Yesterday we (Newsletter Partners) had an awesome Google Hangout On Air (HOA). Awesome in a highly professional manner? Far from it, it was a freakinâ disaster. LOL But it was fun and I liked it; we make a great team.
Anyway, the Hangout was about the Do’s and Don’ts of newsletters and now I want to know what YOU want to see in a newsletter. I’ll paste the questions Sheryl asked us below but, by all means, use your own. So loyal reader, what is it you love and hate about newsletters? Are you subscribed to ours? Feel free to comment below or directly on our YouTube channel.
Questions We Answered In The Video
- How many newsletters are you subscribed to?
- Do you open and read all of the newsletters you subscribe to?
- How many times can a newsletter send ads before you unsubscribe?
- Do you stay subscribed or do you unsubscribe if the newsletter content is not fresh and unique?
- Can newsletters send out a “breaking news” update even if it is unscheduled and leads to another site?
- Does the formatting or template of the newsletter make a difference?
- What made you decide to sign up for the newsletters you receive? Freebie, great blog, recommended etc…
- Do you recommend the newsletters you receive to others? If so how?
- Is there a newsletter frequency that will turn you off and make you unsubscribe?
- What is the one thing that will make you unsubscribe the fastest?
What We Want To Know
What can we do better with the Hot Blog Tips’ Newsletter?
How many issues would you like to see each week?
What does it take to get you to subscribe?
Look for us in Google Plus each Sunday in our live broadcast at 1pm Eastern time.
About Brian D. Hawkins
Newsletters come more often than expected. Again, it does not seem to be a problem with the ones who sent them⦠it is because we humans have a habit of accumulating too many at once.
Thanks Ganesh, So too many sends are overloading you because you have a lot of subscriptions, I understand completely. Thanks for that.
I prefer to read blogs over the newsletters. I do read some of the newsletters and some take me back to the blogs (and that’s okay). I don’t like getting them too often because email can become overwhelming and then I just start deleting.
Thanks Lisa, That’s two for less sends. I’m the same way as far as reading the email without having to click to finish the read. That’s exactly why I don’t send blog broadcasts via AWeber that sends weekly excerpts of blog posts.
Usually I subscribe newsletter if it is useful to improve my skills or teach step-by-step tutorials or something useful.
But in some cases people attract people and let them to subscribe and send their first E mail that for selling their affiliate products.
In this situation, I’ll immediately un-subscribe the newsletter right away.
I hear you Naveen, they don’t even bother romancing you. lol A lot of marketers and bloggers figure they’ll begin with the ads rather than try to ease them in later. This allows them to weed out the non-buyers early on rather than dealing with a backlash from a large subscriber protest once they monetize.
Nice share brian, Every Sunday I;m missing your hangout 🙁 Last sunday I opened that link at your hangout time… , but its redirecting to youtube video instead of hangout ; I think you are not updating it…
You’re right Sai, I didn’t update it yesterday. Sorry about that. You can always go directly to our Google Plus business page, the video feed will stream as soon as we go live at 1pm Eastern https://plus.google.com/113206177525104143415/posts
Newsletters I think are still great.
I am subscribed to them still and don’t mind seeing them once in a while in my inbox.
Too many, ehhh, you are getting a bit annoying. Over all, I like them.
Thanks Samuel, how many is too many?
This is a common issue with almost everyone subscribing for newsletters on several blogs and other sites. So many newsletters but we actually donot even open them up, so reading them religiously is a far question. However, I do read some of them whenever I get time or while travelling.
There are a ton of them out there Tom, I am subscribed to 40 or 45 newsletters so it works out to just a few minutes a day.
With the amount of connectivity and availability of every bit of information online, specifically through things like social media (facebook/twitter), we have real time access to anything that might be considered relevant to a newsletter. I think newsletters are obsolete, and I don’t ever really consult them anymore. I also think more web users are becoming more savvy at finding pertinent information, and there is less of a need for a newsletter type report on what kinds of happenings are going on.
I see what you’re saying Paul but not everyone has the time or know-how to find some of the things being shared to lists. An expert on SEO, for example, might share things with list subscribers that they wouldn’t necessarily post on their blog. Most people aren’t willing to become a SEO person, or even pay one, to improve their search engine positions.
Also, we’ll often give list subscribers discounts, perks, or even zero cost items that would normally have to by purchased, if even available for the public.
