"Impress with Less" - cont'd
For most of us - even e-addicts like me - 'less' truly is 'more' when it comes to email. No email campaign should ever be bogged down with excessive content. When I say content I am referring to both copy and actual interest categories such as feature articles. From the writer to the reader, it's a waste of everyone's time. Writers are better off leveraging excess content for future email campaigns and readers are happier with brevity. That's why everyone needs to develop a content recipe and stick to it. As you can see below in our content recipe for "On Track", we feature 5 ingredients or sections:
Content Recipe: On Track
1 Part Intro
1 Part Tip
1 Part Trend
1 Part Stats
1 Part Feature Article/Case Study (rotating as needed for flexibility)
For best results, serve in a well-designed email template - ideally both HTML and text.
Depending on your target audience, you may want "how-to" articles related to your product, company updates, and so on. The list of "so on's" is endless and 5 sections is a general guideline for e-newsletters. You know your audience best so take a minute and think about how you can build content that suits your readers' needs and wants - the more detailed your reader profiles the better. Remember email makes it easy to slice and dice, so take advantage of it. The days of mailing one message to your entire list is quickly coming to an end, if it hasn't already. Make 2003 your year to deliver personalized email campaigns that get encouraging results. The bottom line is relevancy drives response. Period. That's segmentation, that's personalization, that's understanding what your readers need and want.
Carolyn Gardner, president of cardcommunications inc., has over 13 years of experience in marketing communications and specific expertise in the planning and execution of highly effective e-marketing campaigns.
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