Newsletters people open

What you will be able to do

• Define the reader and the promise of your newsletter and set a frequency you can keep
• Write a newsletter issue using a one-idea template with a single call to action
• Measure a newsletter by clicks, replies and inquiries rather than open rates alone

Most small business newsletters fail for the same reason: they are about the business, not the reader. “Here is what we have been up to” is a message nobody asked for. A newsletter people open makes a promise, keeps it every issue, and asks for one thing at the end. For an event business, that promise is usually simple: useful planning advice and a look at real events, from someone who does this every week.

Read the transcript

Newsletters people open.

Most small business newsletters fail for the same reason: they are about the business, not the reader.

"Here is what we have been up to" is a message nobody asked for.

Choose one reader and one promise.

Before you write anything, decide who the newsletter is for.

You learned earlier in the module that your list holds several groups.

Frequency you can keep.

Consistency matters more than frequency.

A monthly newsletter sent twelve times a year beats a weekly one that stops in May when the season starts.

The one-idea template.

Each issue should do one main thing.

Here is a template that works for almost any event business.

Where the material comes from.

You will never run out of ideas if you keep a running list.

Every question a client asks on a call is a possible issue, because other readers have the same question.

Subject lines that earn the open.

A good subject line tells the reader exactly what they will get, in words they would use.

Avoid fake replies ("Re:"), fake urgency and all capitals.

That is the lesson. The worksheet and the quiz are just below this video.

Choose one reader and one promise

Before you write anything, decide who the newsletter is for. You learned earlier in the module that your list holds several groups. One newsletter cannot serve them all equally, so pick a primary reader and write for that person.

• A wedding planner or vendor might write for couples who are 6 to 18 months from their wedding.
• A corporate caterer might write for office managers and executive assistants who order lunches and plan staff events.
• A venue might write for planners and corporate event leads who book several events a year.
• A children’s entertainer might write for parents in the neighbourhoods they serve.

Then write the promise in one sentence and put it on your sign-up page: “One email a month with a planning tip, a real GTA event and our open dates.” If a draft issue does not keep the promise, it does not go out.

Frequency you can keep

Consistency matters more than frequency. A monthly newsletter sent twelve times a year beats a weekly one that stops in May when the season starts. For most event businesses, monthly is the right rhythm. It is often enough to stay remembered and rare enough to write well. Corporate-focused vendors can add short issues ahead of the buying seasons, such as late summer for holiday parties. Wedding vendors can send a little more in the winter planning season and a little less in the summer when they are working every weekend.

Choose a day and stick to it, so readers start to expect you. Schedule issues in advance during quiet months to cover the busy ones.

The one-idea template

Each issue should do one main thing. Here is a template that works for almost any event business. It takes about an hour to write once you have done it a few times.

1. Subject line. Specific and useful, under about 50 characters so it is not cut off on a phone.
2. Preview text. The line that appears after the subject in most inboxes. Use it to finish the thought, not to repeat “View in browser”.
3. Opening line. One or two sentences that speak to the reader’s situation right now.
4. The idea. A tip, a mini guide or a lesson from a real event, in 150 to 300 words.
5. The proof. One photo from a recent event, with a short caption and credit to the photographer.
6. The call to action. One link or button that asks for one thing: book a call, check a date, download a guide, reply with a question.
7. The sign-off. A real name, and an invitation to reply.
8. The footer. Your business name, mailing address, contact details and unsubscribe link.

Here is Lantern & Lane’s March issue, written to that template.

Subject: The 3 vendors to book before June. Preview: Most couples leave one of them too late.

“If your wedding is this fall, March is when the calendar starts to close. Here are the three vendors that fill first in the GTA, in our experience, and why: the venue, because everything else depends on it; the photographer, because the good ones book 12 to 18 months out; and the caterer, because tastings take time. [Short paragraph on each.] Last October, a couple came to us in July with the venue booked and nothing else. Here is how we filled the gaps in eight weeks. [Photo and two-line story.] We have four fall dates left for full planning. Reply to this email or book a 15-minute call: [link]. Priya”

Where the material comes from

You will never run out of ideas if you keep a running list. Every question a client asks on a call is a possible issue, because other readers have the same question. Every event you deliver gives you a story and a photo, with the client’s permission. Every mistake you have watched someone make, such as booking the band before the venue, is a tip. Keep a note on your phone, add to it after each event and each sales call, and pick from it when you sit down to write. Content you already made for social media or your website can be reworked too: a carousel becomes a short guide, and a blog post becomes a summary with a link.

