Make Them Want to Open Your Mail!
Ouch! I just got a copy of a corporate email newsletter for my old company. A newsletter which looks just like one I myself launched for them back in 1998. And it’s a total time warp. Very little’s apparently changed.
Some of the biggest mistakes (which every email newsletter should avoid at all costs):
– subject line reads, “PBI Media News: August Issue” — not remotely a open-me-now proposition! and they didn’t need to waste valuable subject line space on the company name because it’s already in the “from” field.
– when it opens in my Outlook preview box (so I can decide whether to open it all the way or not), they waste space on general intro information which means the table of contents is not visible. OK, quick note: the table of contents is the ONLY reason most people decide to open an email letter all the way up.
– the very first article is a promotional announcement for one of the company’s own products. Turns out, people respect you more if you give them value up front and then slam them with the marketing lower down. (Which admittedly is hard for a gung ho marketer to bring themselves to do.)
Categories: Marketing
