By Elmer on November 10, 2009

Running a business-to-business EDM campaign but also running out of ideas? Sometimes it happens when we think we have exhausted all possible ideas what should our next e-newsletter should contain. We can dump a lot of near-worthless messages, but we have also become more sensitive to subscribers who may immediately unsubscribe. For our EDM campaign to be successful, our readers must also find our content appealing and valuable.

By this time we might already know the profile of our readers, their jobs, Internet habits, likes and favorites. By identifying these traits, we can anticipate their reaction as they receive our newsletters. Here are some ideas on what type of content we can include on our next email marketing blast.

How To’s and Tips
How to’s, tips and instructional topics are attractive content that subscribers love to read. If you manage a cooking recipe blog and manage a mailing list, you may want to include tips on extending the flavor of your favorite rib eye steak or tips on how to prepare the most appealing Thanksgiving desserts.

If you are into flower business, ideas can evolve around proper care of plants, most ideal flowers for certain occasions and ideas on picking flowers at any given time of the year.

Such tips can be a part of a regular column of your EDM that people will look forward to reading everytime a newsletter is sent out.

Analysis and Opinions
For a fan newsletter, we can offer subjective opinions about our favorite NBA team (who deserves the starting lineup, why a trade for another player is necessary). In many cases these topics invite user reactions and this makes the topic more interactive.

For a business involved in English language lessons, an opinion about the job market for English-speaking labor force and the demand for English proficiency in certain industries. This can be supported by government stats, and reliable sources.

Convincing Case Study
We can produce a case study about a client success after taking our consulting services or using our products. Including a case study in a newsletter can backfire if the content is too bland and is too abstract for readers to understand. We should provide details on what was the problem, what strategy we took, how it was implemented, overcoming initial resistance and unforeseen problems up to the success stages and sustaining the momentum.

Seasonal Topics
For a travel agent, it can be the top picks for winter travelers or for gift shops, it can be the most popular affordable toy gifts during Christmas season. By relating to the seasons, readers are attuned to something that interests them.

Interesting Lists
Subscribers love lists, but don’t create one for the sake of having one. Topics should still be related to the business we belong. For example, “23 Reasons to Travel to Hong Kong”, “5 Ways to Make Use of Your Old Headphones”, “101 Tips to A Successful Marriage” or “Seven Top Healthy Foods Under One Dollar”.

Of course we need to track the performance of our newsletters and identify areas of improvement. Did subscribers spend more time on reading our articles? Did they click on more links? How many of them posted comments and how many of them contacted us for feedback? In this way we will know how we can move forward to a more effective EDM campaign.

Photo credit: Preview Photos

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