On average, users spend about 51 seconds scanning an eNewsletter. Those seconds are comprised of scanning the first two words of each headline, looking for information that is relevant to him/her. Your audience is flooded with emails every day, so ensuring that you choose best content is greatly important if you want people to keep subscribing.
Here are some tips to make the most of your audiences’ attention while they are looking at a eNewsletter:
Content-Include articles that are pertinent to your readers’ busy day
- Write eNewsletter exclusive content
- If including older articles, specify that they are from the past and why they are relevant for this eNewsletter
- Articles should be prioritized in terms of relevance to the reader. The most relevant should be the first article listed, and so on.
- Ideal number of articles per issue: 3-5
Link text
- Use actionable words, such as “read more” instead of “click here”
Headlines
- Keep them short
- Keep them literal so the reader knows what the article is about
- Use keywords at the front because readers scan the first two words of each headline
Teasers
- Write a brief lead-in paragraph (200 char, max), then link to your website for the full text. The idea is to grab people’s attention quickly with easily digestible bits of information.
Subject Lines
- Make your subject lines relevant, concise with one single call to action
- Keep subject lines descriptive about the content in the email
- Limit Your Subject Lines to 30-50 Characters or About 6-10 Words
- Avoid spam filter trigger words such as “free”
- Other words that can negatively affect open rates are “reminder, percent off, and help.” They can appear to be spam. For example: “Final reminder for the March 22nd rate…”
eNewsletters are a great way to drive visitors back to your website on a regular basis. They are great for branding purposes and to remind your visitors that your site can provide them with updated information that is relevant to their lives. However, providing stale content in a newsletter or otherwise creating the impression that you are simply trying to market to your audience will quickly turn them off of your eNewsletter and possibly even drive them away from your brand entirely. Keep it simple, keep it short, and keep it relevant.
