You’ve all opened e-newsletters that were so long and boring that your hand cramped and your eyes glazed over before you even reached the middle of the email. You don’t want your organization to join the ranks of those who consistently have their newsletters deleted or even worse, their email provider frozen because of excessive spam reports. With that in mind, here are some tips about the length and frequency of e-newsletters.
Most nonprofit e-newsletters are too long, especially those whose organizations have just switched from print to electronic formats. In general, people do not scroll very far. They skim the information at the top of the email, and then delete it. It is suggested that 500 words is a good limit for newsletters. Include one 500-word article, two 250-word articles, or short teaser introductions with links to the full articles on your website. Find out what format works best for your organization.
If your organization has recently switched from print to electronic newsletters, realize that “you simply can’t take everything that’s in a four-page print newsletter […] and cram it all into one email.” Instead, insert only the best content into your e-newsletter and link to everything else on your website.
Now that you have decided how long your e-newsletter should be, how often should you send one out? You should write newsletters as often as you can consistently write interesting and relevant content that, most importantly, is something your readers will enjoy receiving. When first starting out, it may be good to send a newsletter every 4-6 weeks and then adjust over time.
In general, nonprofits send newsletters too infrequently. Try sending one article every two weeks instead of sending three articles every six weeks—it’s the same amount of content, but more frequent.
If you find that you cannot write compelling newsletters within your set time frame, you either do not know your audience, need to think in different, creative ways, or you should slow down. If your unsubscribe rate goes up, discover why people are leaving, and if frequency is the problem, stop sending so many emails.
Overall, it is ultimately up to you to decide the length and frequency of your mailings. If you take the time to understand your audience and their needs, you will have a great e-newsletter distribution list.