Send Your Message to the Masses

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Email Newsletter Overview
Send Your
Message
to the
Masses
June 12, 2013
Emily Pitts, University of Georgia

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Email newsletter overview
This session will cover:
 E-newsletter basics
 Selecting an e-newsletter service
 Working with subscription lists
 Planning your newsletter series
June 12, 2013Send Your Message to the Masses : : Email Newsletter Overview

E-Newsletter basics

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Basic definitions
 HTML email
 Email newsletter service
 Subscription list
 Campaign
 Email client

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HTML email… Why do it?
 Visually appealing
 Include your logo
 Include pictures
 Help focus attention
 Professional
 Message straight to user’s inbox
 No additional software
 No attachments necessary
 Link to more info or include it all in the message

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What makes HTML email different?
Email Client DeviceFormat

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How can an
e-newsletter
service help?
Email Client
Device
Format

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What’s so hard about sending
bulk email?
TrashSPAM!

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Email works like this… Ideally.
Your
Message
Your
Email Server
Recipient’s
Email Server
Recipient’s
Email Inbox

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Problem #1: Message never sent
Your
Message
Your
Email Server
Recipient’s
Email Server
Recipient’s
Email Inbox
!

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Problem #2: Message blocked
Your
Message
Your
Email Server
Recipient’s
Email Server
Recipient’s
Email Inbox
!

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Problem #3: Straight to junk mail
Your
Message
Your
Email Server
Recipient’s
Email Server
Recipient’s
Trash or Junk
Mail Folder

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Problem #4: Return to sender
Your
Message
Your
Email Server
Recipient’s
Email Server
Recipient’s
Email Inbox

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How can an
e-newsletter
service help?
Trash
SPAM!

Selecting an
e-newsletter service

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E-Newsletter service
 Permission-based tool for mass e-mailing
 Subscriber management
 Unsubscribes, deletes, edits
 Segmentation
 Profile information
 History of interaction
 Campaign creation tools
 Tracking success and monitoring problems

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Which service
should I use?
 There are so many to choose from!

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How do I pick?
 Budget
 Scalability
 Immediate results
 Freebies and features
 Simplicity
 Customization
 Vendor advertising
 Reliability
 Survey tools
 Invitations / announcements
 Support
 Integration

Understanding subscription
lists

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What’s in a subscription list?
 List name
 Your contact info
 Permission reminder
 Per subscriber
 Basic info: email address
 Additional info: first and last name
 Detailed information: birthday, address,
phone, etc.
 Interest groups: ANR, 4-H, FACS, special
events, specific topics, etc.
 Sign-up forms

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How do new subscribers
get added?
 Via web form
 Subscriber adds self
 You subscribe individual
 Double opt-in
 Import list of individuals
 From written sign-up form
 From migrated listserv
 As a text document
 As an excel spreadsheet

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Working with
subscription
lists
You must have
permission
for every single
address that
you enter or
import
into your list.

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Recruiting subscribers
 Link to sign-up forms
 On your website
 From Facebook page
 In email signature
 In targeted messages
 Sign-up sheet at office/event
 Invitation over the phone

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Build and maintain relationships
Trust
 Use transparent language
 Use email addresses only as explicitly written at sign-up
 Don’t share email addresses with other people or lists
 Do consider sharing a message for other people
 Don’t pick up email addresses from other sources
 Do consider asking other sources to plug your newsletter

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Build and maintain relationships
Respect
 Introduce yourself in your campaign
 Reintroduce yourself if a lot of time has passed between
campaigns
 Allow subscribers to change their preferences
 Always allow people to unsubscribe
 Make unsubscribing a simple process
 Be clear about why they are receiving your message

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Tips for migrating lists
 Did these people agree to hear from you via email?
About this subject? For this purpose?
 How old is your list?
 Will they remember you?
 Will the addresses bounce? Be blocked?
 Clean it up! Look for:
 Old email addresses
 Mistyped email addresses
 Generic email addresses
 Duplicates sometimes okay
(be wary if different names on same address though!)

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First contact to migrated list
 If they agreed to newsletter –
send message from new subscription list.
 If they are office contacts or very old addresses –
send from your email and include sign-up link.
 Re-introduce yourself and re-introduce your list
 New newsletter format!
 Here’s what we do and why you want to hear from us.
 Method to unsubscribe
 Link to update subscription info
NOTE: If you mass email random people from your email account, be respectful
of their privacy. Always use BCC to hide addresses in mass emails.

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Can I subscribe a listserv?
No.
 Probably against terms of service
 One person’s actions from a listserv affects
everyone on the listserv
 Change of address
 Unsubscribe
 SPAM (100% sure way to be blacklisted)
NOTE: If you are the listserv owner, consider migrating list to
email newsletter service for distribution and management.

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Can I subscribe the entire
organization?
No.
 Subscribing listserv addresses may not be allowed.
 Email addresses may not be easily compiled and maintained.
Do:
 Recruit subscribers from faculty and staff listservs.
 Include link to sign-up form on your email signature.

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How do I recruit listserv
subscribers?
 Send occasional message asking people
to sign up (monthly, seasonal).
 Include what the newsletter does, why they
should get it, how to subscribe.
 Send teaser with issue information.
 Include a link to the sign-up form.
 Include a link to sample newsletter (do not
forward actual newsletter).

Planning your
newsletter series

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Establish a
distribution
strategy
 How often?
 Frequency
 Ability to produce
 To whom?
 Targeted audience
 Multiple audiences
 Archive?
 Link to back issues
 List back issues on your site

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Craft a
content plan
 Email subject
 Required info per campaign
 Predictable sections
 Articles
 Voice
 Primary goals
 Links
 Images
 Text-only version
Send Your Message to the Masses : : Email Newsletter Overview June 12, 2013

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Email subject
Inviting emails = more opens
 Recognized sender
 Personalized “to” line
 Subject
 Call to action
 Preview of content
 Relevant
 No “spammy” language

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Required info per campaign

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Articles and voice
 Most important article first
 Sections: like with like
 Subject-related (i.e. program areas)
 Action-related (i.e. event calendar)
 Formula for your layout
 Article placement
 Newsletter info placement
 Features
 Standard approach
 Link out to articles?
 Include all content?

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Primary goals and links
Clear actions = more clicks
 Make it easy to pick out actions
 Keep an eye on how many links
you include
 Monitor which ones are clicked,
ignored, etc.
 Standard links to: your site, your
facebook page, etc.

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Images
 Image visibility
 Most emails will be delivered with images OFF
 Images MUST have alternative text
 Once open, rely on text (not images) to convey message
 Placement – with every article? sidebar?
 Consistency – size, shape, style
 Reuse – banner, section, etc.

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Text-only version
 Organize and clean it up
 Issue information
 Table of contents at top
 Indicate headings
 Separate with lines or asterisks above and below heading
 Allow a few extra line breaks after the end of each section
 Don’t forget standard newsletter info at bottom

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A few examples…
 Walk Georgia (HTML & text-only)
 http://us1.campaign-
archive1.com/home/?u=4cc31c1fa608a4d5b37d9e142&id=97c6956
b22
 Environmental News (HTML & text-only)
 http://www.caes.uga.edu/unit/oes/news.cfm
 Galleries
 http://www.beautiful-email-newsletters.com
 http://www.email-gallery.com
 http://mailchimp.com/features/email-template-gallery

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Questions?
Emily Pitts
epitts@uga.edu
706-542-0811
Visit www.caes.uga.edu/unit/octs
for more resources and WIMBA archives.

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