Masonic Enewsletters and Email Correspondence

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Masonic E-newslettersand EmailCorrespondence

• The how-tos of doing it right the first time

By Dean R. Alban, 33, Director of Membership
Services
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Before You Email

• Run your list through an analyzer for
• dead domains
• misspelled domains
• known spam traps
• Use confirmed opt-in

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Before You Email

• Confirm CAN-SPAM compliance
• working unsubscribe link
• valid From address
• physical contact address listed
• non-deceptive subject line
• functional links
• no harvested or bought addresses

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HTML, Text, or Multipart?

• Pure HTML
• scores 1 point higher on the spam scale
• Pure TEXT
• reaches the largest audience
• has less of an impact
• TEXT HTML
• gives the best results
• But pure HTML is catching up fast

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Open Tracking

• Who opens your email?
• Which mailings have the biggest effect?
• Build a most active members list.
• 90 of email marketers use open tracking.

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Click Tracking

• Who clicked on the links?
• Send follow-up emails to clickers.
• Track users visiting your website.
• The same link can take different people to
  different places.

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Spam Problems

• Dirty lists
• Clean your list
• spam traps
• dead domains
• suspicious email addresses
• Quickly handle complaints
• Repeat complaints lead to blacklisting

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Watch Your Words

• Judged by anti-spam systems
• Avoid
• Free
• Limited Time
• Last Chance
• Today only
• Exclamation points !!!

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Test and Re-Test Your Message

• Most mistakes are caught in Email marketing or
  communications messages after the live launch.
  This is because a series of tests is usually NOT
  performed. Always perform tests on your message
  to a variety of ISPs to see how the message
  looks on each platform.
• Test every link even if you know the link works.
  Some ISPs break links by accident so test them
  all.
• Have a procedure in place that does not allow you
  to launch live without sending a prior test.

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What to do After the Live Launch

• Check the campaign report to see how the bounces
  look. First time mailers should have no more
  than 10 bounces. Subsequent mailings should be
  less than 3 bounces.
• Check the spam bounces. Are they coming from a
  major ISP? If yes, contact your vendor or the
  ISP to find out what happened and how subsequent
  mailings will get through.
• Check the complaints. Handle them quickly and
  dont worry about the occasional complaint.
• Check your unsubscribe log. They are removed
  automatically from your list but keep an eye on
  the unsubscribe rate. If you see a wave of
  unsubscribes perhaps your message upset or
  wore down the reader. Learn from that and
  change the tone of your next message. Some
  organizations will send postcards to their
  unsubscribers asking them to come back.
• Keep statistics on each mailing so you can
  compare results!

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Using an e-mail System/ Service

• They need to be reputable in the industry and not
  have a blacklisting problem (you can easily check
  this.)
• They should be supportive and should offer to
  help you with your first few campaigns to help
  you do it right.
• They should have all the services available
  online so you can launch mailings yourself
  without their assistance.
• The system should be easy to use and the vendor
  should provide free over-the-web training.
• They should have list management tools online so
  you can collect subscribers and unsubscribers
  to/from your list automatically.

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Building Your Mailing List

• Place a subscriber center link on every page on
  your website to invite the visitor to sign-up to
  your list. Even membership-based sites should
  always have a join our list link.
• Many lists grow by 200-500 the first year if the
  list manager makes use of a subscriber center
  that describes the benefits of joining the
  list.
• Collect demographic data on your members so you
  can perform segmented mailings to certain groups
  of people on your list.

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E-Mail Newsletter Best Practices

• Talk directly to the recipient so they feel the
  message is written TO them. A message that has a
  generic feel often has very low open rates and a
  decreasing open-rate on subsequent mailings.
• Tell only enough in the message to get the
  readers interest. Have the full story over on
  your website where they can click over and find
  the story
• Advertisers can be a GOOD thing in an Email
  newsletter as long as its 1 or 2 ads max. Just
  enough to give the message the look and feel of a
  professional marketing piece without looking like
  you are using the newsletter to make money solely
  from ads.
• Keep it short. Many Email newsletters take up
  less than 4 printed pages. When sending yourself
  a test always read the entire message and find
  the point you lose interest. That will be the
  place you should end the message.
• Always use a tell a friend link in every email
  so your message has a viral feel and gives others
  the chance to read and subscribe.
• Always have an unsubscribe link that lets the
  user get off the list quickly.
• Ask the recipients to send you feedback. Or,
  place a link in your message to take the
  recipient over to a short survey. Many readers
  enjoy answering a short survey if it helps the
  overall message improve.

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Closing Remarks

• E-Newsletters and e-mail distributions can be an
  extremely powerful tool to use to increase
  membership, readership, and overall visibility of
  the Fraternity. Be consistent with your format,
  mail frequently (weekly or bi-weekly), and always
  make your message offer value to the reader.
  Adhere to those few standards and your list will
  grow quickly.

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Masonic E-newslettersand EmailCorrespondence

• The how-tos of doing it right the first time

By Dean R. Alban, 33, Director of Membership
Services