Once you’ve decided what you want your eNewsletter to include and who you want to send it to you can start putting it together. Here are some top tips.
Do send out test emails
Once your eNewsletter is in its final draft make sure that you send it out to yourself and a couple of other colleagues to test it. Make sure that it looks good, that there are no typos and that all the links work.
Do have a look at how many people open your eNewsletter
Both MailChimp and MadMimi provide reports telling you how many people have opened the eNewsletter and how many people have interacted with it. This way you can monitor what type of content is popular.
Do keep your content focused
Pick the most interesting or compelling content to feature in your eNewsletter. Always write with your audience in mind – would they be interested in what you’re writing? Also think about what you want your audience to know about your organisation and its work – does every piece of content tell your audience something important?
Do include a call to action
Think about what action you want readers to take after reading your eNewsletter. Do you want them to donate? To volunteer? To follow you on social media or visit your website? Include a clear call to action and make it as easy as possible for your audience to act on it. If you want people to donate, provide a link straight to your donation page (and make sure it’s ready to receive online donations). If you want people to follow you on twitter, include a link to your twitter page.
Do make the subject line interesting
Use the subject line to give people a little sneak preview of what’s in the eNewsletter. Give people a reason to open it, rather than just delete it.
Don’t worry too much that some emails bounce
There will always be some emails that bounce back, but make sure that you remove any email addresses that are permanently undeliverable (known as a ‘hard bounce’). Removing hard bounces is important to make sure that email providers don’t see your newsletter as spam.
Read our other articles on Enewsletters – do you need an Enewsletter and how to get started.