Do you try to send a good newsletter?

[Shawn Gossman1]

Most default online community newsletters...well...they suck.

I'm going, to be honest about it. What the system sends out automatically is generic and plain.

Do any of you try to spruce your newsletters up at all? Do you try to make them different than other communities?

I'd love to see examples of how you've improved your community newsletter.

And to those who don't do it - why not?

 

[Cedric]

The real question here is: How do we create a good newsletter that makes people engage?

I try to send out a newsletter once or twice a month, but usually I end up making it a quick one and after I've sent it, regret a thing or two. For me, I end up with a wall of text: Sent mail

 

[ClicketyKat]

I don't read newsletters sent out by email really. I mean, when my daughter sent some out for the place where she worked, I would look at those, but that's because she was my kid. When forums force them on me, I get annoyed because I'm never going to read them. Like ever. If I wanted to know what was happening at their forum, I'd be there logging in.

 

[Shawn Gossman1]

I think one of the best things to do is subscribe to a good newsletter on a topic you enjoy and get inspiration from it.

One I like is called Morning Brew. It's free and it's noted as being a less than 5-minute read newsletter.

It's fast to read, made for mobile, and still gives great and engaging content. I always look forward to the next one.

Find a good one and mimic it but in your own context of course.

 

[~ True Legend ~]

I don't read newsletters sent out by email really. I mean, when my daughter sent some out for the place where she worked, I would look at those, but that's because she was my kid. When forums force them on me, I get annoyed because I'm never going to read them. Like ever. If I wanted to know what was happening at their forum, I'd be there logging in.

Same, I view it as spam as many others surely would. Imagine every site sending newsletters. That would frankly be tiresome.

 

[ClicketyKat]

Same, I view it as spam as many others surely would. Imagine every site sending newsletters. That would frankly be tiresome.

Oh yeah! I'd be really fuming if my email was loaded with those. What I hate is when something new is offered on a site, the notification is usually defaulted to allow email. That's the same with newsletters it seems because out of the blue sometimes, I'll get an email and I KNOW I go through every site I sign up on asap and remove all those allow emails.

 

[Shawn Gossman1]

I don't really agree personally.

My newsletter grows by the hundreds every week. It's grown so much that I must pay for a better service plan.

Newsletters work.

But it's all about what you put in them.

A newsletter for a Christian forum could be anything from weekly prayer requests for members and events going on in the world.

A newsletter for this forum could be a weekly roundup of the best posts, exclusive articles, forum resources of the month, and interesting communities found online.

There can always be and should be an unsubscribe button but in all honesty, I'd be for a subscribe-first model even if it's a single email blast to all members inviting them to subscribe. If they don't, then they don't get another email of the newsletter.

That seems pretty fair if you ask me.