A good newsletter will inform, stir interest and sell. As simple as this concept may seem, many organizations seem to struggle with user engagement and I think it has to do with how easy it is to lose site of the impact a good set aesthetics and proper timing can have.
With timing, let’s consider that most organizations send out their communications on a set schedule. To counter this practice, I often argue that the age old philosophy of saying something when you’ve got something to say should apply to email blasts. Users don’t mind getting messages when there’s something intriguing and timely to look at, but they do care when they get a predictable message that doesn’t offer them anything useful — even worse is when the message has too much, bottled up information seemingly forced into the message since they last heard from you.
That’s not to say we shouldn’t take advantage of calendar events, like holidays and birthdays when sending things out. Piggy backing on special events to make a stronger point or improve engagement on call to actions is a no-brainer. Try to send emails that are interesting, relevant and have timely information while getting the the point across without too many words.
When thinking about the “design” of your newsletter, here are some fundamental principles to keep in mind.
1. Match your brand – Your newsletter design should not be a complete departure from the source website. It should also retain consistent branding so that users are familiar with what they’re looking at. If possible, reference the same CSS file.
2. Make a good first impression – Grab the readers attention with a slick, well-designed header and strong copy to match. If you catch the user off guard, with useful information they’re more likely to take that ever important first scroll down the page.
3. Be consistent – Stick to a strong, well laid out template and keep information in the same location from blast to blast. Open with big news, and place fun, interactive buckets towards the bottom.
4. Keep it clean – Do your best to use few of type faces and keep the number of bordered elements (boxes) to a minimum. Also try to use fewer background images for header backgrounds and use large, readable fonts for said headers. Minimalism may not be your cup of tea, but cutting out unnecessary clip art helps with user engagement.
5. Create good separation – Obvious stuff here: Contrast the type face (bold, large for section headers), contrast with over sizing important visible elements, and contrast buckets (layout) with extra wide outset margins to create lots of white space. Stacked layouts, rather than a columned approach is also a good idea .
A little over a year after it was launched, Google announced that they’re pulling the plug on their Wave product – the emailing, instant messaging, and picture-sharing progeny that was suppose to change the landscape of collaborative, online content. Google Wave allowed users to communicate in real-time and share documents, videos, and re-make epic Pulp Fiction scenes. If you haven’t heard of Google Wave you’re not alone. That’s one reason Google Senior Vice President of Operations, Urs Hölzle, cites for Wave’s fate:
