• Skip to content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Wylie's Writing Tips

Improve your communications with our training, consulting, and writing services

  • Home
  • Writing training
    • Writing training topics
      • Online writing workshop
        • Blog post-writing workshop
        • Email-writing workshop
        • Web-writing workshop
      • Persuasive writing training
      • Public relations-writing workshop
      • Readability workshop
      • Storytelling workshop
    • In-house writing training: PR, marketing, communications
      • Clients
        • Corporate communications
        • Communication associations
        • Public relations agencies
        • Publishing companies
      • Testimonials
      • About the trainer
    • Public writing workshops
      • Catch Your Readers Charleston | April 10-11
      • Catch Your Readers New Orleans | Nov. 13-14, 2019
      • Write for Readability Minneapolis | June 4-5
      • Write Better, Easier & Faster New York | Sept. 17-18
      • Storytelling workshop San Diego | Feb. 19-20
      • Online writing workshop Portland | July 26-28
      • Past writing workshops
    • Association writing workshops
      • Case study: PRSA Puget Sound
      • Case study: IABC Detroit
      • Case study: IABC Lincoln
      • Case study: PRSA Alaska
  • Writing services
    • Writing guidelines
    • Ask Ann
    • Editing and rewriting
    • Consulting clients
  • Writing tools
    • The Power Pack
    • Rev Up Readership: toolbox for writers
    • Writing That Sells System
      • Art of Storytelling
      • Block Busters handbook
      • Clarify Complex Copy
      • Get Good at Getting the Goods
      • Great Little Guide to Good Grammar
      • People Power
      • Think Like a Reader
    • Cut Through the Clutter
      • Cut Through the Clutter system
      • Cut Through the Clutter manual
      • Overcome Information Overload manual
      • Jargon: Start Making Sense
    • Plan Powerful Publications system
      • Design for Editors
      • Approval Process
      • SMART Goals and Objectives
    • Freelance success
  • Writing tips
    • Corporate-writing tips
      • Why corporate writing?
        • Information overload
          • Quotes on info overload
        • Literacy rates
        • Time spent reading
          • Quotes on time spent reading
      • Persuasive writing
        • Think Like a Reader
          • ‘What’s in it for me?’
            • Quotes on WIIFMs
          • Benefits copy moves readers to act
            • Quotes on verbs
            • Quotes on benefits
          • ‘You’ writing puts the reader first
            • Quotes on ‘you’ writing
        • Quotes on persuasive writing
      • Organization & structure
        • Why story structure?
        • Feature structure
          • Why features?
          • Construct a feature
          • Feature leads
          • Nut graph
            • Quotes on nut graph
          • Background section
            • Quotes on the background section
          • Feature bodies
            • Quotes on the body
          • Feature transitions
            • Quotes on transitions
          • Conclusion
            • Quotes on endings
        • Other structures
        • Quotes on story structure
      • Clear writing
        • Story length
          • Compress your copy
            • Quotes on compression
          • Quotes on story length
        • Paragraph length: Too long? They’ll skip
          • Quotes on paragraph length
        • Writing with statistics
          • Quotes on getting the numbers right
        • Sentence length
          • Resources on short sentences
          • Quotes on short sentences
          • Quotes about sentence length
        • Phrase tighteners
          • Jargon
            • Quotes on jargon
            • Quotes on acronyms
          • Activate the passive voice
            • Quotes on the passive voice
          • Adjectives & adverbs
            • Quotes on modifiers
        • Word length
          • Quotes on short words
        • Readability matters
          • Resources on readability
          • Quotes on readability
        • Conversational copy: Talk it out
          • Quotes on conversational writing
        • Resources on clear writing
      • Display copy
        • Captions
          • Quotes on captions
        • Callouts
          • Quotes on callouts
        • Decks
        • Headlines
        • List-writing tips
          • Quotes on list writing
        • Subheads
          • Quotes on subheads
        • Quotes on display copy
        • Quotes on scanning
