsletters. Although you may be following the newsletter industry 100%, many people are not. This can be optimizing your newsletter marketing practices and making sure that your choice to receive the newsletter is as targeted as possible.

Posted by ::: Kristen @ MarketingProfs.com :: at Thursday, January 26, 2014

Our friends at Movable Ink have provided us with a great summary of 12 things you should know about email marketing and strategy:

"When they get wind of an email offer they want to be apart of it, and there's no turning back." – John S.

Conclusion:

Email marketing is far from dead. When you are using a technology that has been around for years, you have time to learn the nuances of what works best. At times it is a technology challenge while at other times it's a psychology challenge of how to get your message out to people and entice them to engage with you.

If you are saying to yourself "I need more subscribers", I've got 5 email list growth strategies here for you…or if you want some help with your existing list, there's 11 ways to encourage email engagement .