eNewsletters - Paper Newsletters On Hormones

We find that a lot people equate enewsletters with printed newsletters. They think that both are about the same, but we say uh, uh. They are quite different vehicles. It is like the difference between Shaq O'neal and Michael Jackson. They both can attract attention, but Shaq is the one who has the power to deliver.

Where is the power in enewsletters? Well, first of all, they not only deliver the message, they give the reader ways to immediately respond. The readers can email the sender, they can tell about their preferences in polls that are part of the content and they can they can tell the sender to buzz off by clicking on "unsubscribe."

Then there is the power of links that are built into the letters. They direct the reader to in-depth information sources at a single click. They direct the reader to the sender's web site from a link. They can send the reader to the sender's blog.

But a big part of that power is the timeliness and immediacy of newsletters. They weren't written weeks ago and sent through bulk mail that can take weeks to arrive. They can be in the hands of the readers within hours of the time the text is finished. So, the content has the power and excitement of freshness.

So, if you are stuck with printed newsletters, think seriously about adding enewsletters to your marketing communications mix.

Prescott "Pete" Lustig
Senior Marketing Strategist
www.loopconsulting.com

Content Always Wins - Everything Else Comes In Second

From: Enewsletter Marketing Insights (Emi)- July 2005

In this issue: It is a constant contest between form and content. Which is more important - how the eNewsletter looks or what it says? We have no doubts about the answer. Read on. Complete article...

Marcos J. Menendez
President
www.loopconsulting.com

Got a question or suggestion ? Post it as a comment.

Want To Increase Your Click-Through Rate? Think About Your Readers

I was asked what I would do to increase the “click-through” rate of an eNewsletter.

And my answer was “after the design, layout and images are optimized to support your eNewsletter objectives the only thing that will spike click-through is compelling, useful and relevant content for the audience. With compelling content you can forget the other three”.

That’s it. If the content or the offer is gold, people will click on through to find out more.

Marcos J. Menendez
President
www.loopconsulting.com

If you have any questions or want to say something nice (or not), post it as a comment and will answer it!

Loop’s eNewsletter “Emi” Nominated For Award

On behalf of all the team at Loop Consulting Group I’m proud to announce that our very own eNewsletter named “Enewsletter Marketing Insights”, ‘Emi’ for short, is a finalist for the prestigious ClickZ Marketing Excellence Awards 2005 under the category of Best B2B E-Newsletter.

ClickZ writes on its site "The ClickZ Marketing Excellence Awards recognize ClickZ readers' choices for achievement and innovation in online marketing technology, solutions, and execution."

Anyone can vote for the finalists at http://cp.jupiterweb.com/index.php/1341_default/. But we are at the end of the page. Please vote now since voting ends on the close of business day, EST, on Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Best B2B E-Newsletter:

Emi (Loop Consulting Group)

To vote for "Emi" click here.

Thank you for your vote.

Marcos J. Menendez
President

www.loopconsulting.com

Got a question? Post it as a comment and we’ll answer it.

A New Way To Increase Your eNewsletter Subscription Rate

There are plenty of successful tactics to increase your eNewsletter subscription rate -- or the amount of new subscribers added to your eNewsletter. For example adding a sign-up form in every page within your website -- or providing incentives to attract subscribers. They all work well when properly applied.

Lately our subscription rate for “Enewsletter Marketing Insights”, our eNewsletter, has been steadily climbing and this is all due to our blog, yes this very one you are reading.

By simply offering our blog readers the opportunity to subscribe to our eNewsletter, they have been signing up. After all it makes a ton of sense. Our blog readers are interested in eNewsletter marketing and our eNewsletter “Emi” is all about that.

So, for the tactics record, adding your eNewsletter subscription link to your blog will increase your eNewsletter subscription rate.

Marcos J. Menendez
President
www.loopconsulting.com

Got a question or suggestion ? Post it as a comment.