      • Story types
        • List-writing tips
        • Quotes on list writing
        • Quotes on tipsheets
      • Writing process, improvement
    • Creative communications
      • Creative techniques grab attention
      • Concrete details
        • Why concrete details?
        • Types of concrete detail
        • Quotes on concrete details
      • Description
        • Quotes on description
        • Quotes on scent
      • Human interest
        • Quotes on human interest
      • Humor: Make them laugh
        • Quotes on humor
      • Metaphor
        • Why use metaphor?
        • Clarify complex concepts
        • Creative comparisons
        • Simplify stats with metaphor
        • How to write metaphor
        • Resources on metaphor
        • Quotes on metaphor
      • Storytelling wins hearts and minds
        • Why is storytelling important?
        • Find stories
        • Narrative research
        • Elements of a story
        • Storytelling structure
        • Quotes on storytelling
        • Quotes on the power of storytelling
      • Wordplay
        • Alliteration
        • Balance
        • Etymological research
        • Coin a word
          • Resources on coining words
          • Quotes on coining a word
        • Rhetorical devices
        • Rhyme
        • Rhythm
        • Twist of phrase
          • Resources on playing with words
        • Wordplay workout
        • Model the masters of wordplay
        • Quotes on wordplay
      • Creativity step by step
        • Creative process
          • Quotes on the 5-step creative process
          • Quotes on foraging
          • Quotes on analyzing information
          • Quotes on incubation
          • Quotes on breaking through
          • Quotes on knuckling down
        • Quotes on creativity
        • Quotes from naysayers
      • Creative story ideas rivet readers
      • Communicating with comics
      • Quotes on creative copy
    • PR writing: Get the word out
      • News release writing
        • Relevant releases: Think Like a Reporter
          • Quotes on relevant releases
        • Anatomy of a release
          • Leads for releases, pitches and other PR pieces
            • PR leads: Try features
            • Quotes on PR leads
          • Body for releases
            • Quotes on short releases
          • Quotations: Make ’em snappy sound bites
            • Quotes on short sound bites
            • Quotes on sound bites
          • Boilerplate for releases: ‘About us’
          • Quotes on Anatomy of a News Release
        • Tight PR pieces
          • Quotes on tight PR pieces
        • Display copy for releases
          • Headlines for releases
          • Decks for releases
          • Visuals for releases
        • Quotes on releases
      • SEO for writers
        • Quotes on SEO
        • Quotes on SEO for releases
      • Pitch? Perfect
      • Quotes on PR writing
    • Digital writing gets the word out on the web
      • Email writing best practices
        • Subject line secrets
          • Quotes on subject lines
        • Get emails read
          • Make emails relevant to readers
            • Quotes on relevant emails
          • How to write short email
            • Quotes on how to write short email
          • How to write scannable email
            • Quotes on scannable email
          • Quotes on email content
        • Quotes on email
      • Social-media writing best practices
        • Quotes on social media
      • Web writing best practices
        • Screen reading
          • Quotes on screen reading
        • Web-writing techniques
          • Quick web copy
            • Quotes on quick web copy
          • Chunk web copy up
          • Tight web copy
            • Quotes on tight web copy
          • Scannable web copy
            • Quotes on scannable web copy
          • Fluff-free web copy
            • Quotes on cutting fluff
          • Mobile web writing
            • Quotes on writing for mobile
          • Microcontent
        • Quotes on web writing
      • SEO for writers
        • Quotes on SEO
        • Quotes on SEO for releases
      • Links & other microcontent
    • Communications planning
      • Situation analysis
      • Program planning
        • Quotes on program planning
      • Approvals
      • Measurement
      • Quotes on communication planning
    • Other
      • Chapter management
  • Writing newsletter
    • Current issue
    • What others say
    • Archives
  • Blog
  • Calendar
  • Why us?
    • About the trainer
    • Contact Ann
    • Photo gallery

