TABLE OF CONTENTS -- INTRODUCTION: WHY EMAIL NEWSLETTERS NOW? -- Statistics To Ponder -- Glossary of Terms Used In This Report -- PART I. EMAIL NEWSLETTERS: THE BASICS -- Definition of Email Newsletter -- Text vs. HTML -- FIGURE 1-1: A TEXT-ONLY EMAIL NEWSLETTER LOOKS TYPEWRITTEN, BUT LINKS TO WEB PAGES AND EMAIL ARE UNDERLINED AND CLICKABLE -- FIGURE 1-2: AN HTML NEWSLETTER LOOKS LIKE A WEB PAGE IN YOUR INBOX -- Advantages Over Print Newsletters -- EMC Saved Big -- Email Newsletters "Less Torture Than Print" -- Franklin Covey Gets A Hearing With Sales Eexcutives -- Pass-Along To Decision-Makers -- 7 Myths About Email Newsletters -- How FirstPlace Software Keeps Up with Its Email Newsletter's Success -- Budgeting Checklist -- PART II. FORMULATING YOUR EMAIL NEWSLETTER STRATEGY -- What Do You Want to Accomplish with a Newsletter? -- Who is Your Primary Audience? -- When You Need Two Newsletters for Two Or More Audiences -- How Will You Know You Are Succeeding? -- Wait! Do You Need to Publish at All? -- FIGURE 2-1: EMC DECIDED NOT TO PUBLISH ITS OWN, BUT TO SPONSOR ONE WHOSE CONTENT IS CREATED FOR ITS OWN READERSHIP -- Build vs. Buy -- Relationship Marketing: The Strategic Foundation of Company Newsletters -- 15 Possible Goals of Publishing an Email Newsletter -- Goal #1: Acquire New Customers -- FIGURE 2-2: BY CAPTURING NEWSLETTER OPT-IN PREFERENCES, BROOKS SPORTS IS ABLE TO PUBLISH A CUSTOMIZED VERSION OF ITS MONTHLY -- Goal #2: Generate Sales -- FIGURE 2-3: MARTHASTEWART SENDS SALES PITCHES THAT READERS ARE HAPPY TO RECEIVE -- FIGURE 2-4: OLDNAVY'S LANDING PAGE PERFECTLY MATCHES THE EMAILED OFFER -- Goal #3: Turn Your House File into Active Leads -- Goal #4: Keep Sales Leads Warm -- FIGURE 2-5: READING THIS CONSISTENTLY IS LIKELY TO BE A GOOD LEAD, AND WILL QUICKLY BE CONVINCED THAT YOU ARE A SOURCE OF EXPERTISE.

Goal #5: Increase Customer Satisfaction and Education -- Goal #6: Build Trust and Confidence with Investors -- Goal #7: Build Long-Term Relationships with Prospects for Long-Sales Cycle Products and Services -- Goal #8: Support Retail and Offline Sales -- FIGURE 2-6: THE CALIFORNIA TORTILLA USES A NEWSLETTER TO DRIVE TRAFFIC TO THEIR STORE ON RAINY DAYS -- Goal #9: Upsell and Resell -- Goal #10: Educate the Marketplace -- Goal #11: Build Brand and Image -- FIGURE 2-7: SILK ROAD NEWSLETTER BUILDS BRAND FOR U.S. BANCORP PIPER JAFFRAY -- Goal #12: Promote Media Coverage -- FIGURE 2-8: FORRESTER'S NEWSLETTER CATERS TO THE PRESS. BY SIMPLY REPLYING TO THE MESSAGE, MEMBERS OF THE PRESS CAN RECEIVE A -- Goal #13: Manage and Inform Affiliates and Partners -- Goal #14: Drive Traffic to Your Web site or to Other Media -- FIGURE 2-9: FOXNEWS' NEWSLETTER DRIVES TR AFFIC TO THE EVENING'S TELEVISION NEWS PROGRAMS BY TELLING SUBSCRIBERS WHAT THE TOP -- Goal #15: Generate Revenue from Ad Sales -- The Top 7 Strategic Mistakes -- Stick With It, Says Takira.com -- When Multiple Newsletters Make Sense -- Strategy Checklist -- PART III. NEWSLETTER FORMAT, LENGTH, FREQUENCY, AND TIMING -- Build the Newsletter Team -- Format: Text, HTML, AOL - Options, Options -- The Sniffer Myth -- FIGURE 3-1: FORMATTING OPTIONS, INSTALLED BASE, AND LIKELY USERS FOR EACH OF THE MAJOR EMAIL CLIENTS -- Best Practices for Layout of HTML Newsletters -- DWR.com'S Newsletter Readers Print To Read -- Hotmail Link Issues -- Should You Switch from Text to HTML? How? When? -- FIGURE 3-2: FIRSTPLACE SOFTWARE'S HTML NEWSLETTER IS LIGHT ON GRAPHICS, AND USES HTML TO GIVE READERS LINKS TO ALL THE ARTICL -- Best Practices for Layout of Text Newsletters -- FIGURE 3-3: EDDIE BAUER STICKS WITH A CONSISTENT, SIMPLE MASTHEAD SO THAT READERS RECOGNIZE YOUR PUBLICATION IMMEDIATELY. THE.

