They say the larger the list of email addresses, the more powerful your marketing will be. But whether your list is 1000, 5,000, or 50,000… you need to consider your actual open rates, how many of your emails are actually being opened and read. With an HTML ezine, you can monitor this percentage.

Here’s a recent post from Rick Brooks of www.flyteblog.com about an open rate survey conducted by Constant Contact, a leading email provider.

According to an article at Constant Contact called "Understanding Open Rates: How Open Rates Are Measured and Tips for Increasing Yours," B2C (business to consumer) emails get opened 30% – 39% of the time, while B2B emails are opened a paltry 10% – 29%.

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Just when I thought the HTML vs text version for electronic newsletters debate was being solidly won by HTML advocates, I get bombarded by Tom Antion and his cry for plain text. Tom says all the internet gurus – the really successful ones in the $2 million range – all send out their ezines in plain text.

Okay, so I’m rethinking this. I’m getting some really nice HTML newsletters now, and I love the graphics, the headers, the little pics of books and logos….but do I read them thorougly?

No! I actually look at the pics, register what it is, scan the headings and subheadings, and move on to the next email message. Unless, of course I see an article that has some new intriguing information that my clients and readers could use. For the most part, I am deleting without reading.

Except for a couple of long plain text newsletters that I get from experts such as Bob Bly, Dan Poynter, Tom Antion, and others. I don’t always read them right away because they tend to be long and info-packed, but I will read them much more thoroughly. One reason is that they are jammed with valuable info.

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Last Wednesday Mari Smith, of Emails th@t Sizzle!, gave our listeners at Conversations with Experts teleseminar some great tips on writing better emails that get opened, get read, and bring results.

Here’s an abbreviated version of her tips. (To read more, subscribe to Newsletter Nuggets by sending a blank email to dr.patsi-45475@autocontactor.com.)

1. Subject lines are very important, use first name of receiver and no more than 7 words or 50 characters.
2. Use a question that can be answered by a ‘yes’.
3. Use a compelling call to action with a time-limited offer.
4. Be sure your name and company name are in the "From" field.
5. Be clear on who you are writing to, address their challenges, what’s in it for them.
6. Be clear on the action you want people to take.
7. Be bottom line oriented, people want to scan and get short emails.
8. Avoid hype!
9. Deliver short tips and valuable, relevant info your readers can use.
10. Avoid use of spam filter trigger words, use a spam checker such as www.lyris.com.

This was a great conversation full of powerful tips for using email to market your services and products. Don’t miss the audio recording if you missed the teleseminar: Use this link to order the audio now.

Conversations with Experts: How to Build Your Business On and Off-line
Hosted by Denise Wakeman and Patsi Krakoff.

Conversations with Experts is sponsored by Build a Better Blog System.

Got a comment the other day from Anne, who asks if I am suggesting blogging instead of an email newsletter, given the decreasing statistics on open rates (25-40% average emails opened).

While I responded to the comment, I was inspired and thought this merited sharing as a separate post for all to see:

Good question, Anne. But no, I don’t recommend foregoing emailing a newsletter in favor of blogging. Maybe eventually, at some point in the next five years, this might become a good idea. It depends on how easy it is for readers to access your communications. RSS feeds enable interested readers to sign up for updates on your blog and get them regularly without going through an email inbox. This technology exists already, for example, when you use it to put blog updates on your My Yahoo page.

But for now, people aren’t using RSS delivery tools in numbers yet (12% maybe at most).

We (Denise and I, the Blog Squad) have always recommended doing both. They can be different, or the same. An ezine can simply alert people of all your articles on your blog. Or, it can provide information you don’t put on your blog.

The point is, without much additional cost and very little additional effort, you can increase the number of ways your written word is "findable" on the internet through website copy, ezines, and blogs.

And that’s what it is all about: making it easier for potential clients to find you. And when they do, they discover you are a credible expert in your field, and gain access to your services and products.

Hope this helps. New technology is always slow to be adopted by the general public. Early adopters are already blogging, but most of the public are still asking what a blog is, or how is it different from a web site.

As someone who makes her living doing email newsletters for other people, I have a vested interest in what’s new that will effect email delivery. In more general terms, my passion is for helping professionals communicate effectively with potential clients, whether it be through an ezine, a blog, or a web site or an ebook. If RSS (whatever that is – who cares as long as it works) can help a professional get their message out to a potential client better than an email, then I will recommend it.

The other thing I’ve learned about these new tech tools: you don’t have to be a techie to learn to use them. I am no longer scared or insecure because I don’t have a tech background or education. I’ve come to realize that techies have no priveleged entry into the land of magical results.

Software has become user-friendly and is constantly evolving. There is no reason many of us non-techies can’t learn as we go, ask questions, make mistakes, and correct them. No need to understand how these things work, just know that they do, and there are always plenty of people willing to explain and train.

How are you changing your email marketing messages for 2006? Are you going to be sending out your newsletter as usual, shrugging your shoulders when you get a 25-40% open rate?

What new technologies and plans are you learning to stay ahead of the pack? Here’s an interesting read over on Rick Brook’s Flyte blog about email marketing trends for 2006, based on the ExactTarget report. 

I’m curious, just how many of you readers out there are starting to use blogs and RSS delivery tools to get your messages out to your people? Don’t be shy, I know there’s at least two readers out there, so click on the comment link and speak up.

More good writing tips from Nick Usborne’s Excessive Voice Blog. This one’s about the importance of leading an email or newsletter with what is called a "Johnson box," a short blurb that tells readers why they should stay and read the rest of the copy. Here’s what that looks like:

Monday Copywriting Tip #64: Write Intro Copy at the Beginning of Your Emails

In direct mail it’s called a Johnson Box, and it looks like this:

********************************************
Sign Up for Widgety News Today and
we’ll send you 3 FREE Widgety DVDs
********************************************

The format doesn’t matter, but the purpose does.

And here’s the purpose: Let people know what the core message and offer is within the first two seconds.

Why? Because more and more people are reading their email in a hurry. Emails which are not filtered or deleted are scanned.

If your subject line is good enough and your email is opened, the reader will then scan the first screen of the email and make a quick decision as to whether or not to keep reading.

If your core message and promise is hidden half way down the first screen, it will likely be missed.

So bring the “meat” of your offer to the top of the screen.

That’s where the Johnson box comes in. It goes at the top, above the salutation. The example above is very short, with a fictitious offer. They can be a little longer than that if need be.

Here are the ingredients you want to include:

1. Identification of a problem that needs solving
2. Presentation of a solution
3. Make an offer

Here’s an example:

**************************************************
Dry skin in Winter? WidgeyCream banishes
dry skin with just one application a day.
Buy one tube and get a second one FREE!
**************************************************
That’s not the finest copy every written, but you get the idea.

Remember, the purpose is to get the reader engaged by presenting the key elements of your email message within a couple of seconds, right at the top of the email.

Patsi’s homework assignment to readers: How would that look if the email was promoting a concept or a service and not a tangible product? Hmmm, I’m going to have to think about that one. If you’ve got any ideas how you would incorporate this into your newsletters or emails, click on the comment link below and let me know.