Tips for getting a better click-through rate on editorial email newsletters
The first screen of your email newsletter, which includes the preview pane, is a big part of your email newsletter’s prime real estate. It should include an opening paragraph that draws people into the issue with reasons why they should take a minute and read it right now. It should also include many links back to the website and a featured product that will entice them to buy. Here are three tips for making your email more click-worthy.
Make your preview pane count:
Above the newsletter, or at the beginning of a newsletter that includes many articles, there should be a table of contents. The table of contents should include links so that the reader can “jump” directly to the item in the newsletter or to the website with the full story.
BAD: Top Story
GOOD: Top Story: Interview with Tyler Thomas, President of XYZ Publishing
This tells the reader what the content of the email newsletter is and entices them to read further if they see a headline that interests them.
[text_ad]
Give them a product to view immediately:
Even an editorial newsletter should have a featured product. The featured product should be prominent and in the viewing screen above the fold when someone opens the email.
Usually, a product works best on the right side of an email newsletter when we’re talking about an editorial email. This is because editorial come first in an email newsletter. Your promotion shouldn’t say “HEY, LOOK AT ME! I WANT YOU TO BUY SOMETHING!”. It should say, “Hey, here’s some great content. By the way, we have a product related to everything you’re reading about”.
This method will keep people subscribed to your email newsletter. By making the focus on the promotion, you’ll have subscribers unsure of whether they’ve subscribed to a marketing list, rather than an editorial list. Be subtle and relevant.
Get them to come back to your website:
The email newsletter should provide benefit-oriented content that engages the reader. It should promote two-way communication and community-building with things like surveys, polls, links to discussion boards and ways to provide feedback to/communicate with the editor(s).
There should be a balance between editorial and promotional content—60%/40% is the rule. The newsletter should be a manageable length to read online, usually 2 to 3 printed pages. Everything, even a full-length article, should have links back to the website to view the online version. Then it’s your job once they’re there, to get them to another page where they can interact.
Note: This article is a chapter review from 10 Email Newsletter Design Best Practices, which you can download for FREE!