About Brent's Comment

We were pleased to get Brent's comment (see item below) because he is an emarketing professional who also does a blog that talks about enewsletters. When you visit his blog you will see that his approach is different from ours. We are focusing on how-to-do it tips and info. He does some of this, too, but takes a more industry-wide approach. Between these two blogs readers will be able to get a good perspective on that exciting medium - enewsletters.

Prescott "Pete" Lustig
Senior Marketing Strategist
www.loopconsulting.com

Tell Us - Is This Blog Worthwhile?

The tracking counter tells us that a lot of visitors are coming to this blog. However, we rarely get a comment. It is time see what is going on with our readers. So, we would like to ask a favor of you.

Will you please give us some comments about the usefulness of this blog to you? Tell us if the information we are providing is useful. Are we missing some subjects that you would like to hear about? Do you have reason to question some of our offerings? Would you like to hear about our real life experiences in this business? Anything else?

We'll be paying attention, so please talk to us.

Marcos and Pete
www.loopconsulting.com

Catch Readers' Interest With Headlines

Text, not pictures or multimedia, grabs visitor's attention when first they visit your enewsletter. This was reported in a 2004 study done by several research groups (The Poynter Institute,the Estlow Center for Journalism & New Media, and Eyetools). Furthermore, the report disclosed that "dominant headlines" - not photographs - most often draw the eye when entering a page.

The study goes on to say that all headlines are not created equal. Some draw visitors in and encourage them to read the text below. But others act like visual stop signs. For instance, undefined headlines discourage visitors from reading further and acted as "visual breaks" that discouraged people from looking at items beyond the break.

The bottom line is that this study shows how important it is to create readable headlines and section headers.

Note that this applies equally to web pages.

Prescott "Pete" Lustig
Senior Marketing Strategist
www.loopconsulting.com

Do They Love You? How Do You Know?

Enewsletters open new doors to communication with readers. A device we find very effective is a little poll at the end of the letter asking for reader reactions. For example: "How useful was this letter for you?" Then you can offer a checkoff box indicating the degree of usefulness.

The poll questions can be shaped to find out other things you would like to know. "Would you recommend this letter to someone else?" Or, "How do you feel about the length of this letter?" Then there is a check off for varying lengths.

It is an effortless, instant way for the readers to respond. It just can't be done as effectively in printed newsletters.

Prescott "Pete" Lustig
Senior Marketing Strategist
www.loopconsulting.com

The Secret Ingredient - Passion

When we sign on a new client for our enewsletter services, it is usually the culmination of a long series of presentations and negotiations. So, we always try to find out what factors turned the decision in our favor.

Of course, the financial aspects are always important. We know that we have to be competitive.

However, we just closed a big account and when we asked the client how we became the winner, he said "Passion!" He explained that our intense committment to doing what it took to get their account impressed them. He also was referring to our passion for our work - and what it does for clients.

It strikes us that this passion for what a company does, and for its products or services, needs to come through in its enewsletters. It is not that we recommend belaboring this subject. It is that it must subtly be there - and be felt by the readers.

Prescott "Pete" Lustig
Senior Marketing Stragegist
www.loopconsulting.com

eNewsletters - A Launching Pad To Other Media

We have been noticing that EMI, our Loop Consulting Group enewsletter, is generating action for this blog. There was a link to our blog that was clicked on by a number of EMI readers. We also note that we are getting a lot of feedback to our web site http://www.loopconsulting.com/

The message here is that enewsletters can and should interact with an organization's other media. The digital media work together nicely. It is very convenient to be able to just click a link and go to a site with further information.

Prescott "Pete" Lustig
Senior Markeing Strategist
www.loopconsulting.com

Emi: There Is No Such Thing As An Instant Purchase

Enewsletter Marketing Insight- June 2005

In this issue: "Blink" the book about "Thinking without thinking" got me to thinking about what happens when we make a buying decision. We often make purchase decisions based on a sudden impulse. How do we make decisions in the blink of an eye? Read on...

Complete article...

Marcos J. Menendez
President
www.loopconsulting.com