Paul Hyman – Open For Business: Tips for Boosting Your E-newsletter Open Rates

With rare exceptions, the e-marketing goals of game developers are typically to generate repeat business, create communities around their games, and drive traffic to their websites. Regular, consistent e-newsletters are one of the best tools to achieve such goalsand following best practices is the foundation of e-newsletter success. In this edition of Casual Connect, we look at a couple of tips to boost your e-newsletter open rates. TIP #1: Pick the Right Day and Time to Send If youre sending your e-newsletter to consumers, evenings and weekends are best. Thats because most people subscribe to e-newsletters using personal rather than work e-mail addresses, and theyre likely to encounter your message while in a personal time frame of mind. On the other hand, if your target is businesses, you should consider sending your e-newsletters in batches that hit during working hours (keeping time zones in mind). Furthermore, you should avoid sending your e-mails first thing in the morning. Rather you should wait until people have cleaned out their inboxes so that your message will get more attention when it arrives. Likewise, tests have shown that open rates are higher on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays than they are on Mondays and Fridays. TIP #2: Dont Underestimate the Importance of the Subject Line The subject line is the only clue your reader gets as to whats in your e-newsletter before deciding whether to open it or junk it. You may want to use the recipients name, you surely want to use an action verb, and you absolutely must include the most interesting point you make in the body of your e-newsletterlike this, for instance: Bob, embrace these 10 sure-fire salary-boosters! Consider what would convince you to open an e-newsletter and follow suit. Remember, when your content is strong and relevant to your audience, a powerful subject line is much easier to generate. Last point: Write your subject line lastafter youve finished writing the e-mail content. TIP #3: Give Lots of Thought to Your From Box One of the keys to getting someone to open your e-mail is familiarity. You can always send your e-newsletter using your company name in the from box, but you may be able to boost your open rate if you send it from someone on your team whom they know personally. For others, your products name may be even more familiar. The point is to signal in the from box that the message comes from a trusted and familiar source. Only you know how your customers will respond best. TIP #4: Content, Content, Content Let me say that again: Content, content, content. Remember that your readers will be hearing from you regularlyand whether they want to hear from you again depends mostly on what they learned or enjoyed reading the last time you sent them your e-newsletter. Bore them once and they may never want to hear from you again. So put a lot of thought into the content of whatever youre sending. Ask yourself: If I received this from some other company, would I want to read it? And afterwards, would I be glad I did? Running out of things to say? Consider these sources of inspiration: Current Industry News: Read your industrys e-newsletters, websites, and magazines, and share with your readers the interesting news you find there. But dont simply repackage someone elses content. As you share your opinions on the latest trends and innovations, your readers will start to view you as a real expert in your field.Employee Profiles: Let your readers get to know your company through your employees. If they like your games, theyre going to want to know who created them. About Your Company: Forget the facts and figures for a minute; let them know your history, mission, and future plans. Whats on the drawing board? The more confidential information you share with them, the more engaged they will be. What insider info are you willing to divulge?Tips and Tricks: If you have a small space to fill, a quick tip or trick is always a winner. Sometimes the shortest content has the greatest impact.

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Paul The Game Master Hyman has covered the video games industry for over 15 years; he currently writes for Gamasutra. com and Game Developer magazine, among others. As editor-in-chief of www. OpenMoves.com/gamesan e-marketing boutiquehe creates e-newsletters for such game-related companies as Ninja Kiwi, GameTap, FOG Studios, and Digital Artist Management. E-mail Paul at paul.hyman@ casualconnect.org.