Be honest. Are you a spammer?
A “compers” newsletter is running a competition to find the fullest inbox.
Leading so far is Rebecca with 600,000 unread messages. Wow!
It's just a bit of silly fun, but what do chock-a-block inboxes actually tell us?
First, that email is massively successful, still going strong after 50+ years and essential to online life. It ain't going anywhere.
It's our filing cabinet — train tickets, receipts, messages from loved ones. Some filing cabinets are more tidy than others!
But the main message for email marketers and newsletter creators is this:
It's a battleground — between spammy sales blasts and meaningful communication.
So today, my not-in-any-way judgemental question for you, is:
Are you sending stuff people really want?
I ask this question not to come on all high and mighty, but simply to point out that without getting clicks, replies and comments you're being treated as spam in most people's minds anyway.
Without being harsh, I would say on a balance of probabilities, your visibility with email users will soon be approaching zero.
There are 100s of ways to build loyalty and trust and achieve a 2-way reader relationship, almost always leading to the conversions and sales that matter so much, things that I'm going to be talking a lot about in Champion Newsletters.
For now, here are 3 fundamentals I consider essential for a newsletter to have a chance of getting regularly opened and therefore surviving.
- Subject lines that tease a benefit or idea, not a product or offer.
- Words worth reading, with an entertaining story and/or a useful takeaway.
- Consistent timing, always arriving at the same time and day to encourage a habit.
Yours in newsletters,
