Eggblogg

Simple content plan for an email newsletter

This post is related to the September edition of eTips, my free online marketing newsletter (now in its third year.)

A regular newsletter is far easier to produce if you have a content plan. It not only acts as a prompt but also means you can prepare some material ahead of time, knowing what 'slots' you have to fill. Here are a couple of examples:

Client A: an accountancy firm

1. Seasonal intro: include a key piece of (relevant) news if possible
2. Article teaser: educational/best practice/learning. 100 words with link to rest of article on website, if possible utilising the stock of 'more info' articles client already has on site.
3. Mini case study: how we helped a client save money - max 100 words with call to action
4. Quick poll: Topical question (answers collated and may be used in a future article)

Client B: a kitchenware retailer

1. Intro: informal welcome from the owner (with photo)
2. What's New: a new product (photo and chatty description with link to catalogue page on site where they can buy)
3. Life at X (name of shop): a behind the scenes piece - could be a member of staff running a charity marathon, a 'day in the life' of a member of staff or how a new supplier was sourced
4. Rosie Recommends: the head buyer (with photo) gives a care tip (eg how to keep knives sharp, how to extend the life of your coffee machine, etc)
5. Offer: a timed offer, exclusive to newsletter subscribers.
6. Competition: prize draw. Include winners of last month's competition.

Not all the elements need to be included every month, for example if there's nothing new to feature then that piece could be dropped and the Offer moved into that slot.

The content plan sits on top of your design template and in parallel with an agreed style guide. The examples here are outlines - you may want to add more detail such as word counts for each element.

Breaking it down this way should make the prospect of a regular newsletter far less daunting than if you had to start from scratch each month.

Subscribe to eTips here.

Google Chrome - shiny new browser

I like the name - a bit sexy, a bit retro.

There's been a bit of a buzz on Twitter and around the blogs as Google launched its new browser, Google Chrome, this week (Beta). I admit I've installed it, out of curiosity, albeit onto the virtual Windows machine on my Mac (no Google Chrome for Mac OS yet, one definite downside.)

I haven't spent much time on it yet but I agree with Dave Chaffey that the combined search box/address bar is great, doing away with the need for the Google Toolbar and throwing up search results, recently visited pages and helpful keywords. Having recently visited pages displayed graphically whenever you open a new tab is also quite useful. According what I understood from the Google Chrome comicbook  it looks like if one tab crashes or fails to load, it doesn't mean the whole browser crashes, which sounds good (although personally I don't experience that very often).

Elsewhere, folks have commented on its speed, although there are detractors who say better to wait until the technology is more stable (both sides of the argument are currently raging at e-consultancy).

Interestingly, Elaine Fogel at MarketingProfs noticed that her email marketing provider's site didn't recognise Google Chrome. So I tried to do the same and found the same problem - the secure login page wouldn't even load. So a bit of a bummer for those of us who spend a lot of time at those sites.

eTips: Hop, step and jump your way through the credit crunch

In an economic downturn, some might expect to see marketing budgets cut. But money is still being spent on online marketing, which makes complete sense. Why?

Today's eTips gives three examples of what works and why in today's 'credit crunch' climate.

Read the eTips for August here ...

(Pictured: Great Britain's Phillips Idowu in the Triple Jump. Photo: PA)

Things I've enjoyed reading lately ...

What social media professionals can learn from traditional PR:
Skills to be successful in integrating PR and social media

Good advice from Silverpop on what to do about 'dead' email subscribers:
3 tips to reactivate your recipients and get them engaged again

Chris Brogan does it again...fantastic post that will keep me buzzing all summer
50 ways marketers can use social media to improve their marketing

Never thought I'd be so in agreement with the Pope:
Pope hits out at consumer culture

What's the definition of 'spam'?

Wow, things got heated today at Chris Brogan's website. Earlier in the day he had sent out an email to his LinkedIn connections, inviting them to subscribe to his email newsletter. I was one of the recipients, and I was struck by how reasonable the email was (I'm usually quick to cry 'spam!')

I thought no more about it, but after receiving a few odd complaints Chris opened it up for discussion. By throwing in my 2-pennyworth I managed to get hit in the crossfire myself!

As I always tell the students in my email marketing workshops, 'the definition of spam lies with the recipient'. And you can be sure there'll always be at least one recipient who thinks it's 'spam'!