Long Links In Text Newsletters: A Challenge -- FIGURE 3-4: INCLUDE A "FORWARD-TO-A-FRIEND" LINK IN EVERY ISSUE, UNDER EVERY ARTICLE, SO READERS WON'T BE TEMPTED TO CUT AND -- Best Practices for Layout of House Ads in HTML and Text -- Sponsorships: Build Brand -- Ads: Inspire Reader Action -- FIGURE 3-5: WRITERSWEEKLY IS PUBLISHED BY BOOKLOCKER.COM. THE ONLY LINKS TO BOOKLOCKER.COM'S STORE APPEAR AT THE VERY BOTTOM -- Newsletter Length: What Works Best? -- Frequency: How Often to Publish? -- Timing: Time of Day, Day of Week -- Variable Frequency and Timing: Event-triggered Mailings -- Checklist for Determining Format, Length, Frequency, and Timing -- PART IV. CONTENT -- The FROM Line -- An Email Address -- A Personal Name -- The Name of the Newsletter -- Abbreviation of the Newsletter Name -- Name of Your Organization -- Product Brand Name -- Subject Line -- The Distinctive Subject Lines of Nerve.com -- The Preview Panel -- FIGURE 4-1: THE PREVIEW PANEL IN MICROSOFT OUTLOOK. THIS IS WHERE YOU PROVE THAT YOU'RE WORTH READING -- The Table of Contents: Layout -- Your Footer: Administrative Details Go Here -- Email-Appropriate Style and Voice -- Tips for Productive Archiving -- Tone: Me-to-You -- The Newsletter Itself -- News -- Articles or Columns -- Using Syndicated Material -- Fun Features -- B2B Humor -- Facts or data -- Instruction or Advice -- Reader-contributed Content -- Polls -- Surveys -- Questions -- Jill Whalen's RankWrite Relies on Q&A -- Letters to the Editor -- Resources -- Year-End Best-of Revelations -- Reviews -- Case studies - Avoid the Four Most Common Mistakes -- Mistake #1: Deadly dry tone -- Mistake#2: No results -- Mistake #3: Forgetting to get permission first -- Mistake #4: Publishing a case study offered to you by a PR rep -- "Blog" -- Content Personalization -- Best Practices for Sales Alerts.