Subject lines that earn the open

A good subject line tells the reader exactly what they will get, in words they would use. Compare these pairs.

Avoid fake replies (“Re:”), fake urgency and all capitals. They might lift opens once and cost you trust permanently.

Measure what matters

Open rates used to be the headline number for newsletters. They are now unreliable, because some email apps load the content of messages automatically, whether or not the person reads them, which can count as an open. Treat open rate as a rough trend at best.

Watch these instead:

• Click rate: the share of recipients who clicked a link. It shows real interest.
• Replies: for a small business, a reply is the strongest signal of all.
• Inquiries and bookings: how many came from the newsletter, recorded in your CRM.
• Unsubscribes: a few each issue is healthy. A spike means the issue missed the promise.

As an example, if Lantern & Lane sends its March issue to 600 subscribers and 36 click, that is a 6 percent click rate. If 3 people reply and 1 books a $6,000 wedding, that single issue has paid for a year of email software many times over.

In Canada and the GTA

Every newsletter is a commercial message. A newsletter that promotes your services, mentions open dates or links to a booking page is a commercial electronic message under CASL. Send it only to people with express consent, or with implied consent that has not expired, such as a purchase within the last 2 years or an inquiry within the last 6 months. Every issue needs your business name, a current mailing address, and a phone number, email address or website, plus an unsubscribe mechanism that is quick, easy and free. Process unsubscribes without delay and within 10 business days at the latest.

Honest subject lines and sender names. The Competition Act separately makes false or misleading sender information or subject lines in electronic messages reviewable conduct. “Re: your quote” on a newsletter, or a sender name that pretends to be someone else, is the kind of trick the rule targets. Send under your real name or your business name, and write subject lines that describe the content.

Inbox provider rules. Google’s sender guidelines for personal Gmail accounts apply to all senders, with extra requirements for bulk senders, defined as those sending close to 5,000 messages or more in 24 hours. Bulk senders must authenticate with SPF and DKIM, publish a DMARC record, offer one-click unsubscribe on marketing messages, honour unsubscribes within 48 hours and keep their spam rate below 0.3 percent, aiming for below 0.1 percent. Most small event businesses send far fewer messages, but setting up authentication through your email platform improves delivery at any size. Read Google’s email sender guidelines.

Why opens are unreliable. Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection, which users switch on in their Mail settings, hides the user’s IP address and downloads remote content privately in the background when messages arrive, rather than when they are opened. Because many email platforms count an open when that content loads, opens from these users can be recorded whether or not anyone read the email. See Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection help page. This is why click rate, replies and bookings are better measures.

Accessibility, language and the local calendar

Write in text, not pictures of text. An email built as one big image cannot be read by a screen reader, often fails to display when images are blocked, and tends to land in spam folders. Use real text for the message, add alt text to photos, use a readable font size and good contrast, and make links descriptive. Ontario’s accessibility rules require every organization with one or more employees to provide information in accessible formats on request, promptly and at no extra cost, so be ready to send a plain-text version or read the content to someone who asks.

Language. If many of your clients prefer French or another language, consider a separate version for them rather than a bilingual email that is twice as long. Store language preference in your CRM so each person gets the right version.

Plan topics around the GTA calendar. A year of issues almost writes itself when you follow the local event calendar:

• January to March: engagement season follow-up, wedding show season, budgets and booking timelines, spring offsite planning.
• April to June: proms and graduations, outdoor season preparation, Pride month activations, summer corporate events.
• July and August: patio and festival season, shorter issues, early holiday party planning for corporate readers.
• September and October: galas and conferences, holiday party booking deadlines, fall weddings.
• November and December: holiday party season, gift cards or vouchers if you sell them, and a year-in-review issue.

Add the cultural and religious occasions your clients celebrate, checking their dates each year, and write about them with care and accuracy.

Worksheet

Download the worksheet and complete it for your own business, using Lantern & Lane as the model where it helps. Keep it with your marketing plan. It takes about 10 minutes.

Download the worksheet (PDF)