How to Format Your eNewsletters- Part 2

Rick Henkin

In Part 1 of How to Format Your eNewsletters we discussed the "To Line," "From Line," "Subject Line," and "Plain Text or HTML." Now we'll look at the rest of the elements including "Header," "Body," "Footer," and "Unsubscribe."

Header

The header represents the first few lines of your email. It's what shows "above the fold," a very important concept discussed in this blog post. It's another chance to grab your reader's attention and get them to look at the rest of your message.

Part of the space will be taken up by your company's masthead (logo, tag line, etc.). Keep that masthead narrow. Don't let it use up too many lines.

I've seen newsletters waste that valuable "above the fold" space on advertisements or administrative items regarding subscribing, unsubscribing, etc.

The space should be used for a summary of what will be found in the rest of the newsletter along with any highlights of particular interest. The point is to allow your reader to determine if the content is of interest without forcing him to waste his time by having to scroll down.

Body

It's all about valuable content. Your readers gave you their permission to send your newsletter. Don't abuse that privilege by sending a promotion-filled, buy this, buy that email message.

The same principles of writing for the web apply to email newsletters. Follow the advice given in these 4 articles: Paragraphs, Sentences and Words, Colors, Backgrounds and Text, Headings, Subheadings, Bullets and Scannability and Serifs, Fonts and Font Size.

Break your text into short lines and short paragraphs. Make it easy to scan by using headings, subheadings and bullets. Use plenty of white space.

Footer

The footer placed at the bottom of your newsletter should contain the following:

Your name

Company Name (including website link)

Physical address

Telephone Number

Email address

Remind subscribers of their opt-in

Prompt to add to address book or whitelist

Link to manage subscription for email addresses that have changed

Unsubscribe instructions or link

Subscribe instructions or link in case your email is forwarded

Here's an example of the IOP Insider News footer

IOP Insider News Footer

Unsubscribe

The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act) was recently updated in 2008 to include the following 4 provisions:

It bans false or misleading header information

It prohibits deceptive subject lines

It requires that your email give recipients an opt-out method

It requires that commercial email be identified as an advertisement and include the sender's valid physical postal address

It also added fines of up to $11,000 for each violation in addition to subjecting deceptive commercial emails to laws banning false or misleading advertising. You can read about the 2008 update here.

The bottom line is that you better give your subscribers a way out.

ARTICLE DATE: 2009-02-21
REVISED DATE:

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· How to Format Your eNewsletters- Part 1
· Email: Building a Relationship with Your Subscribers
· Email Subject Lines
· How to Build an Opt-In Page
· How to Create a Sign-up Box Using AWeber's Web Form
· E-Newsletters - The Basics

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