How to Engage Your E-mail Subscribers in a Fun Way

February 24th, 2010 posted by Chris Jacobson · 1 Comment

The majority of e-mail newsletters I receive are either dull, boring, have no substance, repeat information I already know, or are simply copied from sales pages. I either end up deleting the e-mail, or unsubscribing if I don’t like what the person/company is sending.

The problem with e-mail newsletters today is no one tries hard to impress their subscribers. It’s the same kind of style with about 5 words per line to make reading it easier and more appealing. That little trick doesn’t work anymore and readers are tired of it.

What also doesn’t work anymore is writing a few paragraphs, including a link to your product and then writing a few more paragraphs before ending the e-mail with the same link. You may think it’s effective because people often scan messages and will spot a link. Sure, they’ll see the link, but they won’t click on it.

Some of the best Internet marketers out there still can’t grasp my attention (and I don’t have A.D.D.) The fact is, e-mail marketers need to jazz things up a bit and engage with their readers on a level that speaks directly to them.

One of the e-mail newsletters I received this week — and actually ended up reading — was from Aweber. These guys know all about e-mail marketing, because their entire business is based on it.

Aweber listed off 6 fun ways to engage your subscribers. To summarize before you check out the article for yourself, they suggest using visual stimulants, such as video and using a visually appealing e-mail template. Other ideas include sending a survey to gauge reader feedback, include some freebies and shine the spotlight on your readers, perhaps in an ad campaign for your company.

Hats off to you, Aweber. I’ve been looking for ways to increase my e-mail readership and engage my current subscribers for a while now. If you’re not putting these suggestions into motion, I highly recommend it. If you do, drop me an e-mail and let me know what you choose to do and how it ends up working for you.