Do you really read electronic newsletters that hit your inbox?

I only read newsletters that provide actionable information. Interestingly enough, there are start-ups, existing small businesses and even some 'Big Name' coaches and businesses that send newsletters filled with come-ons and fluff. These waste my time.

It's irrelevant to me if Sue Smith was named employee of the week. I'm happy for you if sales are up, but what does that have to do with me? If you want your newsletter read, offer How To articles, Quick Tips, and links to templates that can be utilized by your readers. Readers are interested in furthering relationships. Share click through links to your Facebook and Twitter pages. Interestingly enough, the single most overlooked item for inclusion in newsletters is contact information. Tell your reader how to contact you... phone number, email address, whatever method will be a reliable form of connecting and communicating.

Personally, I'd much rather be scanning electronic newsletters than throwing away hard copy I didn't ask for, so in general, I am supportive of electronic newsletters. I use the unsubscribe feature aggressively, so about 80% of what I do get is an opt-in from me. I also use filters to place them in the right folder for review. That being said, time rarely permits me to "read" them all, but I do often at least scan them and probably forward about 10-20% of them to the appropriate person on my team (who may or may not read them).

So, if you are preparing electronic newsletters, make them easily scannable to the eye (headlines in bold, etc.), allow the recipient to easily opt-out and we'll have a pretty okay relationship.

Right now I probably oversubscribe to newsletters and as a result sometimes delete some of them and only scan the rest for an interesting article.

However the beauty of a daily newsletter is that of all the ones I receive I do read each one, although not cover-to-cover, once per week. Now compare that to a weekly newsletter and I don't believe my habits would change so I would still delete some of them - scan the rest and read each one probably once per month instead of once per week.

Keep sending those daily newsletters they do have an impact and one of the prime reasons is because they are daily and not weekly.

Some valid points have been raised by earlier responders, but personally, I'm so turned off by the deluge that I do a lot of "burn before reading."

If I don't recognize the sender, I'll delete without opening.. Am I missing some good stuff? Possibly. Am I saving a boatload of time? Definitely. I do scan those from known and trusted sources for useful material.

But, for me, reading and considering action is a contemplative process, and I don't do that well from screens, so hard copy remains the ultimate value source.

As to the marketing value of frequent "newsletters," far too many of the current offerings are electronic junk mail, and diminish the stature and credibility of the few good products out there.

I have several that I read every time since they deliver info I need. I have others I just scan and delete and I have others that I check the subject line and if it is not catching my interest then I delete without opening.

The one's I really hate is some that require me to login to read them...this most frequently is supplier stuff where they are concerned about only authorized users to be accessing. Trouble with this is unless I am in it regularly then I probably don't remember my login and then I usually just delete...and they don't get the info to me they want.

Some which are just regular product promotions I delete immediately and usually unsubscribe pretty quickly.

I subscribe to two types of newsletters:
1. I want to read for educational purposes.
2. I have a separate motive. Help someone new to publishing or gain access to a company.
I don't subscribe to others. If given a "gift" subscription I usually read, unsubscribe, and delete.
As said above there has to be value. I follow that in my on newsletter. However, I have renames my new letter to an aZine, since it rarely has news. It most contain articles on management and leadership, not what I would call news. The exception is that in the last three months I have posted news on the progress of publishing my book.
This is a little off thread, but metrics are the key. Make small changes and test the results. Last month I added a "If you can'f read this click here" and my click throughs went up about 20% for all the links. I used used a bit.ly link (http://bit.ly/gquu8o) instead of the full link (http://ecaminc.com/index.php/bfrezine/241-march2011ezine).

Todd

For me, it depends on three things.

1. Does the Headline grab me? If it is not directly relevant to my situation or sounds uninteresting or too academic, I just delete it.

2. Do I have the time to devote to it? On occasion, I will just leave it in my inbox and get back to it later but if I am pushed for time and the piece has any elements of my first comment, it gets deleted.

3. Is it brief enough to be worth my time? I don't mean to sound "snooty" but my time (like yours) is valuable and these days if a newsletter takes on any of the properties of "The Great American Novel", I will likely avoid reading it. That said, i have been guilty of using too many words myself so this is just my honest opinion.

From the perspective of a sender of a weekly news email, I do it for three key reasons.

