Are email newsletters still being read?
When checking things off my launch list, I got to the email marketing part, where I started to think about building an onboarding email sequence and maybe job search tips (the product we're launching soon is a job search agent).
However, my co-founder said that it probably doesn't even matter because people don't read newsletters anyway. Probably now even less than before because content can be easily generated, and thus, losing its value.
Do you have newsletters that you do not just open but actually read, and what are they about?
If you've built a product recently, do you see any significant positive impact on user engagement?
Personally, I must confess that most of the email marketing I find rather annoying. I think I am only checking emails from my favorite fashion brands for the outfit inspiration :D
Replies
Hi @lauragenno ! I am glad there are other people on PH thinking about onboarding/life cycle comms and life after launch.
I've been doing email marketing B2B for nearly a decade and B2C for a couple years now. I wouldn't agree that content is no longer valuable because it is easily generated. People have been creating mediocre content since the first newsletter on grain prices was etched into a clay tablet!
From a consumer perspective, when I am interested in a topic, or a place, and they send good updates on a daily/weekly basis, I will almost always read them. Especially when they make it to my 'Updates' folder rather than 'Promotions'.
Examples include PH's newsletter, The Atlantic, HubSpot, PostHog, Daily Brew, The Information, Lenny's Newsletter, OSRS. But these aren't like, show-stopping emails or anything. Just reasonably well done and focused on topics I already care about. And given your industry and how important your content could be to someone, I can definitely see that being pretty impactful.
So I guess four suggestions:
1) don't overlook email deliverability as it can gatekeep your content from people that would want to see it but never get to. Start with smaller pieces of content, or roundups, sent to your most engaged subscribers. It's okay if that list is small to start.
2). Try not to gather and distribute content for content's sake. Use email as a channel for delivering value through content. When you have enough value to distribute at the same time, and some group of people who could benefit from that value, then it is a good time to think about a roundup piece like a newsletter.
3) AI is a tool that should save time on the execution of this value delivery. Where you can go wrong is letting AI determine the value for you.
4) Be liberal in your opt-out policy. Strive to be an email only sent to people who anxiously await its arrival every week. No point in sending emails to 10,000 people who don't open a single one. Put 9,000 on the backburner and focus on your relationships with the 10% who you resonate with.
Hope this helps and good luck!
@cholden_lewis Thank you for your advice, good points! I hope I will be able to create content that subscribers would find interesting & meaningful, definitely don't want to create content just for content's sake. Will keep in mind the tip about the target audience!
Btw, I also like PostHog emails. I think it's their use of informal, human language and their general philosophy of not pushing products to users that works well.
Nice question, Laura! I also think that there is no straightforward answer, and a lot depends on a newsletter itself. I love reading nicely-crafted newsletters, which are not too wordy, have lovely design so it's easy and pleasant to skim through, and have clear ideas/thoughts they want to translate through the text.
I love digests to catch up with something I could miss, tips and real stories, and even marketing chains can be good if done with care :)