Having an email newsletter can be very rewarding for a lot of reasons. It’s the leading way to communicate with the fans of your personal brand, product or service. You can contact many people simultaneously and if they become no longer receptive to your messages, no harm is done. They can unsubscribe.
Those who write and send out email newsletters are always looking for ideas to implement to improve their email marketing plans. Here are the 3 C’s – Careful, Clean, and Consistent – great habits that will take your newsletter even farther.
Habit: Careful
Get a proofreader or a second opinion
Mistakes can be embarrassing. I get far too many emails that have an addendum sent an hour or two later because a critical detail like the date of an event was left out. Sometimes I receive an email with a glaring typo or another mistake. By the time I return to the inbox, I already see an email with an apology and the correction.
I don’t know if that’s worse than the email newsletter that has a glaring error or misinformation that has no correction. Did they even realize what they did?
Here’s where a proofreader comes in very handy. Is there someone who is a good writer who could also look at what you wrote? Your eyes have glossed over the text again and again. You’d be surprised how often something you write that seems pristine is actually riddled with misspelled words and grammatical errors! At the very least, consider using a spell checker.
There are also times when you feel your writing is expressing something clearly, but the proofreader has a puzzled look on his or her face because they don’t understand. If they don’t understand, try to see if you can say it even more clearly. You may not always agree, but more often than not you’ll appreciate the suggestion they made.
Is there a sensitive topic? Get someone to have a look who has common sense. Maybe they’ll see something you don’t.
Having someone carefully read your emails before you send them out is one of the smartest habits you can improve your email newsletter with.
Habit: Clean
Keep your email list clean
All email lists become infected from time to time. Infected? Yes, there are bad email addresses and there are good ones. The bad ones should be removed using an email list cleaning system like Zerobounce.
You may be thinking that your list only has good email addresses on it. After all, the only people who are on there are those who subscribed.
However, there’s a number of kinds of bad emails that end up on your list: spam traps, abuse addresses, catch-all, role-based, and they all contribute to an unhealthy list.
Furthermore, the fact of the matter is that people change their email addresses. They stop using their school or work address or they simply change email service providers.
Email validation is a great habit that will improve the results of any email newsletter. By keeping your list healthy, you improve your sender reputation and drastically decrease bounces and spam complaints. A lowered sender reputation or lots of spam complaints will cause your newsletters to be classified as spam and therefore won’t end up in the inbox. How’s that for a hard lesson to learn?
Validating your database is easy. All you do is upload your list to the platform of an established, trustworthy email verification service. These invalid and problematic emails that lead to an unhealthy list are identified. Then, you can remove them– and you should! Keeping your email list clean is a top priority.
Habit: Consistent
ABC- Always Be Consistent
If there’s one thing you can be consistent on, it’s consistency. Seriously though, the most successful email newsletters are a habit in and of themselves. The writer of the emails sends them on the same day of the week, or if they are sent out less, there is nonetheless a rhythm: the fifth day of the month, but consistently every single month. Or maybe every other Wednesday is what works for you and your readers?
Not only does this improve your sender reputation, but it keeps you in the mind of your subscribers. They start to learn the pattern of when your emails are sent. They even begin to look forward to receiving them.
Not being consistent makes you look undependable and, well, inconsistent. On the other hand, consistency is a sign that you’re professional and you know what you’re talking about. If I had a nickel for every time I got an email that began with a “Sorry it’s been so long.” Now, that’s a bad habit to have: sending out newsletters only when you feel like it.
But don’t just be consistent with the intervals that you send emails. Be consistent with the quality of your newsletter, the tone, the font you use, etc. All of this is important for your branding and can help you communicate the story of your brand.
Your favorite restaurant, your favorite clothing, your favorite people. Why do you like them? Chances are consistency is a big part of the equation. So it is with email newsletters.
Be careful, keep it clean, and stay consistent. The 3 C’s that will improve your outcome.
