Feedback on Weekly Newsletter

[ohoffer]

We do a weekly newsletter for our synagogue, like this one https://conta.cc/3VaNeBI. It feels very long, and we don't get a lot of engagement in the content despite a high open rate. We'd love to get some ideas for ways to clean this up.

Thanks!

Ori Hoffer, Washington Hebrew Congregation

[Caitlin_M]

Hey @ohoffer! Thanks for coming in. It's great to hear that you have a high open rate and you're ready to take that next step to increase engagement. I'd be happy to take a look at your newsletter.

First: some things I like. Something you're doing already to shorten your newsletter is the usage of "Read More" links. The hyperlinks are clearly defined by having them be underlined, bolded, and a different color from the rest of the text. A small change I'd make is having your toolbar at the top reflect the styling to have bolded text. Your sections are broken out so I know exactly what I'll be reading in that area. The colors match your branding to create a consistent experience for those who visit your website and receive your emails.

Since you brought up engagement, let's tackle that. During the webinar, we talked about calls to action. Of course, we wouldn't want to overload this newsletter with buttons. Think "What is the most important message I want my readers to see?" Do you see any patterns in your reporting with the types of links that are being clicked (class schedules, resources, etc)? Those should influence your CTAs. At the top of the email, you are promoting a live stream that needs an RSVP. That's a good place to have a button to remind your contacts they need to sign up to attend. Since you have a lot of events to promote, you may want to consider pointing your contacts towards the event calendar you have on your website instead of listing the events out individually as this takes up a lot of space. If there is a special event or a new class you'd like to share, this can be called out in the email.

Also a quick hit: the social media buttons are really small. Those can definitely be increased in size.

Those are a few of the tips that I have. I hope these come in handy!

[DavidFischerSolutionsForGrowth]

Hi Ori! Your newsletter is packed with valuable information but you are correct, it is very long. So long that the information at the bottom may get cut off for some of your audience’s emails. Besides for the terrific suggestions above, here are some more ideas to shorten your newsletter without losing the valuable information.

• Overall, link all your images to your website.
• Consider using Call-to-Action (CTA) buttons instead of links or a mix of both. Buttons tend to be more eye-catching.
• The top banner is great but takes up a good deal of real estate. In addition, you are not using your logo which immediately is recognizable to your congregants. You might want to consider changing the top of your email to include your logo and contact information. Logo on the left, address, phone number and website home page link on the right. That way, even if people don’t read your entire newsletter, they know where to go for more information right away.
• Move the week at a glance into 3 columns. (see the attached screenshot)
• Delete all the Learn More buttons (Keep the RSVP Required links in place) and add a large button to direct people to the online calendar and the virtual options at the end of the block.
• Delete the spaces in between the date and the events. Make the day, month and date a different color to stand out (again see the screenshot attached).
• Since your newsletter is weekly, perhaps avoid providing all the information on an event several weeks in advance. For example: Don’t Miss Our Juneteenth Shappat@WHC, Friday, June 14 6pm. Learn more
• When you get closer to the date, then provide the details.
• Similarly with the all the other events. List them with links and not the details until you get closer to the date.
• Condolences section – you could format the bulleted list into two columns, that would save room as well.

We manage email newsletters for a large number of clients, including non-profits. (We do a great job with redesigning basic templates and supporting clients.) Reach out if you have any questions. I’m happy to help!