Who Wants To Read Your ENewsletter?

How can you ensure your e-mail marketing campaign is successful, does not annoy your best clients, and does not break the law? I recently attended a workshop with award-winning author and e-mail marketing consultant, Jeanne Jeannings (author of The E-Mail Marketing Kit). She outlined NINE KEY CONSIDERATIONS for designing an email marketing campaign. So far, we have covered the first six: Deliverability, the "From" line, the "Subject" line, the Preview Pane, your First Screen (on your website), and the general Look and Feel. Today we wrap up with the some tips about the CONTENT of your enewsletter.

Valuable, Relevant Content -- Now, your message has been delivered, was not deleted, made a good first impression, and IS BEING READ. Make sure your readers appreciate what they have received!

Make your content:

1. Benefit-oriented and engaging;
2. Relevant;
3. Interactive; and
4. A manageable length.

Your Business Goals -- Why are you even sending an email newsletter? What are your business goals? Remember, you are trying to BUILD a RELATIONSHIP, not provide information, education or do-it-yourself solutions. Your goal is to bring the reader into a relationship with you!

1. Make sure your content supports your goal 100%;
2. Include multiple methods of contacting you -- don't leave out your phone number, your mailing address, or your email address; and
3. Be effective but not pushy.

The Legal Footer -- Every email message should include a footer, but there are some unique aspects of your email newsletter that should ALWAYS be addressed in your footer, to include:

1. An unsubscribe link -- an absolute necessity;
2. Also offer a subscription management link so people can update their email address, or subscribe to other of your firm's newsletters;
3. Include your physical mailing address;
4. Include additional contact information (phone, fax or email); and
5. Protect your content with a copyright statement.

Did you know that IMS offers two versions of electronic newsletters? Both versions are:

• Fully customizable with your firm branding,
• Professionally written and delivered as web-page type documents,
• Distributed through a dedicated distribution service,
• Are interactive,
• Include links bringing visitors to your Website, and
• Suitable for use with professional advisors, clients and prospects. 

We do not send, and do not recommend sending file attachments of any sort with (including Adobe Acrobat files) with your enewsletter. File attachments will annoy your readers, not delight them! They don't show up in the "Preview Pane," require too many "extra" steps for the user, download slowly, are not "instant open," and cannot be tracked through an e-mail server. If you store them on your website, search engine crawlers will not index them for key words -- so they do not help your directory rankings the way a web-page style newsletter will. And remember that sending "bulk e-mail" from your law firm is a great way to get the whole firm (AND your ISP) banned for abuse! Try explaining THAT to the managing partner!

Click here to send an email request for an ACTUAL SAMPLE of an IMS client e-newsletter.