The 'message' is what you want your readers to retain and, in some cases, act upon. It seems so logical to distribute content that is relevant to your audience's lives and thereby anticipated and eagerly read. How many newsletters that you subscribe to pass this simple test?
Many marketers, whether they be professionals or otherwise, reflexively want to begin touting their own company's achievements. They want to climb onto the mountaintops and scream about how great they are, how many sales their company made, the partnerships they are forming, and how their product is the best thing to happen since sliced bread. It is probably a good thing that marketers have such high opinions of their products, but there is a major flaw in that message - Customers just don't care about those things.
When you walk into a neighborhood business and ask the owner how things are going, you expect her to say maybe a few words about the state of her business. You hope, I imagine, things are going well. What you do not want, however, is a lengthy dissertation on all the ups and downs and strategic decisions she is making. You came into her establishment for a reason - probably to buy something - and just asked a polite question. Overwhelming you with the current state of her business is just plain rude.
Can you imagine inviting that same business owner into your home for a weekly meeting? Probably not. Nobody likes people to just talk only about themselves.
Some newsletter owners, however, engage in precisely this type of behavior. They send out vanity statements about their businesses, giving readers information they couldn't care less about. All the messages are about how their widget is the best one on the market not about what their customer finds compelling.
The average businessperson now gets over 50 emails a day. When he opens his in-box he has three thoughts in mind - "which do I read, which I save to read later, and which do I delete without opening." If you are playing the role of the rude businessperson, and bombarding the prospect with information he isn't interested in, your newsletters will quickly be in the deleted column. Your subscriber list will shrink rather than grow.
To keep your newsletter in the 'read and saved columns' be sure to send information that is:
Relevant - Does it speak to the customer's interests and not your own?
Anticipated - Do you distribute on a regular basis so people expect your newsletter to arrive on a certain day?
Eagerly read - Are you monitoring how readers are looking at your newsletter so you can alter it to conform to their interests?
Remember, the name of the game is readership. To increase the number of readers politely focus on your customer and watch your subscriber list and qualified leads grow.
Jason Kassel is a founding partner in InternetVIZ (https://www.internetviz.com), an Internet marketing firm helping companies find, acquire and retain customers through email newsletters. He can be reached at jason@internetviz.com.
