And that’s just the beginning.
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And that’s just the beginning.
See More Work »

And that’s just the beginning.
See More Work »

1. Invest in an email newsletter service. They are approved bulk mailers. Your personal email account will most likely limit how many emails you can send at one time. Email services let you easily manage your lists and provide statistics that let you track your results such as emails opened, bounces, and click-through-rates. I personally recommend Exact Target based in Indianapolis.

2. Keep it short. An email newsletter should be relatively short compared to a print newsletter. That means you have to make some personal decisions about the length of articles. Most email newsletters include a catchy heading followed by one or two paragraphs of text with links back to the full article. This is a great way to generate traffic to your web site. A large portion of your readers will quickly skim headlines and the first few sentences of each article.

3. Write like you speak. Email newsletters and blogs are a more personal form of communication than print. Make your writing more conversational and leave the corporate jargon out.

4. Limit the use of graphics and large mastheads. Various email clients will display your newsletter differently and some companies even install software that may block your images. Images should be a supplement and not the main focus of the newsletter. If you do include images always include ALT Tags (text descriptions of your images) just in case image blocking has been enabled.

5. Encourage people to subscribe. Add a sign-up box to your website. Put links to the sign-up page in your email signature, on your blog and on your other social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, or my favorite Smaller Indiana. One of the benefits of using an email service provider is that your supporters can add themselves to your list automatically — but only if they can find you. Always include a way to forward to friends.