I have lost track of how many newsletters I get, but there is a ton of them. I go through them every day or so looking at subject lines to see which ones bear further scrutiny. It’s not about cute subject lines, but clear subject lines. I can tell pretty quickly which ones I want to dig into further. If they have any mystery in the subject lines, trying to entice me to go further, I just file them–I don’t have time for dancing games. 🙂 I’m always looking for something that will be useful to my skillset or my business.
That’s not to say that you folks overdo cute subject lines, but rather to comment on how I generally scan through all the newsletters. Evidence that you’re doing something right: your subject line caught my eye today!
By the way, “the newsletter sent me.” 🙂
Hi Donn, first of all, thanks for reading our newsletter and I appreciate you stopping by to leave a comment. Check your email 🙂
I don’t know if you had a chance to watch the video above but I mentioned that very thing about subject lines. I couldn’t agree with you more. 🙂
You can still publish newsletter through regular mail. With the web help, you can publish your newsletter online. You can reach hundreds of subscribers without costing any postage.
I Gary, I guess I should have been more clear but I’m referring to email newsletters, no postal mailings. If you’re referring to sending through regular email, that’s ill-advised for a number of reasons, including the high risk of your email account being black listed.
Hey Brian, to be honest with you i don’t like the concept of newsletter. If i like your website i will visit by myself daily or weekly or whatever but don’t force me.
I hear you Radu, I can respect that. That’s exactly why I don’t sent blog broadcasts to our list, it just seems rude. 🙂
Newsletters sometime become boring, when you don’t find any useful information. So a blogger or a website owner should come up with relevant information, I think.
You’re right Santosh and I think it’s a continuous battle. With well over a hundred newsletters so far, I feel we’re just beginning to supply that need.
Publishing our newsletters through emails is a great way of keeping our readers updated with the fresh content from our website. Hence, newsletter is a great marketing tool as we can reach targeted audience effectively, which is much more powerful than email marketing to people we don’t know.
Thanks Alex, that’s why it’s important to keep a ‘clean’ list.
Something which I hate about the news letters is the amount they come in. It is in bulk and sometimes not even necessary to read them entirely. They are also useless sometimes and I hate to get them specially when I have not even subscribed for them. On the other hand, some are very useful and informative which engages us to read.
Hi Alen, I agree and volume was one of the things we covered in the video. Some niches work well with daily mailings but most do not. We generally send two issues a week but this week we’re sending out four times because I have a few very important thing to share with the subscribers.
I agree with everything you guys said about newsletter. I rarely get any because I have not found many useful ones.
I get Andy Bailey’s because he offers good information. I hate the ones that are always trying to sell something.
You guys are too crazy and Brian when you sign fell I died laughing. 🙂
You kept a good attitude about it. Thanks
Thanks Michael, we have a lot of fun in the hangouts and I really think we make a great team. We’ve been friends for a long time and it just clicked from day one.
And I agree about Andy Bailey, I love his newsletter.
Interesting debate, not sure if we are all talking about the same thing, to me a newsletter should be long and full of information that isn’t usually on the site and is in many ways a members only content for the subscriber. They should be full of useful information and once a week is the most.
Now we have people saying that they get them when they haven’t signed up for them. That is a serious no no. I get people sending me stuff and I have no idea where they came from. I also receive too many email marketing style ‘buy my shit’ emails which they try and pass off as newsletters. They are nothing of the sort. They are very annoying. I don’t mind the occasional once a month here is what you missed on the blog style newsletter that has summaries or a description of a post however, as I said earlier for me newsletters should be unique, written for the subscriber and useful.
Cheers
Andi
Thanks Andi, I consider being subscribed to a list by anyone other than myself as spam. We use AWeber and they force lists to comply with the law and that’s one of the things I love about their service.
Members only type of content for subscribers is a nice way to think about a great newsletter.
As far as it being long, I have to disagree with that point, for the majority of people that is. I try to limit the length of the article without skipping important information. It’s important to respect people’s time and every test I’ve done or heard of shows the longer the newsletter, the more unsubscribes we get and it kills future open rates and click thru’s fall to almost nothing; and that’s with great content, in my opinion. 🙂
It all depends on how busy I am, and whether the title of the email grabs me. If not I’ll just delete. I usually spend what time I can reading blogs than emails though
Thanks Richard, We need to grab your attention with a great subject line and then keep you interested with fantastic content. A little demanding, aren’t you. lol
I personally feel if the newsletters are not more frequent than twice a month generally and have something valuable expressed in an attractive way which is not overly business, then every news letter must grab at least twice the attention it normally does.
