How to Inject Personality Into Your Newsletter, Part 1

I recently wrote about how to write newsletters that people will actually read.  It was based on research that revealed, via a heatmap, where newsletter readers’ eyes settle as they are reading (or, more likely, skimming) an e-mail newsletter.   Which got me thinking about how boring most newsletters are.  And I don’t mean they lack useful information, but they lack personality.

Therefore, I’d like to introduce you to two newsletters, one from FreshBooks, a Canadian company that provides an easy-to-use online invoicing platform, and the other from Bizzy, a startup I’ve covered at Tech Cocktail.  Both have great style, a lot of personality, and are fun to read.

For reasons of space, I am breaking them out into two blog posts.  First up is a breakdown of FreshBooks:

Title of newsletter: FreshBooks Supper Club

Tagline: ‘Sup from the world of FreshBooks

Email subject line: FreshBooks Supper Club: Our CEO loses his shirt, and Martha in da house (from February 2011)

Images: Created specifically for newsletter – no stock photos here!

Articles:

• FreshBooks and Martha Stewart: One Degree of Separation – FreshBooks customer appeared on the Martha Stewart Living show
• Send us the shirt off our back!  -  Appeal to customers to send care packages containing their company T-shirt (size irrelevant) t0 replace the cool T-shirts that CEO Mike McDerment lost when his luggage was stolen.
• Wooo Doggies, Texas here we come! – Announcement about the FreshBooks Airport Shuttle and their big 7^th birthday bash during SXSW.

Sample text: Never approach a bull from the front, a horse from the rear, or a fool from any direction.  I know this is true because I learned it last year in a little place called Texas.  Once a year FreshBooks sends a few employees there for a little event people call SXSW.  Around these parts, we call it by a different name, “learnin’ time.”

Other: It is signed by Saul Colt, whose title is Head of Magic.  There is a little dialogue bubble coming out of his name that says, “Cereal is delicious.”

What I love about this newsletter: The sense of humor, conversational tone, and well-thought out and engaging subject line and article titles.

My only criticism: I haven’t gotten a newsletter from FreshBooks since February.  You need to send out newsletters at least quarterly to stay top of mind with customers! 

Image Courtesy: FreshBooks

This entry was posted on Friday, July 1st, 2011 at 9:00 am and is filed under Email Marketing, Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.


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