Many company’s have an e-newsletter and I believe the majority of those company’s should not or need to take a lesson from the masters. Here’s why.
How many e-mail newsletters do you subscribe to? Out of those, how many, when you see it hit your inbox are “drop everything you’re doing to read the newsletter”? Very few I bet. On the flip side, how many were you subscribed to that when you received it, there was nothing of value to you whatsoever? Probably a lot more.
The best example of how to do an e-mail newsletter is from Chip and Dan Heath. They do not have a schedule they publish on, they only send it when they have enough content that they are satisfied that the newsletter provides exceptional value to the reader. It delivers value.
Granted, they are authors of two best selling books, and write a column in Fast Company magazine but they offer a lot of free content on their site and the newsletter is no different. The best part about it is that you don’t feel like they are bragging about their work in the newsletter, nor are they trying to sell you something, they genuinely want to fill your appetite of useful knowledge. Because I get this feeling from them I remain as a subscriber.
If you don’t have enough content that provides value the solution that I would recommend is quite simple; DON’T SEND THE NEWSLETTER!
Now it’s your turn, do you have an example of a great newsletter? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.
In your day to day interactions it is difficult to look back and reflect on something you have said/done, unless you e-mailed it. How lovely it is that technology keeps track of the conversation we have via e-mail. Occasionally this comes in handy, like it did for me today.
Recently I put a team into a sports league not knowing what I was getting myself into. Two weeks later I sit frustrated, and defeated, all because of an ignorant assumption. Reflecting on what happened I searched to the root of the problem and the why behind it. All it came down to is an e-mail that should have been reviewed before sending, that’s it. If this person would have reviewed what he wrote before sending I think he would have caught his ignorant assumption and changed his tone and argument. He never reviewed it, and now I am left to think of this gentlemen as less of a person because of the udder idiocy that is attached to an ignorant assumption.
When you assume something that is completely outlandish, inhuman or plain illogical people make their own assumptions about yourself, especially if they do not know you very well. Conflict is unavoidable but ignorant assumptions within conflict immediately makes you down grade the conflict to a misunderstanding because of the others metal capacity on the given issue. When someone assumes something that is ignorant, we as humans place judgement, not intentionally, but in the back of your mind you know exactly how you feel about this person.
Sympathy you say? Yes you need to have it with friends and colleagues but towards people that have a position of power that should be reviewing their own e-mails, no. I’ll keep you updated to see if we in fact did get in the league, as for my adversary that needs a lesson on e-mail etiquette, please, use the phone next time.
