Rule29 & the art of a short & stylish campaign
July 18th, 2007 by Emma
The send-off, at a glance.
Sent on June 27th, 2007, to 575 people
Open rate: 40.3% :: Click-through rate: 29.7%
Created using Emma’s Newsletter 1 layout
See the campaign online :: Visit the Rule29 website
About their newsletter.
Rule29 sends their newsletter quarterly to about 600 people, including clients (both current and hopeful) and friends of Rule29. One of their primary goals in sending their newsletter is highlighting the breadth, quality, and level of creative service they offer through their agency, as well as staying in touch. And it’s working - their results are fantastic, their business is growing, and they’re planning to spend even more time and energy developing their newsletter’s content and delivery.
Why we like it.
It’s easy on the eyes. Spend just a minute or two browsing the Rule29 site, and you’ll see that stylish design plays a big role in everything they do. Their email newsletter is no exception. With a single font style and a single font color, the clean formatting helps you start reading and keep at it. Lots of font colors and sizes may grab attention, but too much formatting may take the focus off what you’re saying and put it on the number of font colors in the first paragraph (wow, eight). Also, their clean, consistent headings help divide the page neatly, making each section stand out.
-> In short: Try using simple, consistent formatting for a newsletter that’s easy to read.
It’s short and sweet. No long scrolling or multi-page articles here - just quick reminders designed to direct people to more content on their site or to a downloadable PDF. Lots of content can be a little intimidating for readers, and you want to do all you can to minimize the chance that your email is dropped into the dreaded “to read later” folder. Short content segments help subscribers see what’s new in a glance or two, and using links to additional content helps *you* see who’s interested enough in a particular article to keep reading. Plus, shorter emails are more appealing to the eye, are less likely to be filtered by busy email servers, and tend to garner better open rates.
-> In short: Try tailoring your emails to a manageable length, using landing pages to link to additional content.
Technorati Tags: myemma.com, email marketing case study, newsletter tips, ask emma, emma, Rule29, landing pages
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July 30th, 2007 at 4:59 pm
Useful post. I’m glad to see Emma finally has a blog. I’ve been waiting for your unique writing style to hit the blogosphere.
I like you guys, hence I’m giving you a little link love.
Keep up the great work!
July 31st, 2007 at 12:31 pm
How very classy of you, Michael. Thanks for the kind words - oh, and be sure and introduce yourself to Dave Delaney, Marcus Whitney, and the other Emmafolk at BarCamp. We’ll buy you a drink to say thanks for the link love.
February 13th, 2008 at 11:36 am
I love how people focused you guys are. Reading your blogs is like having a conversation… makes you guys fun and easy to work with… even calling to speak with customer service isn’t a daunting task for me… everyone is so helpful and easy to get a hold of… you guys run a great company!
February 19th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
Bekah, we’re blushing. Thanks for taking the time to say such nice things, and we couldn’t be happier that your experience with Emma is, well, a happy one.