Three Tips for Getting People to Read Your Email Newsletter

If you're trying grow your startup you've come to the right place. Join nearly 6,000 startup entrepreneurs by subscribing to my RSS feed.

Micropreneur Academy member Ruben Gamez launched Bidsketch five months after joining the Academy, and has experienced quite a bit of success with this niche application for designers.

I’m subscribed to his mailing list, and recently received an email update about a new version of the app; the kind of email I would typically delete without thinking.

But three things about this email drew me in until I found myself reading the entire email and clicking the link contained within. So I am presenting them here as tips for getting people to read your email newsletter.

Tip #1: Use a Custom Design
I’m typically a fan of text-only newsletter email due to the challenge of getting things to display correctly in email clients. But the design of this email is branded, yet simple. It immediately caught my eye as something I wanted to at least take a peek at.

Tip #2: Use Bullets
This email is made up almost entirely of bullets. This makes it very skimmable, and if you want to find out more information you can click through to the blog. The email is also super short so it’s hard not to read the entire thing.

Tip #3: Be Funny
The writing is clever without trying too hard. It draws you in, and not only makes you want to read more, but puts a human face on the company. The company happens to be run by a human, so this is a good thing.

(Bonus) Tip #4: Personal Reply-To Email
When I replied to the email to tell Ruben what I liked about the email, the reply-to address appeared as “ruben@bidsketch.com.” Not “noreply@bidsketch.com” or “support@bidsketch.com.” Another nice way to put a human face on your company.

Startups for the Rest of Us...
If you're trying to launch or grow your startup you've come to the right place. I'm a serial web entrepreneur here to share what I've learned in my 11 years as a self-funded tech entrepreneur. Luckily several thousand people have decided to stick around and listen.

I cover topics that affect software and web startups of all sizes, but mostly relating to startups you can fund yourself. For more on my story and the purpose of all this, visit the about page.