Pointers on desiging newsletters and invites etc?

Zascar

Just a quick one, I'm helping someone with their website and using mass email to contact their member base to inform them of events and generally promote the company.

I always tell them that when it comes to mass email, less is more. You want to get the point across in a few small lines, but with links to a landing page where the person can learn more if they want - they can click the link to read the fill story. They think the apposite and want to put several large paragraphs of text in the email they send out. Any time I get an email like this I delete it as I do not have the time to read 500 words to understand what it is. Capture my attention in 10 seconds - or not at all.

Just looking for some tips and advice on best practice etc - and any links or proof on what is the best method for emailing your members and inviting them to events etc.

Thanks

Mr E

Where text is involved, you're right - less is more. If you have walls of text, many won't even page down to see what else is there. If you have introductory paragraph (with links to landing pages), the reader will see up to 4 or 5 stories when they initially open the email, and there is a better chance that something will catch their eye.

I don't have proof per se, but I work in the industry (email marketing) and have 10 years of experience to back up my opinion.

DizzyOC

Yep, shorter the better. And remember with emailing styling... tables still work best. The more local the styling the better! Image mapping also makes things easier. Also have a link at the very top saying "Having trouble seeing this email's content? Click here" and link it to another version of your mailshot that will open in a browser.

cormee

The average user only reads about 120 words per page view http://www.useit.com/alertbox/bylines.html

Fanny Cradock

-Heading (possibly with accompanying image)
-Very Short Introduction (100 words or so - think in twitter size chunks of info)
-Link to full text.

That is pretty much it.

Sites like the excellent Campaign Monitor will have loads of articles and tips in their various guide sections.

Kenny Logins

Would you use something like Mailchimp? It is a fantastic tool for creating and analysing a mail campaign. You'll see instantly who reads the mails, and who deletes them.