Focus your email newsletter

Expand on, but don’t exceed, the subject line

When a Toyota dealership wrapped up its car-maintenance-and-new-models e-zine with information about getting more protein into your diet, subscribers were surprised.

Focus your email newsletter
3 keys to e-zine success 1) Focus. 2) Focus. 3) Focus. Hew to your subject line: Subscribers don’t want you veering off on different topics.  Image by Chase Clark

They’d signed up for the car information, but not the diet advice. And since when was their dealer an expert in nutrition?

Learn a system for writing emails that get opened, clicked and read ….

That’s one of the most interesting findings among the Nielsen Nielsen Norman Group’s 199 usability guidelines for e-zines and email blasts:

Focus your e-zine. Don’t give subscribers any extra bonus material. They don’t want it.

Indeed, the most highly rated newsletters in NNG’s usability studies all contained highly focused content with no extraneous information. Users don’t want extraneous irrelevant information to get in the way of relevant, targeted information they can use.

To give subscribers what they’re looking for:

1. Focus on your area of expertise. If you’re sending out a car dealership e-zine, tell me about cars. I don’t want to hear about your grandchildren, your vacations or your high-protein diet.

2. Cover a single topic. Subscribers in Nielsen Norman Group studies often felt overwhelmed by the number of topics in email newsletters. They preferred newsletters to focus on one story or offer short, focused snippets of information on each topic.

3. Hew to the subject line. ClimateNexus.org sent out an e-zine with the subject line: “Planet’s Cool New Agreement, Navy’s Biggest RE Buy, and More.”

With an emphasis on and More: The message itself included links to 105 stories.

“The newsletter contained a number of news stories that were not encompassed by the subject,” a subscriber kvetched to NNG researchers. “The amount of content was overwhelming. I would prefer a shorter, more curated list. I feel like the subject line opens up the door for them to take the email anywhere.”

So drop the and more. E-zine subscribers want relevant, targeted information wrapped up in a pithy subject line. If a story doesn’t hew to that subject line, take it out.

What techniques do you use to focus your e-zines?

Inside the Inbox - Ann Wylie's email-writing workshop on Nov. 7-8 in D.C.

Get opened, read and clicked through Learn more best practices for writing email newsletters, invites and eblasts that get the word out. Join me at Inside the Inbox, our email-writing workshop, on Nov. 7-8 in D.C.

Save $100 when you register by Oct. 6.

Register now.

Bring Ann in to
train your team.

“Makes me want to go back and revise everything I’ve done in the past three years.”
— Blythe Campbell, director, communications and marketing, NANA Development Corp.
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • More
  • Email
  • Print
  • Pocket
  • Tumblr

Primary Sidebar

February 12, 2019

Master the Art of Storytelling  - Ann Wylie's creative-writing workshop on Feb. 19-20 in San Diego

Save $100 with our group discounts.

Register now.
  • Don’t be afraid of fear appealsDon’t be afraid of fear appeals: Why accentuate the negative?
  • Find your character’s ‘I wish’ songFind your character’s ‘I wish’ song: Motivation a key element of storytelling
  • Top 2 ways to improve your readability scoreTop 2 ways to improve your readability score: Sentence length, word length make messages more readable
  • Use chronology for storytelling structureUse chronology for storytelling structure: 3 steps to a great narrative arc
Archives

Wylie Communications, Inc. logo
    Training
  • In-house writing workshops
  • Public writing workshops
  • Association workshops
    Services
  • Writing guidelines
  • Ask Ann
  • Editing and rewriting
    Tools
  • Learning tools
  • RevvingUpReadership.com
Subscribe to our ezine
Upcoming Workshops

Master the Art of the Storyteller - Ann Wylie's creative-writing workshop on Feb. 19-20, 2019 in San Diego

Catch Your Readers - Ann Wylie's persuasive-writing workshop on April 10-11, 2019, in Charleston

Write for Readability - Ann Wylie's clear-writing workshop on June 4-5, 2019 in Minneapolis

Reach Readers Online - Ann Wylie's digital-writing workshop on July 24-26, 2019, in Portland

Write Better, Easier and Faster - Ann Wylie's writing process workshop on Sept. 17-18, 2019, in New York

Copyright © 2005 - 2019 · All Rights Reserved · Wylie Communications · Contact us



loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.