What Should You Expect In The Way Of Opens?

In the best of all scenarios, the open rate for your enewsletters would increase each issue. But, it doesn't often happen that way. Here's why:

You, the owner of the enewsletter, expect that it will be so devastatingly fascinating that readers will be looking forward to reading the next issue. Well, for some readers this will be true. But many more readers will have found that the letter just doesn't do much for their needs. So this latter group won't bother to open the next issue.

This should not be a surprising situation. After all, the recipients of the enewsletter didn't (except for a handful of opt-ins) ask to have it sent to them. You built or bought a list of people you thought would be important to your enterprise and you fired out the letter hoping to make friends.

Well, some will become friends and some will just want it to go away. That's why you have the opt-out choice in your letter. But most of the recipients who are indifferent won't bother to do the unsubscribe bit.

So, the open rate drops some after the first letter. Don't sweat it. Your letter may be just right for a core audience and they become prospects for you.

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

Introducing The Guide To eNewsletter Success

Here is something that could be very important to you. We have compiled a 50-page collection of postings that offer advice and tips that can make an enewsletter campaign more effective. The subject matter includes the following:

• Doing It right
• What readers like
• The creative factor
• Making it happen
• Technology
• Getting letters read
• Keeping score
• Target marketing
• The blog tie-in
• Where do you go from here?

Distribution of this guide is going to be very restricted. However, you are among the selected few who will have a chance to get this manual without cost.

Here is our offer.

If you will invite us to come and discuss a potential enewsletter program for your company, you will get a copy free. Or, if you will refer us to someone who is thinking of doing enewsletters for his or her organization, we will send you a copy with no obligation.

It is easy to get in touch with us. Just call 305-271-9915. Or email us: mmenendez@loopconsulting.com

How To Set up A Successful eNewsletter Program

This can be the year that your organization will enjoy the benefits of an enewsletter program. Over the past year we have given you a multitude of tips and hints for making an enewsletter program successful. But, perhaps, some of you are wondering how to get lined up to start such a program.

1) You start by appointing a qualified person to be the manager of the program. This appointee should be one you feel can have sole authority for supervising what happens with the program.

2) Then you make a decision as to whether the pick-and-shovel work of writing and publishing the enewsletters will be done in-house or by outside enewsletters professionals.

2) You now need to identify the invididuals to whom you would like to communicate.

3) Next you have to decide how to obtain email addresses for these people. . You now have a decision point regarding using email addresses you have on hand and/or purchasing lists. If you opted to used outside professionals, they will help with this.

4) Here comes the critical issue. From where will you get the content for the enewsletters? You have some choices here. You can use your internal knowledge sources to develop text that address issues of importance to your operation. Or, you assign your outside professionals to do this for you. They of course would be working under guidelines you establish.

5) At this point you address the issue of budget. After you have made decisions about size of list and who does what, you can start looking at the money factor. If you use an outside professionals they will set up a budget for you.

6) Set up timetables. The main reason for failure of enewsletter programs is lack of discipline in establishing due dates for work progress and enforcing them. Set up due dates for content input, writing of text, graphics/design development, publishing and follow-up reports. Allow time between steps for in-house approvals.

7) Establish a program for tracking the action of readers of the enewsletters. Then demand that these reports be submitted after each publication date - and reviewed for suggested improvements.

8) Be constantly thinking about how the letters can be made better. With the information you will be getting and your knowledge of your business, you should be able to achieve constant improvement.

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