Do You Really Read eNewsletters?

While I am a content marketer, I am also a consumer of dozens of products and services. I craft email marketing messages for clients during the day and at night filter through emails sent from retailers and services at night. So, as a consumer, I have a very important question to ask: Do you really read eNewsletters?

This question struck me when I realized, after putting my “consumer cap” on, that I was deleting a number of eNewsletters from my personal inbox. I wasn’t even looking at them once, just repeatedly hitting the “delete” button. But, speaking as a content marketer, eNewsletters are a fantastic way for companies to cultivate brand awareness and stay top-of-mind for customers during downtime. So, I had to do some hard thinking.

After the consumer and content marketer within me had a quick chat (I’m not crazy, I promise!) I was able to glean key insights into the business of eNewsletters, including what makes them stand out, what makes a customer subscribe and unsubscribe, and why we like them in the first place. I hope my personal takeaways can resonate with you:

• We’ll subscribe just to get something, then delete: I have admittedly subscribed to eNewsletters just to snag a discount. Once I’ve received access to the code I swiftly scroll to the bottom and unsubscribe. There wasn’t anything wrong with the eNewsletter; I just wasn’t that invested and had no intention of investing further. Had I established a longer buying relationship with the company I may have chosen differently. Nothing personal, brand-that-shall-go-unnamed.


• We’ll subscribe because we are genuinely interested, but then lose enthusiasm: I once subscribed to a Sonic eNewsletter because they were opening up the first location in the state. Now there are a few sites statewide, but at the time it was a pretty big deal. The foodie in me was genuinely excited about Sonic coming to CT, and yet I haven’t been to a Sonic The eNewsletter intrigue quickly ended after the initial excitement wore off.


• Just because we don’t constantly read doesn’t mean we’re not checking: After faithfully following BuzzFeed on Twitter and regularly engaging with posts, I decided to subscribe to its “DIY” and “Animals” eNewsletters. But I eventually stopped reading and would only click on emails once in a blue moon. For me, it boiled down to the subject line; the majority were either boring or irrelevant.


• There’s about 1-2 eNewsletters we value above the rest: At the end of the day, there are only one or two eNewsletters I actually click on and read all the way to the bottom: my kickboxing studio’s monthly newsletter and Netflix’s eNewsletter. I must say that I have loyalty of steel to these two services. I’ve been going to my kickboxing studio for years and am Facebook friends with my trainers, so I love hearing all about what’s new at the studio. Meanwhile, I love Netflix so much that I’m thinking of cancelling my cable service, which I barely watch anyway. So, when Netflix sends me a newsletter telling me that season six of “Parks and Recreation” is now available, you bet I’m going to read it word for word.

The reason for subscribing to an eNewsletter is always the same: the consumer at some point genuinely had an interest in the brand or the content that the brand was producing, and so he or she wanted more. A few things may happen along the way—the customer may grow uninterested, more interested or unsubscribe altogether—but you have to remember that it’s not necessarily your. All you can do is craft compelling copy that is relevant, timely and useful for your readers in the hopes that they will find it engaging and worthy of sharing.

Do You Really Read eNewsletters?