If you’re going to take the time to design and create an online newsletter, you want to be sure that recipients will read and appreciate it, and look forward to receiving more of them in the future. Here, we discuss some basic ways to make to make that happen. Other articles will discuss some of these ideas in greater detail, but these eight tips will get you well on your way to producing an e-newsletter that gets attention.

1. Set goals in advance.

Before creating an e-newsletter, consider what you hope to achieve with it. Is your primary objective relationship building? Is it keeping customers informed about developments in your business or upcoming events? Do you want to build your mailing list through forward-to-a-friend links? Can you set specific targets for your goals for the next six months or a year?

2. Pay special attention to subject lines.

Many people use subject lines to determine whether a message is unsolicited commercial email (spam) or not, so don’t take your subject lines lightly. Keep these things in mind:

• Feel free to be a little creative with a subject line
• HOWEVER, make sure that it still tells your readers something about the message contents
• Make sure the subject line isn’t misleading
• Try to keep it under 30 characters long—additional characters may get deleted
•  DON’T SHOUT!!!! The use of all caps and multiple exclamation points comes across as yelling, and it makes your message look like spam
• Avoid use of the word “free” or the dollar sign ($) in your subject line: those are also spam triggers

3. Avoid spam-like tactics in the body of your message and for message sending in general.

Here, as in your subject line, avoid all caps, too much punctuation, and overuse of the word “free.” But keep in mind what users consider spam, too. Your readers will appreciate it if you:

• Get specific permission to send them emails
• Don’t send messages too frequently

Permissions and frequency and timing are addressed in greater detail in other posts.

4. Make your content scannable.

Dave Chaffey notes that 75% of email readers scan messages rather than reading them word-for-word, so take steps to make scanning easier for your readers.* How?

•  Halve your word count as compared to traditional writing 
•  Write in inverted pyramid style, stating the main point first in every paragraph, then adding details
• Use bulleted and/or numbered lists
• Highlight keywords
• Use meaningful headings and subheadings
• Limit paragraphs to one concept each
• Keep instructions succinct and to a minimum
  

5. Stay away from the hard sell.

Consider your e-newsletter a way to build trust within your customer base. Think about your readers’ needs and write for them. Deliver value and relevance, and the rest will follow.

6.  Give readers what they want.

E-newsletters should offer information value to readers. If your audience is likely to want different types of information or advice from you, consider offering choices for content types that can be updated through their personal profiles.

7. Make it easy to navigate.
 

• Provide a table of contents with links to specific content. 
• Use a similar layout for each newsletter.

8. Follow the rules.

Many countries, including the United States, have established laws designed to identify unsolicited commercial email and punish its purveyors. In his book, Bruce C. Brown summarizes the main points of the U.S. CAN-SPAM Act, which legislates spam, as follows:**

• Commercial messages must NOT contain false or misleading information
• Commercial messages must not contain false or misleading headers
• Deceptive subject lines are not permitted
• Commercial emails must contain a functional opt-out link
• Ads must be identified as such
• All commercial messages must include the sender’s physical address and contact information
  
  

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