One - I write a short, hopefully useful article for readers interested in my field. - providing useful content, templates and other information

Two - I do it for recogntion purposes. Even though a reader might not open or read the newsletter every week, when time comes for them to think of someone in my field, my name will be right there in the front of their brain because they see it in their inbox regularly.

Three - I link back to recent blog posts to build traffic to my site.

Yes - sometimes it feels like hard work and you wonder if anyone is reading. But then I remember the 2 other reasons I write it - and it seems like good business practice.

Nobody wants to hear this, but I think e-newsletters are going to die out along with e-mail as marketing options.

Facebook, Twitter and smart phone apps are taking the place of both, like it or not. They deliver content much faster than e-newsletters, can be changed at a moment's notice, and are cross-browser compatible and spam-filter immune.

In the technology game, faster and better always trumps slower and obsolete, no matter how comfortable we may be with both.

Rob

I treat e-Newsletters the same way I treat the magazines that I receive in the postal mail:

I'll read the table of contents, and mark any article that's of interest to me, or a client.

I'll print some of the articles for "on-the-go" reading (supermarket check-out lines, etc.), and place others in a reading file.

If there's an article that's good for a client, I'll forward the link, with a few comments of my own.

If there are no items of interest, I'll delete delete the newsletter.

Jim Watson

In this day of the Information Highway (sic information overload) you just can't read everything.

I look at what shows in my preview and occasionally click through.

You should see the pile of periodicals that's on the floor waiting to read as well :)

I try to read the ones that sound interesting. Since my company also sends one, I figure it's only "good Karma" to do so. But there are a LOT. No denying that. I've started unsubscribing from ones I really don't read.

If I have subscribed, yes, I read them. Non subscribed newsletters are deleted 97% of the time.

I agree with much of what you are all saying. The real question then becomes, HOW DO WE GET MORE PEOPLE TO SUBSCRIBE, CLICK THROUGH, OPEN or use the information provided in these newsletters? And how often should they go out?

Michael, here's my simple answer:

I read the ones I subscribe to as long as they provide valuable content. Otherwise I unsubscribe or add to my junk mail filter. Deleting takes too much time and effort.

As Lynn Maria notes above, I also use multiple rules and folders in Outlook to organize newsletters, client mail, etc. I also have a stack of magazines. In both cases, while I may not get to them immediately, I try to do triage once a week: look at the table of contents, magazine or newsletter, and go to articles of interest. If the newsletter or magazine doesn't provide useful information, I drop the subscription.

There is so much good information mixed in with the garbage, that I like to give the newsletters a chance to talk to me.

Most of the time I do not, but it does depend on who it is coming from. The ones I do open need to catch my attention and provide me some useful information or promo. I like the ones that are short and sweet that I can skim over.

10 second glance over to see if any topics catch my eye. Sadly, more often than not no. There are a couple of sites that I do look forward to - but admittedly we are in an era of information overload and overkill

It depends on whether it will tangibly move my business forward or is fluff and stuff. I'm pretty ruthless about unsubscribing to fluff and stuff and it makes me crazy when colleagues or random followers put me on their list w/out permission (yes it is spam even if I know you!) The key is to be topical, relevant, regular, and personal.

I only subscribe to newsletters that are pertinent to my business or any personal interests that I have. By limiting the amount that come in to my inbox, I am able to read every newsletter that I receive.
By implementing this practice, I am able to keep up with the latest in technology, entertainment, etc.

I scan a these news letters: Digital Media Wire, SmartPlanet, BNET. If I see something that peaks my interest, I click the link for the full article. I find these newsletters useful to stay more informed than I otherwise would be. Even just scanning the headlines is useful, especially with Digital Media Wire.

Direct, succinct, and relevant information that helps me do a better job ensures I will remain subscribed. Rabbit trails searching for the information promised in the subject line ensures hostile unsubscribe and permanent deletion of anything or anyone associated with the newsletter.

I do a couple of neat things. (1) I always register newsletters as "GErry" I capitalize the first 2 letters of my name so I know that whenever I see anything with "GE" it's not critical info (2) I create rules and send them to appropriate folders.

My 2 best ones are:

saltydroid.info - this is a newsletter about con artists in the self-help industry. Currently watching the trial of triple murderer James Ray from The Secret.

articulate.com - this one is about how to create awesome presentations.

Not many. Most of the info has been seen and is now being sent as "New". Be relevant or Go Home!