Planning for, Producing, and Commissioning Content -- Editorial Calendar -- Idea File -- Stockpile and Schedule Issues -- Outsource Writing -- Finding a Qualified Writer or Editor -- Before You Press "Send" -- Responses to Content -- Lands' End Newsletter Editor Pursues Reader Emails -- FIGURE 4-2: "SQUALL DAD" WAS INSPIRED BY AN ACTUAL READER LETTER THAT THE COPYWRITER THOM PHARMAKIS RECEIVED AND RESPONDED TO -- Checklist for Newsletter Content -- Appendix to Chapter IV: Editorial Services Agreement -- PART V. GROWING SUBSCRIBERS -- Opt-in Only: What and Why -- Why is it so important to take the opt-in route? -- The Double Opt-in Debate -- Information Gathering During Opt-in -- Testing Long Versus Short Sign-up Forms -- FIGURE 5-1: THIS SUBSCRIBER SURVE Y POLL FROM IMAKENEWS ASKS READERS, WHO ARE LIKELY TO BE EMAIL MARKETERS, WHICH EMAIL MARKE -- Essential for Opt-in: Your Privacy Policy -- FIGURE 5-2: UPROMISE HAS THE NICEST PRIVACY POLICY WE'VE SEEN. NOTE HOW THEY USE AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AT THE TOP TO LINK TO T -- FIGURE 5-3: FUTURENOWINC INCLUDES THE EXPRESSION "WE VALUE YOUR PRIVACY" UNDER THEIR OPT-IN BOX. THAT SENTENCE LINKS TO THEIR -- 15 Best Passive Opt-in Tactics -- Passive Opt-in Tactic #1: Web Subscription Box -- The Incredible Shrinking Subscription Invite -- Creative Tips for Opt-in Forms and Boxes -- FIGURE 5-4: EMAILSHERPA (OUR OWN PUBLICATION) USES A PICTURE OF A NEWSLETTER PAGE, AS IF THE NEWSLETTER WERE DELIVERED ON PAP -- Passive Opt-in Tactic #2: Pop-up Subscription Box -- FIGURE 5-5: ALTREC OFFERS A CHANCE TO WIN A PRIZE THAT WOULD BE HIGHLY COVETED ONLY BY ITS TARGET AUDIENCE IN ITS POP-UP BOX -- FIGURE 5-6: IVILLAGE GETS YOU TO DIVULGE ENOUGH PREFERENCES AND INTEREST INFORMATION THAT BY THE TIME THEY OFFER A NEWSLETTER -- Passive Opt-in Tactic #3: Article Archives.

FIGURE 5-7: NOTICE HOW DWR.COM COMBINES THE BEST PRACTICE OF PROVIDING A LINK TO A SAMPLE ISSUE TO GARNER OPT-INS WITH THE BE -- Passive Opt-in Tactic #4: Archived Articles Presented as Valuable Site Content -- FIGURE 5-8: "THE GREAT DEBATES" AT RESTAURANTREPORT.COM ARE PAST ISSUES OF THEIR NEWSLETTER -- Passive Opt-in Tactic #5: Your Printed Marketing Materials -- Passive Opt-in Tactic #6: Asking for Pass-Alongs in Your Newsletter -- FIGURE 5-9: HP'S HPTC NEWSLETTER GIVES READERS A FORM WITH THE OPTION OF FORWARDING THE NEWSLETTER TO UP TO FIVE FRIENDS - PE -- Passive Opt-in Tactic #7: Pass-Along Welcome Letters -- FIGURE 5-10: MARKETINGSHERPA'S WELCOME LETTER OFFERS SOMETHING FOR YOUR FRIENDS, TOO -- Passive Opt-in Tactic #8: Invitation on "Thank You" Pages -- Passive Opt-In Tactic #9: Check Box on Registration Form or Shopping Cart Form -- Passive Opt-in Tactic #10: Email Signatures -- Passive Opt-in Tactic #11: Voice Mail and On-Hold Messages -- Passive Opt-in Tactic #12: Autoresponder Course -- Passive Opt-in Tactic #13: Planting your Newsletter Content on Other Sites -- FIGURE 5-11: AFFILIATE WIRE.COM EXPLAINS HOW THEIR HEADLINES ARE IN OTHER PLACES. THE BOX ON THE RIGHT IS THE BOX AN AFFILIAT -- Passive Opt-in Tactic #14: E-cards -- Passive Opt-in Tactic #14: Online Quizzes -- Passive Opt-in Tactic #15: Home Page "Prequel" -- 14 Best Active Opt-in Tactics -- Active Opt-in Tactic #1: Single Email or Append Service to Convert Your In-house Database -- Active Opt-in Tactic #2: Direct Mail -- Active Opt-in Tactic #3: Telemarketing -- Active Opt-in Tactic #4: TV or Radio Ads -- Active Opt-in Tactic #5: Rented Opt-in Lists -- Active Opt-in Tactic #6: Ads in Other E-zines -- Active Opt-in Tactic #7: Trade Shows, Seminars and Events -- Active Opt-in Tactic #8: Co-registration -- FIGURE 5-12: HIPLISTS OFFERS CO-REGISTRATION FOR SPECIFIC, NAMED PARTNERS.

Active Opt-in Tactic #9: Press Releases and Media Relations.