Online Newsletters
Christy Mannering, Web Developer
Why/How do people use e-newsletters?

Find out about deals

Stay up-to-date on current events/news

Enter contests

Forward to their friends and family
Design

Outlook, Hotmail, Yahoo, Google, Comcast, Verizon…

Every email client renders content differently

Design matters but it’s not everything, especially now that so many people
check email on their smartphones
Content

Your subject line

Preview text

Images

Length of email – 500 words MAX
Timing

DO NOT SPAM YOUR SUBSCRIBERS – Think Weekly

Side note: The more brief your e-mail looks, the more likely it’ll pass spam
inspection.

Do think about your target audience and when they are most likely to check
their email

If you’re a business and want to push your sales, think about when people are
most likely to shop
Create

Custom built newsletters are a thing of the past but can still be useful

Newsletter creation tools ie. MailChimp, Constant Contact, Emma

Word. Just don’t. Aside for Word being TERRIBLE for online design, it also
won’t offer you the analytics that newsletter creation tools will offer.

WordPress. Yes.
OPTIONS
Challenges

Responsiveness and Accessibility

The handful of email clients

The real-time, fast paced world

In-line styles require coding

Social media

With images, without images
Things to think about

When choosing a newsletter tool…

How much does it cost? Two free options – MailChimp and Vertical Response

Will it let you import contacts?

Will it let you schedule emails in advance?

Will it track your analytics?

Does it allow RSS-Integration?
Comparisons
Develop

Brand. Don’t change the look of
your newsletter every time you
send it.

Choose something which is both
pleasing on the eyes, for those
who allow images to be seen in
their emails.

Also make sure you have brief text
and links for those who do not
allow images. Use headings, bold
tags, different color. Not different
fonts.
This was designed using “Campaign Monitor”
Tricks to know

Because online newsletters have always been difficult to develop there are
tools and tricks to help.

Email on Acid will allow you to see what your email looks like across clients
and devices. It’s free to try, but it’s $45/month afterwards.

Create a plain text option and an HTML option

TEST TEST TEST

Make your email SUPER SHARABLE

Offer a tip of the week, recommended for you, special promo code.
Last but not least

Always offer web-based views

Cross reference – social media is changing the way the internet works and the
way people want to get their news. So use that to your advantage.

Let your Facebook fans know when a newsletter with a special promo code has
been sent out

Tweet about subscribing to your newsletters to get weekly tips or deals
MailChimp – quick run through example

Sign up for a free account

Create a campaign

Create a list of subscribers –
just put in your email address again,
this can be your test list

Design a newsletter

Test

Schedule to send to your list.