Recently I have been working on reviewing email templates.

There is one item that continously struck me about this particular set of emails. It was the way they all ended on a negative note. I am not sure if they realized that this is what they have been doing.

The first item in the footer of their newsletter was all about how to unsubscribe and how easy it was.

While I know that it is important to include an opt-out method in a newsletter, I do not believe this should be the first or only item in the footer. It gives the impression of now that you read the newsletter we know you'd like to unsubscribe, so just click here now!

I have since suggested that the focus should be on how if they enjoyed this newsletter they may want to see what other newsletters were avaiable and how easy it is to subscribe for those. And then added another line afterwards about where to click to unsubscribe (without the enthusiam - just the how-to).

This of course also brings me to welcome emails. The welcome email is (as in thanks for subscribing) is yor first email to your customer, so put some effort into it. It can be argued that no one reads these, but first impressions are important and it can be an easy and quick way to highlight some key areas on your site and also a good way to drive traffic back to it. Length is important as well, so you don't want to it be too long either. You also want to remind your customers of some key items (e.g. adding you to their white list, forward/tell your friend, etc.)

And don't let the unsubscribe message be the key or focal point of the email.

Think positive!

This article was posted in Marketing Sherpa on November 4. This article has limited access until Nov. 14.  So please read it quickly!

It's a great example of the amount of time and thought that is required to continuously have a successful email list and campaigns.

Article:

"EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW:
How Intrawest Resorts Get 2-3 Times Higher Response Rates to House List Emailings