What format is best for your campaign?
There are three basic communication formats. These are: newsletters, announcements and promotions. To determine the best format for your business, start by reviewing your objectives, and aligning your objectives with the appropriate format outlined below.
Newsletters: over 60% of the email marketing messages sent are in newsletter format. Newsletters typically contain a table of contents, a number of articles (most often numbering between 4 & 8), and links to web pages where additional information can be found. This format is ideal for providing general education on a number of topics and is typically sent on a weekly, bi-monthly, monthly or quarterly basis depending on your objectives. One of the keys to success with email newsletters is sticking to a regular schedule, keeping the content brief and having links to web pages where the reader can find additional information on the topic. Another is to make sure the newsletter is 85% informational and 15 % promotional. We say, send a "People" magazine, not a "Fortune" magazine. There are many different newsletter templates to choose from in Constant Contact.
Announcements: if you have less iinformation to convey or a timely piece of information that needs to be communicated, the announcement format is your best bet. Constant Contact contains a wide variety of announcement templates including event invitations, permission letters, press releases, service announcements, and general company updates. Announcement communications are typically sent based on a specific event and therefore are timed according to event frequency.
Promotions: if your objectives involve selling a product or service, the promotional format is the way to go. Constant Contact contains a wide variety of promotional templates that range from 2 to 6 product/service layouts. Promotional offers should generally be sent no more frequently than 4 times per month.
Constant Contact also has a number of announcement and promotional templates that are tied to specific holidays and times of the year. Or, you can create custom email communications for your clients. For more information on custom creation services see Appendix II.
Newsletter Design
To design your newsletter we typically start with one of the Constant Contact templates. We then customize to you needs. This usually involves taking a lead from your existing web site and including a similar heading and colors so that there is continuity between your newsletter and web site.