The Long and Serious Newsletter
For 43 months now, my main way of keeping in touch with my clients and sphere of influence has been my newsletter, called View from the Street. I write it myself from scratch and sometimes create the illustrations. The newsletters (repeated on my website) are usually lengthy but my audience doesn't seem to mind. Recipients consist of two groups, clients with whom I've done transactions and a wider circle of people who are very likely to remember me through some contact. Together, the two lists total about 450 individuals. Open rates are from a low of 30 to a high of 45 percent.
The Short and Spiffy Newsletter
The idea for a shorter newsletter came from the exposure to a paid service that some of my colleagues use. I liked the idea of a snappy message but wanted the message and format to be uniquely mine. Below is the fourth edition. The name is News with a View. The news items are sometimes more lighthearted and my comments - Gerhard's Take - in line with that. See the latest example below.
Change involves Risk
Doubling the frequency meant taking a risk. Would people unsubscribe because hearing from me twice a month is too much? Would the open rates decline? The first of the four short newsletters scored above the usual averages. Since then it has fallen below the average. The open rates of the long newsletter have not suffered. Unsubscribes are still rare. Only time will tell. Consistency is necessary in this business but so is change.
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