Do You Commit These Seven Deadly Newsletter Sins? Part I

By Jessica Albon

Copyright 2003, The Write Exposure

Why do you publish a newsletter? Is it to inform, delight,
and educate readers? Then you're halfway to newsletter
success. But there are still pitfalls to be aware of. In
part one, we'll cover the deadliest of them all: lack of
subscribe functionality, bad design, and being boring.

Thou shalt not keep subscribers on thy list against their
will.
How you handle unsubscribe requests is absolutely crucial to
your newsletter's success and your company's reputation.
Lately, it seems I can't get off anybody's list anymore.

Now, I'm not talking about lists that are obviously spam
that only include an unsubscribe link because the rule of
writing spam is that you absolutely must be as annoying as
possible. Rather, my inbox lately has been filled with
genuine newsletters for which the unsubscribe simply isn't
working.

One newsletter I received recently contained a link (much
like the one at the very bottom of this issue) that was
supposed to be personalized with my email address. Rather it
looked something like this:
http://www.companyname.com/unsubscribe.php?paul@d...
I have a sneaking suspicion that all of the newsletters went
out with the same email address. I hope Paul doesn't mind
being unsubscribed a dozen times!

Of course, problems happen with email systems. And there
will be times when links are broken or incorrect.

So, it's not so much a perfect subscribe and unsubscribe
process that's crucial (though that's nice), but rather a
genuine, real person readers can write to when they run into
problems. For Newsletters in Focus, that's me--if you have
trouble with the unsubscribe process, just send me an email
and I'll get it taken care of. (It doesn't have to be the
company's president--I just like knowing with absolute
confidence that it's been handled.)

Repeat after me: "We will let subscribers unsubscribe. We
will even help them if need be." (And, remember, people who
don't want to be on your list anymore, for whatever reason,
aren't likely to be your target audience anyway.)

Thou shalt not deliver painful-to-look-at pieces.
Huge pet peeve: HTML email newsletters with solid yellow
backgrounds and red text. Really, who thinks that's a good
idea for a color scheme?

If you can't or aren't going to hire a professional
designer, stick to plain text. No matter what everyone says,
you don't *have* to offer an HTML version. In fact, if it's
going to be poorly designed, badly coded, or enormous in
size, it's better for your reputation if you don't bother.

Sure, HTML, when done right, is great. It's easier to read,
tends to have higher click-thrus and conversion rates, and
makes your company look like they keep up with the times.
But, when it's done wrong, it's impossible to read and makes
your company look like they don't care about the times.

Study after study has demonstrated that people evaluate a
website's credibility based on the design. What makes you
think your newsletter's any different?

Want some basic rules to follow when designing your
newsletter? Start with a white body, black text, add a dash
of color (beginners should stick with one accent color), and
maybe a graphic or two. Unless you're experienced with
design, simple really is best.

Repeat after me: "We publish at the pleasure of our readers.
We don't want to cause them pain."

Thou shalt not be boring.
A few days ago, I received an email from a reader that made
me want to turn off the computer, lock up the office, and go
home and back to bed. It was, well, pretty vicious.

Instead of closing up the office for the day, I forwarded it
to one of my colleagues, asked him if I could tell the
reader off (he kindly gave me permission), and then wrote
the reader a quick "Thanks so much for your feedback. It
really does help us improve the newsletter," email (that was
a little less generic). Sure, it bothered me a little the
rest of the day--but now that I've deleted it, I've
completely forgotten what it said.

The first time you get a nasty email from a reader, you may
be tempted to stop publishing an authentic newsletter--
better to stick with safe topics and viewpoints, right?
Absolutely not. There are hundreds of thousands of email
newsletters out there. And you can bet other publishers
cover the same topics you do. All that separates your
newsletter from others is you (and your team).

Chances are, for every one negative email you get, there are
at least two or three readers who genuinely appreciate your
newsletter. Even if they don't write and tell you.

When you're too concerned with how something might be
interpreted, anything you do write will be essentially
worthless to readers--they don't need to read more generic,
widely accepted advice. Rather, they need your unique
insights. That's why they've subscribed to *your* newsletter
instead of the competitions'.

Repeat after me: "We will not bore our readers. Even if they
scare us."

When you avoid these three deadly sins, your newsletter will
go a long way towards meeting your goals--whether you're
looking to make employees happier, increase sales, or dazzle
journalists with expertise.

Looking for more advice on successful company newsletters?
Subscribe to The Write Exposure's free newsletter,
" Newsletters in Focus," and receive a six-part email course
" Do You Make These Six Mistakes in Your Company Newsletter"
as a new subscriber welcome gift. Visit
http://www.designdoodles.com to subscribe.