I hate newsletters (when I do) because they employ a pseudo-frankness and fake sense of surprise while promoting their services/products. Truth, goodness and sincerity are the values we all respect consciously or unconsciously. Something that defies such high characters, defies the attention it may deserve.
Thanks for letting us have a say!
Nice point Raheel, I brought up that later point in the video, tricking people into opening an email is really a bad idea.
As far as twice a month, that might sound appealing from a reader’ perspective but it can be suicidal for the list owner. Subscribers tend to ‘forget’ you after a week and once they think you’re sending spam, you’re all done – game over.
I like when newsletters have some sort of insight that I cannot find elsewhere on the internet and a little bonus section on the end to make it memorable (a quotation or cartoon).
Hi Scott, That’s exactly what we should strive for as newsletter publishers, provide subscribers with exclusive information they would otherwise be missing. 🙂
i love newsletter how ileane smith send , they are as if she is talking to you personally and i hate those which are showing excerpt from the blog , like really it looks like as if the blogger is just trying to get traffic on his blog.
You’ll get no argument from me on that Saad, I love Ileane http://basicblogtips.com/
Very well said Prakash, thanks. 🙂
Hi,
First thing is i hate newletters when they are arriving daily and makes our email box irritating.. Although i have subscribed to some blog were i get alternate newletters which are very informative and official.
I don’t like it if newsletters come too often or if I get newsletters about topcis I am not interested in just because I have not unchecked a hidden box when signing up somewhere but I like them when I can bring readers back by informing them about new blog posts I have created. Thanks for this interesting blog post.
Thanks Saskia, that seems to be the norm so far.
One more thing Saskia, because you brought up a good point, I don’t recommend anyone have a subscription box pre-checked on their blogs. Tricking people into signing up for a newsletter is a very bad idea for several reasons.
Well, this one generated some interesting comments I must say. Truth be told, what I hate about many newsletters is that they either don’t give you something you’re not already getting or they come way too frequently.
Brian, you’ve seen my newsletter, and hopefully most of the people here see ours. We have links going to our websites and some of our products, but every week we send out something that’s not from our blogs. Every single thing we offer is original; doesn’t mean we might not co-opt it later on for our own blogs.
Truthfully, almost all the information on our blog tips could be found online, probably on our blogs, but we know that people aren’t coming to our blogs over and over, so by subscribing to our newsletter they get something they probably haven’t seen before.
One last thing. Anyone who feels that newsletters should be totally altruistic are missing the point. We all have to acknowledge that even if some of us write blogs for our own fancy, we send out newsletters to make money in some fashion eventually. We hope that we show our competence and expertise in something people are interested in and that maybe one day they’ll at least look at what we have to offer and possibly buy, or maybe share with someone else who might be our perfect customer.
We either love it or hate it but we don’t do it for our health. No one does. However, without their being a reason for people to read, a newsletter will fail to do anything positive.
But I’m glad to see the comments. 🙂
It’s true Mitch and I have no problem with people making money with their lists. In fact, most of us encourage it. I think we’re doing a nice job and it’s getting better and better each week. It’s not a work of art but it’s real advice from real people wanting to help. I don’t think anyone can ask more than that.
I’m extremely picky when it comes to signing onto someones newsletter. Time is simply too precious these days and I’d rather not have an in-box filled with newsletters that I’ll never read. Bloggers that take the time to keep things interesting, fun, and ultimately of value will get opened. (by the way just signed up to yours Brian 🙂
Well thank you liz and we’ll try not to disappoint you. 🙂 Remember you are always free to hit the reply button on any issue and let us know what you think – good or bad.
Huh….i love and hate newsletter both …i hate them when they cmes in tons and i love them because i stay updated about blogging community everyday.
Well i do agree with your above mentioned points, and i think newsletters are irritating if and only if they comes more frequently. And yes most of the top blogs newletters would come once in a week. thats what i love it.
I hate canned pre written in sequence aweber newsletters.
listen up email marketers its obvious that your emails are cut and paste stop sending me this garbage save me the delete.
I like getting updates on great info I might need like when a company sends out an annual discount coupon or something.
I hate those horrible family newsletters that I get at Christmas. The first sentence may as well say-“My life’s better than your life ha, ha, ha! I’m doing all this interesting stuff and going on fabulous vacations…” Really? I’m not really interested so just send me a generic Hallmark Christmas card that says only one thing; I thought about you and I’m wishing you a Merry Christmas.