Email University 
The Three Secrets to an Effective
E-Newsletter
Author: Michael J. Katz, Blue Penguin Development Inc.
Description:
A quick primer for email marketing success.
Excerpted From: E-Newsletters That Work: The Small Business Owner's Guide To Creating, Writing and Publishing An Effective Electronic Newsletter
The Three Secrets to an Effective E-Newsletter
I call them "secrets," because as simple as they are, they are completely ignored by 95% of the people and companies producing E-Newsletters today.
Secret #1: Focus on the content
Go to the bookstore and grab a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. The 1960 winner of the Pulitzer Prize (and for my money one of the best books ever written) is as fresh and engaging as it was 40 years ago.
Now, go to the discount rack and pick up a dusty old also ran.
What's the difference between these two books? Why is one so much more successful than the other?
Is it the binding? The cover art? The paper quality? The distribution network that delivered the books to the bookstore? No, no, no and no.
The difference is the content. The text of To Kill a Mockingbird scrawled on the back of a restaurant napkin would be a more interesting read than a beautiful, high quality book filled with nothing but blank pages. Content is what matters.
The reason I mention all this is that in the world of E-Newsletters, content is frequently left out of the discussion. Go to E-Newsletter business seminars, read business articles about E-Newsletters, or listen to the E-Newsletter vendors talk about what matters, and content almost never makes it to the top of the list.
The conversations in the E-Newsletter world are overwhelmingly dominated by discussions of tracking, formatting, list management and other logistical aspects of E-Newsletter production.
There's nothing wrong with talking about these things (after all, that's what a good chunk of this book is about), but it's all irrelevant if the content of your E-Newsletter isn't great. If what you have to say is not interesting, clear, compelling and of use to your readers, then everything else is a waste of time; yours and theirs.
As you develop your E-Newsletter, remember To Kill a Mockingbird. At the end of the day, content is the only differentiator that matters.
Secret #2: Focus on the relationships
The primary reason that E-Newsletters are so powerful is because they provide a systematic means for growing and maintaining relationships. It's not because they're cheap or trackable or archivable or clickable or forwardable, although they certainly are all those things.
It's because they give you a vehicle for connecting with the people who purchase or are likely to purchase your product or service, month after month after month.
If you write your company newsletter with a focus on enhancing the relationship between you and your readers, you will stand head and shoulders above your competition, most of whom are missing this point entirely, and who (whether they say it out loud or not) view their E-Newsletter as an inexpensive way to send direct mail to their house list.
As you'll see in the following pages, everything we suggest you do in managing your E-Newsletter - from the way you speak to your readers, to the topics you select to write about, to the way you manage requests to be taken off the mailing list - is intended to reinforce your relationship with your customers and prospects.
Secret #3: Be Genuine
A few months ago, I attended a local business meeting where I didn't know anybody. After a few minutes of wandering around, I began talking to a man named Mark, who owned his own executive coaching business. Terrific guy: warm, friendly, smart and easy to talk to.
As it turned out, Mark was just about to launch an E-Newsletter, and upon learning what I did for a living, he asked if I would mind taking a look at it. I said sure, send it over.
What a shock. The newsletter, although filled with useful information and insights, was completely without Mark's personality. It was dry, dull and uncomfortably formal. It was missing the one thing that made Mark stand out in my mind; his vibrant personality.
I sent the newsletter back to Mark suggesting some changes, and in particular, encouraging him to "speak" to his readers in the same genuine way he welcomed me into the meeting the previous week. He did, and what a difference!
Look, many of us were taught to write very formally, and in business writing in particular, we write as if we are appearing in front of a Senate subcommittee on the importance of being serious in the workplace.
Don't do that. Email is an informal, one to one medium, and the stuff that plays well in "The New York Times" reads like dust online. Be yourself, and give your readers as much of an authentic taste of you in every newsletter as you possibly can.
(c) 2002, Michael J. Katz
Michael J. Katz is Founder and Chief Penguin of Boston-based Blue Penguin Development, Inc. (BluePenguinDevelopment.com) and is a recognized expert in the creation and management of effective E-Newsletters.
Michael has 20 years of marketing and training experience, and has been directly responsible for the development of E-Newsletters which today boast a combined monthly circulation of over 400,000 subscribers.
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