Are you popular?
Does anyone care about you and your newsletter?
Here are two indicators to help you decide:
𝟙. Your newsletter open rate is around 40% or higher.
𝟚. Your unsubscribe rate is less than 1%. (Less than 0.5% if you have over 2,000 subscribers.)
These figures are based on our own experience, which is, let's face it, even with the greatest possible exaggeration, a minuscule sample of all the newsletter experience out there. Nevertheless, we sense they're good benchmarks.
If anyone sets their benchmarks differently, we'd love to know, please.
Setting an Example
Here's a suggested structure for your email newsletter, based on a recent newsletter we produced for a coffee shop and deli:
⓵—Introduction that sets out the overarching theme (having a theme for each issue can make it easier to put it together)
❷—Plug for a (new) product (main product plug for the issue, get it in early doors, include picture)
𝟛—Business announcement that genuinely impacts your customers (for example, "We're closed on these dates, don't even think about turning up, you'll only be disappointed"—or words to that effect. Graphics are good)
⒋—Second product promotion (include cute dog picture, always scores highly, even among cat people)
⑸—Highlight a local community initiative (could be a fundraiser, open day, charity event, fair, show, or something small you're offering yourself)
𝟔—Third production promotion (short, just an image really)
⁷—Thoughts on the local food scene (pictures, people love pictures of food almost as much as food itself, and they are way less fattening. Also, another indirect way to promote your own food and drink)
❽—Sign off with a thank you to the reader and customers (pic of yourself and the lovely real people who make your business what it is, reminding the reader that you are human beings who care)
Don't forget to include a few call-to-actions: buy this, follow us here, visit there, etc.
Here's what they might look like:
Flagging Work by Others
This has been around since 2015, but we hadn't seen it before. Isn't it fabulous? The "Flag of Flags" campaign by clever people at M&C Saatchi in Stockholm for Norwegian Airlines.
ICYMI
Here's a controversial newsletter tip for you. Once you've sent out your email newsletter, wait a couple of days, then send it out again to some of the same people. As a result, they will do at least one of these things:
✅ They will open it (huzzah!)
✅ They will ignore it (boo!)
✅ They will unsubscribe (boo-hoo!)
In our experience, most people will ignore the repeated email: 75-85%. 15-25% will open it. Very few people will unsubscribe, despite receiving the same email twice in the space of a couple of days.
Maybe you're surprised?
Maybe, like us, if someone sent you the same newsletter twice, you'd unsubscribe on the spot and mark the sender as a Spammy McSpamface.
The key lies in the phrase some of the same people.
Don't, whatever you do, send out the same email to everyone who got it the first time round. Instead, only send it to subscribers who didn't open the first broadcast.
Add the acronym ICYMI at the beginning of the subject line. "In Case You Missed It".
HEALTH WARNING: Your newsletter shouldn't be going out more than once a month. If you're sending a weekly newsletter, your subscribers are getting plenty of you in their inbox already. No need to double up. But if you're only getting in touch once a month, each dispatch has to work a lot harder and a follow-up can be effective.
HEALTH WARNING 2: Because privacy-conscious companies like Apple are disrupting the spybots that email services embed in newsletters, the feedback about whether or not someone opened a newsletter may not be accurate. So they may end up getting the repeat email despite opening the first broadcast. That might upset them enough to unsubscribe and call you a Spam McSpamJerk.
Almost Everything We Know about Newsletters
Beacon Business Commercial Services (BBCS) has invited us to speak about newsletters in an upcoming webinar. That's quite fortunate because we like talking about newsletters.
Will you join us? The cost to you is an hour of your time. (That's quite expensive.)
Top Secret
Newsletter image for one of our clients. (We won't say who, that's top secret, so don't even ask, you'll never find out).
Your next step...
May we ask a favour? If you know anyone you think would enjoy reading this newsletter, would you forward it on to them? Thank you ever so much.
Also, if you have any feedback, we'd love to hear it. This is your direct line to us: hello@showandtell.ie.
Until next month,
Roger, Anne & Paul
PS—You can find back issues of this newsletter and a sign-up button here (in case this email was forwarded to you):