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"Content is King"
B.B. King may reign in the blues world, but when it comes to email newsletters (and any other publication for that matter), "content is king." What should we include in an email newsletter and what should we avoid? First let's take a look at the basics behind differentiating our legitimate email newsletters from those sent by spammers. The terminology may initially appear daunting, but it's actually quite simple.
Understanding the basic technology that Internet Service Providers or "ISPs" (i.e., AOL, Earthlink, etc.) use to filter spam is a good place for us to get started.
Editor's Note: Terms can be learned quickly. Click this "Glossary" link (or the glossary link in the header above) for a beginner's web glossary guide by Case Western Reserve University.
ISPs use rigorous spam filters. Filters generally "rank" each email using a long list of criteria. If your email rates above a certain threshold level (say 10 spam points), then the email is considered spam and deleted.
There are lists of words and practices to avoid to get past the filters. Words such as 'Free', '$$$', 'Save', 'Discount', and “Special offer” should obviously be avoided. There are several more aggressive factors now being used to block spam and, unfortunately, legitimate emails are getting shot down in the crossfire.
DON'T USE:
- All capital letters in the subject line of your emails or too many exclamation points or question marks (one is usually ok)
- A blank subject line in your email (major red flag)
- Links with the word “remove” in the subject of the link (almost always gets filtered)
- Always remove “bounced” email addresses (emails returned to you "undeliverable") from your list. Let the MBCA National Business Office know the email address is incorrect so they can update your member's information. Send corrections to: Renee@mbca.org
Things you want to do:
- Be brief. Shorter is better and use bullets where appropriate.
- Always have interesting or important content at the very top of your email newsletter. Most email programs show a preview of the email which is only the top of the message.
- Avoid the words "click here" for your links; use "Full Article" or "More"
- Only include content relevant to your members, their interests, and current events.
- When writing talk to your members as if you know them. Email is a one-on-one relationship and your newsletters should reflect a personal tone.
- Encourage your members to submit articles. Content diversity is a plus.
- Search the MBUSA media website for press releases, news and photographs (http://media.mbusa.com, you must register and get a password for access)
- Learn how to "mail merge" and send your emails addressed to the recipient ("Hello Mary" not "Hello Member"). Personalized emails get read more frequently.
Keep the look and feel of your email newsletter consistent from issue to issue once you settle on a format that works. It takes a few issues to refine your look and feel.
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TYPES OF EMAIL NEWSLETTERS (TEXT, HTML, PDF)
Does it sound like a foreign language? It's not and we really don't need to know all that much. But going over a few basic email formats is important so we'll start here.
- Text emails are the most basic and everyone that receives email can read text.
- PDF stands for "Portable Document Format" and it is commonly used on the web. PDF files are sent as attachments with the email message.
- HTML, or Hypertext Markup Language, is a document format language used on the World Wide Web. It is expected that all emails will favor HTML-only in the near future based on current trends. Plus, they are preferred by readers.
Text Emails
Text emails are basically any email message sent with just plain text. No graphics, tables, or sophisticated anything. They're like watching black & white TV - pretty boring. But they can be effective in some cases.
It is common to send a "text" email message with an attachment such as a Microsoft Word document or a PDF file, but the reader must take an additional step to view your attachment (extra steps are not good) and they must have the appropriate software on their computer to read the file, which is not always the case. In addition, some email programs don't allow attachments to be downloaded or opened by the recipient (user choice).
- Rather than sending text messages to some members and HTML to others, most email programs allow us to send both in one "multipart" message.
- Sending both lets the recipient's email program decide which one to open (user preference default setting). If you don't see any graphics in the email you receive, your default may be set to text instead of HTML.
- Text files have a ".txt" or ".doc" file extension
- Given text email newsletters are on their way out, my recommendation for those just getting started is go with HTML. As HTML becomes the standard (we're almost there), you won't need to first learn text emailing, then start over in a year or so and learn HTML.
- You're already ahead of the curve!
PDF or "Portable Document Format"
- Basically, PDF files enable documents to be distributed on different computer systems while preserving the layout of a document. The documents look the same on everyone's computer whether it's a Dell computer or a MacIntosh computer.
- The PDF file format was developed by Adobe Systems. PDF files are electronic documents that must be read with Adobe Acrobat software. You can download the software program from the web for free to "read" PDF files. It comes already loaded on most computers and more than likely, Adobe Acrobat "reader" is on your computer.
- The naming convention for PDF files is Mydocument.pdf (the ".pdf" extension tells your computer to open the file using Adobe Acrobat software.
HTML - Hypertext Markup Language
HTML, or Hypertext Markup Language, is a document format language used on the World Wide Web. Web browsers read HTML code and so do most email programs. Using HTML allows you to bring together text, pictures, sounds, video, and links.
- HTML files have ".htm" or ".html" file extensions
- HTML files can be created using a simple text editor such as Microsoft Word or numerous others; many are available for free on the web
- When you're looking at a web page, you can "right click" your mouse, click on "view source" (or "view page source") and you'll see the HTML programming code.
By the way, you don't need to know how to write HTML code any longer to create an email newsletter. But it definitely helps to understand the basics.
(Would you like to know more about HTML editors? Let us know and we'll cover the basic editors in a future issue of MBCA Newsletter Tips: greg@eoecho.com)
If you want to learn more about HTML now, click the following for an Introduction to HTML provided by www.w3schools.com.
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