Best Practices for Publishing a Company Electronic Newsletter

"You mean, you want to spam our clients?" This might be the reaction of some colleagues when you decide to publish an electronic newsletter, also called an e-letter, but it is worthwhile to look past this assumption. Electronic newsletters can be highly cost-effective, successful and ethical promotional material, if planned and distributed by following best practices.

Is it spam?

Company newsletters are not necessarily spam. By definition, a newsletter provides helpful, informative stories to showcase the expertise of a company, and the best of them attract a fan base that grows exponentially. A growing e-letter audience can translate into more customers, so it has become a valuable marketing tool. Marketing Sherpa  is one Web site that gives good tips and examples.

Spam, on the other hand, is bulk email sent to people who do not want it. Spammers use email to illegally promote products. Some spammers are hackers who distribute malware or a Denial of Service attack through email. Most spam is easy to spot because the sender is unknown, and the subject lines are incredible or made up of nonsense, such as “Buy prescripshun medz cheap!” and other odd-looking teasers.

Honest companies only send a newsletter to readers who have given them permission to contact them in one way or another. Also, they provide a way for the reader to unsubscribe, called “opting out,” when the newsletter is no longer wanted.

Newsletters that do not use permission-based mailing lists and do not allow readers to opt out, however, could very well be considered spam. As a result, readers could take several measures against the company, including blocking the newsletter through their email settings or reporting the sender as spam to an administrator, who then adds the sender’s email address to a blacklist to prevent their material from ever reaching inboxes.

CAN-SPAM regulations

When in doubt, refer to the law. If your company decides to create a newsletter, you must follow the requirements of the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act), which demands these guidelines:

• Clearly identified sender: The newsletter must show the correct names and email addresses of the sender and the recipient, as well as the routing information.
• Relevant subject line: The subject line must be relevant to the body of the newsletter.
• A method for opting-out: The newsletter must contain a contact person’s email address or an unsubscribe link for when the recipient no longer wants the newsletter. The sender has 10 days to cease using the recipient’s email address.
• Clear intention: In the email, the company should clearly convey the intention of the newsletter to the reader.
• Valid physical address: The company must provide a valid physical address of its location in the newsletter.

For details about CAN-SPAM, refer to the Federal Trade Commission Web site .

Newsletter best practices

To publish a newsletter that is not only read but also loved by its readers, you should strive to build a strategy that exceeds the requirements of CAN-SPAM. Here are some recommended best practices in the industry:

• Publish valuable content in your newsletter that is considerate of your readers' needs and interests.
• Talk about your newsletter ideas with someone with Internet experience, such as a Web designer, writer or other marketing professional.
• Follow a template with each issue that ensures all legally required elements are always included: an opt-out method, relevant sender name and subject line, physical address, and any other requirements outlined by CAN-SPAM.
• Commit to using a permission-based mailing list. Start your mailing list with your existing clients by mentioning to them that you are going to start publishing a newsletter and would like to include them in the mailing.
• Always look for ways to build upon your mailing list. Exchanging business cards is one way people invite others to contact them. When someone gives you theirs, ask them if they wouldn’t mind receiving a newsletter; they’ll likely say sure.
• Do not purchase a list of email addresses. When your mailing list is made up of people you don’t know and who don’t know you, the chances are great that your newsletter will sit unopened until it finds its way to the Deleted or Junk Mail folder.

These best practices are not the quick and easy method to publishing a newsletter. Earning readership is a difficult but beneficial challenge. As you prove the worthiness of your newsletter to readers, your open rate and the number of subscribers are likely to grow, along with your sales numbers!

References

• CAN SPAM Act of 2003  (Wikipedia)
• The FTC on CAN SPAM  (Federal Trade Commission)
• Marketing Sherpa 
• Become an Email Marketer  (Campaign Monitor)

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