Email Newsletters: Best Ways to Deliver & Format?

Ah, the eternal question of emailed newsletters: What's the best format to send it so it gets delivered, opened, and read? Here's what one of my Customized Newsletter Services clients asked in a recent email:

Dear Patsi,

There is a definite divergence of opinions among my colleagues about the best way to distribute a newsletter.

• Some feel that the entire text should be in the email in html, eliminating the need for click-thru's.

• Some simply send a one or two sentence summary, with an attached pdf.

• Some send what amounts to headlines, with a click-thru to the website where the newsletter is resident.   

• Some send a one or two sentence plain text summary with link to the newsletter.   

Everybody seems to do something different. They all have a rationale for their decision. And all seem to have their limitations, as well.   

I was contemplating a test... putting full text in one, and tracking the stats, via constant contact. Simultaneously, test drive another distribution vendor, who allows pdf attachments.   

Do you have an opinion?   

I ran an experiment over the summer, and what I'm seeing is a declining readership, possibly based on tightened spam filters. I filtered out anyone who hadn't opened the newsletter in 90 days,and did an analysis on that list. Found many, many addresses of people whom I personally knew, and whose addresses were good. They hadn't seen the newsletter. 

So, that problem seems to exist. Changing distribution vendors might get around the spam filters, for a while. But I suspect a tightening environment.   

Thoughts?

Jim Jarvis, MBA
President - Executive Coach --The Morse Group, LLC
www.themorsegroup.biz -- Read our latest newsletter by clicking here.

Jim, we've done a lot of surveying and asking our clients about this. There doesn't seem to be an easy answer but you're doing the best thing by asking your readers and testing.

Instead of telling you what works for us, I'm going to throw your questions out to readers. In fact, I've create a Vizu poll and ask people to vote. [See poll in pink over on right ==>]

As always, it depends on your audience of readers and actual test results you get using your systems.

Readers, what distribution system works for you? How do you format your newsletters, plain text, HTML, or PDF documents? Hit the comment link and share your thoughts and opinions.

I've put a Vizu Poll up in the right hand side column. Please vote!

Comments

[Debbie Jordan Kravitz (OrganizerNews.com)]

I run a client newsletter service for Professional Organizers at www.organizernews.com. We advise our clients to send the full email text with a link to the full version on the web. This gives readers the choice to read the entire newsletter however they prefer.

I do this in my own client newsletters, too. I can track who opened the email via the reports in kickstart cart, and I can track how many hits went to the newsletter web site. Over half of my readers go to the html version so there must be a need for these different versions.

[Luann Udell]

Why don't you ask READERS what they prefer?
When email programs were clunky and most ordinary people had slow computers, I preferred text format.

When email became more common, and computers got faster, a link to an online newsletter was still safer. Crashing someone's email program with a huge email was a huge no-no.

Now that customers who want email usually have great systems and fast service is more common, I like to read that newsletter right in my email, with links to online content if I want to find out more--follow up on a sale, order, etc. (Though I'm still cautious about phishing.) And now people can individually let you know what their preferences are, too.

What do I HATE?? Partial content--where I start to read part of the article, and THEN find out I HAVE to go the website to finish. Or when it's not clear whether all the content is in the email or not. In other words--ambiguity.

Hope this helps,
Luann

[Patsi aka The Blog Squad]

Debbie, thanks. You have a great signature because not only do I know your full name, but you've also left the name of your business. I appreciate that! So many people are using their biz names as a signature and that's so impersonal. You're doing what Denise and I recommend: name+brand together.

Luann, thanks. Personally I don't like to have to leave my inbox and click to go read because I'll often say, "that's interesting, I'd like to read it, but later when I have time." Then I never do.

These are great suggestions and thoughts, thanks for stopping by.