news + articles

enlarge

In the fourth of our series of newsletter clinics, newsletter expert Andrew Seel, MD of Qube, offers advice to help Cactus Language get the most from their email newsletter.

Why not send in your newsletter for a FREE check-up? Each month we'll pick one to provide examples of how you can improve the response from your email newsletter.

Andrew's thoughts

1. My first impressions of the Cactus Language newsletter are really good. The design is bright, neat and clean. The imagery is enticing. My comment on the look is that the main feature of the newsletter doesn’t really jump out at me. It’s not clear where I should look first.
2. The main issue I had was how relevant the email is to its target audience. From discussions with Cactus, the main target of this newsletter is customers who have attended a course in the past (the majority) and prospects who have signed up on the website.
   
   With this in mind, I would suggest the lead feature: ‘What’s it really like to learn a language’ isn’t necessarily going to draw in customers who have already been on a course. At the very least the headline needs to be posed differently. The feature itself is still interesting, however.
3. I’m not convinced the email is structured round target user interests as well as it could be.
   
   In terms of content, readers tend to look at ‘what’s in it for me’. On the web they are impatient, so the content has to quickly meet their goals. These might be to find inspiration, find good deals, discover what the holidays/courses are like, see if this company is better than another. The question is, which one do they want here?
   
   For people signing up from the website, it is likely they are looking for regular information on courses as this is what’s promised. They might be comparing companies. For people who have already been on a course this might be inspiration on a new place to continuing learning languages.
   
   Either way, information on courses is some way down the newsletter.
4. I like the phrase of the month feature and making it timely like the football phrases is a great idea.
5. Content which meets the concerns of prospective buyers is great. The press and client feedback sections are a good idea although there is no content enticing me to click in the press section.
6. The Quick Website Links are a little confusing – it is not clear that ‘Cactus Language’ means launch the website.

See what Andrew suggested...