Grading a GOP Newsletter (part one)
Since I have been reading Jakob Neilsen’s analysis of political email newsletters, I decided to conduct my own critique of a GOP newsletter I received on Friday, June 17, 2005 at 6:36 PM.
The first mistake is a major one. This newsletter appeared in my inbox as being from Michael DuHaime. This newsletter comes from a different author as often as not. There is no way, short of opening the email, to know it is really from the GOP.
This newsletter should appear as being from the GOP, unless there is a celebrity author.
Second, this newsletter had an ambiguous subject line: “In Case You Missed It”. The subject line should always offer some explanation to what the email is about. This subject line may be offering me a low mortgage rate or a chance to by gold.
I almost did not open the email because of these factors.
Stay tuned for further analysis…
“same Bat time… same Bat channel”.
The first mistake is a major one. This newsletter appeared in my inbox as being from Michael DuHaime. This newsletter comes from a different author as often as not. There is no way, short of opening the email, to know it is really from the GOP.
This newsletter should appear as being from the GOP, unless there is a celebrity author.
Second, this newsletter had an ambiguous subject line: “In Case You Missed It”. The subject line should always offer some explanation to what the email is about. This subject line may be offering me a low mortgage rate or a chance to by gold.
I almost did not open the email because of these factors.
Stay tuned for further analysis…
“same Bat time… same Bat channel”.
4 Comments:
Agreed. But although it should be identfiable, I wasn't that impressed when Bill and Hillary Clinton were supposedly sending me emails last year - I just thought that was a little embrassing.
Sure, the content of the email can say, 'Here is a message from Bill Clinton', but don't have 'Bill Clinton' in my inbox - I know he is not sending me personal emails, so it just looks like junk to me!
I disagree, I thought it was cool when my friend showed me his e-mail from Bill Clinton in his inbox. It's certainly better than "[insert name of staff hack who really wrote it]."
And I agree with Hegemon that the subject like was pretty ambigious. "In Case You Missed It" seems like they're trying to sell you movie tickets.
It's all about striking a balance. "GOP round-up" certainly isn't interesting either. I might click on the "In Case You Missed It" to find out what I missed...
Hegemon,
Have you signed up for eNewsletters from the Kiglore campaign? Everything is sent with the name Jerry Kilgore, which as Peter indicated, may be frustrating for some. But at least you know who’s sending you the message.
The newsletters are very informative and their subject lines are right on the money. They tell you enough so that you have an idea of what to expect, but they're just vague enough that you actually need to open the email. The actual content is short, sweet, and to the point. The tone of the language matches that of his website. Even the "Kilgore for Governor" banner is up top. It's worth the time to look at, if you're interested.
I agree with Peter. I think it should just say "from the DNC"
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