MailChimp’s posterous

via @chriscoyier

Every business day our Twitter handle @freesourcing publishes a “Freesource of the day”. Today’s Freesource is MailChimp – MailChimp is the most impressive email marketing tool I’ve seen – “period”. Aside from MailChimp being a great submission, what I found especially exciting, was the man who submitted it: Skip Blankley, the Owner and Founder of Groovemuse Atlanta.

Groovemuse is an Atlanta-based organization led by Musicians and Artists, for Musicians and Artists. Skip and his crew focus on creating and growing opportunities for talented artists in the Atlanta area through fundraisers, recording, web design, management, promotions, and legal assistance. And as you may have guessed, Skip is now using MailChimp to boost his efforts.

A big part of Groovemuse’s success has been achieved through their community of artists, vendors, and fans. Skip mentioned that “keeping in touch with so many is a challenge, and email blasting is never enough”. Skip’s excited about the switch to MailChimp and because of useful features like analytics, custom design, add-ons, and ROI measurement, but the main item that sparked his interest was a recent integration with Eventbrite – a free event listing and management tool. Skip said “the combination is exactly what Groovemuse needs”.

Freesourcing.org would like to extend a special thanks to Skip for submitting MailChimp and especially for taking the time to speak with us this morning. On a side note, Skip declined to say which email marketing provider he was using before, but based on his endorsement, I don’t think Groovemuse will be going back.

via freesourcing.org

Even for experienced designers, building email newsletters isn't easy. You receive a lovely looking design, and you crack on with the development. Unfortunately, it just doesn't work as it should in every email clients. Styles don't display, images aren't visible, etc.

This is where these twenty best practices come in handy.

Clearly the king of the mountain!

5 Tips for Effective Email Copywriting

View comments11 Comments and 179 Reactions | Posted by Michelle Bowles on Nov 6th, 2009 in Email Marketing, Online Marketing

The quality of email content is one of the core factors in determining whether an email marketing campaign succeeds or fails. But successful email copywriting is an art — rather than a science — making it different from most other forms of business writing. To start out on the right path, consider these 5 tips for effective email copywriting:

1. Focus on the subject line. The subject line may be the shortest piece of content to write, but it’s one your campaign’s most critical elements. The challenge is to create excitement for a special offer, provide enough information to be clear about purpose and convey a brand’s essence – all in 50 characters or less.

When writing your subject lines:

• Create a sense of urgency. Include timely information to encourage subscribers to open the email.
• Include the most important information first. It’s essential that subject lines don’t exceed the character limits of email servers. But prioritizing the vital information first will ensure that, in case the subject line does run over, the primary message will be conveyed.
• Look to others for inspiration. Read newspaper and magazine headlines for ideas. Consider the email campaigns that you receive. Which ones were you intrigued enough to open and what can you deduce from those subject lines?
• Go with what works. Look to your own past successful email campaigns and replicate the subject lines that produced the highest open rates. Also, test out different subject lines within the same campaign to discover what generates the best response.

2. Include a mix of promotional copy with informational copy. Even if the goal of a campaign is to promote a new product, announce company news or introduce a special offer, complement that information with non-corporate information. For example:

• Supplement a new product announcement with a thought leader interview from a supporting industry.
• If a seasonal offer is being promoted, include tips or a checklist pertaining to that particular season.

3. Involve your readers. Consider the success of blogs, forums and social networks. Those interactive channels are effective because users feel involved and engaged. Build off that premise with email copywriting by keeping subscribers engaged and making them a part of the content. Consider including:

• Reader polls
• Reader case studies
• Q&As with customers
• User-generated content

4. Make the call to action crystal clear. With too many calls to action, email marketers run the risk of confusing or overwhelming subscribers. When customers are presented too many options, they may be less likely to purchase. Instead, focus your calls to action and limit the effort it takes to act. Consider these quick tips:

• Rely on size and placement position to emphasize the call to action.
• Write call to action copy that tells subscribers exactly what they can expect.
• Use copy that reinforces to subscribers that taking action will be quick and easy.

5. Put yourself in your subscribers’ shoes. When it all boils down, an email campaign will only be successful if it addresses subscribers’ needs. Email marketers should look at their campaigns from subscribers’ perspectives. What’s important to them? In a ClickZ blog post on email copywriting, Pat Friesen talks about the importance of understanding an audience:

• Visualize subscribers, whether they are mothers of young children or a corporate executive.
• Picture where subscribers are reading the email copy, whether it’s on a computer at work, on a laptop at home or on-the-go from a mobile device.
• Imagine the distractions subscribers face when reading email copy.

Beyond simply visualizing subscribers, study their open and click-through patterns, and consider their demographic information. If you’re still unsure of what subscribers want, use a reader survey to ask them.

What other tips do you have for effective email copywriting?

in case you're wondering what it means..

Great step-by-step how-to for creating and publishing a signup form to your blog. (via Sherman Hu)