How Tinyletter Is Making Us Fall In Love With Email Again

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"Instead of “push media,” in which media organizations are flooding their feeds with what they want you read, the modern newsletter is form of “pull media,” in which you rope in what you are into."

http://tinyurl.com/ku9moaj

Thanks for sharing this, Frank. I've been meaning to get a newsletter going and was curious about the best way to go about it. Seems like this might work for me.

It's very similar, April, to the FAA email campaign ... so I'm grabbing ideas there and bringing it back here.

I've used Tinyletter, off and on for specific travel promo things... in order to keep the travel messages specifically to those who sponsored me, etc.

One of the good things, that's also a bad thing... is that when your audience replies to the newsletter, there's no way of notifying you that someone has replied. What's "good" is that you don't get a bunch of reply emails in your regular inbox. But what's "bad" is that if someone replies to your newsletter a couple weeks after you've sent it, and you're no longer checking the Tinyletter inbox, you'll miss the messages.

Still, it's a cool way to converse with a small group without all the spammy-flavored newsletter/email hassles. And it's free! :)

Frank,

I listened to you over a month ago. I have been building my email list.
I find that people truly interested in my work will join. That small growing list
has a 50% email open rate. I expect that rate to go up.

Every social media thing we do falls mainly on deaf ears.

I have been slowly asking the interested on social media to join my list. That works here
and there.

Addition: I only send out updates on finished work. I want a sheer focus on my work. I do
not send out promotional codes etc. Discounts make little difference. People have
to have a singular interest in your occasional emails. Not so commercial for fine art.

Anyone can do this completely different, those are just my choices. They could mean more
people open my emails over the long haul. Content only.

Dave

Interesting observation, Skip, and also why the FAA email tool might work better. The main difference I see TinyLetter has is they provide you a parked page of sorts to post your sign-up form ... and follower can read your archive newsletters if you give them that option. Am I right? One thing I have been doing is after I send an email newsletter I also post that content to my FAA blog. Sometimes I'll post a synopses of the article in a newsletter and link it to the blog ... this is if the content in too long then the reader is on my artist website if they want to click around instead. I find that, because of the built-in links to FAA in our email campaign, my view count goes up after I send an email.

Dave -- consider yourself blessed! The average open rate for email marketing last I checked was somewhere around 20%. The key is that it has to be permission based, that the reader opts into it themselves. You don't add them but send them and invite email, as it sounds like you're doing. Right now my email campaign is my 'gold' with an open rate average around 60%. Some campaigns get about a 30% others close to 80%. Most important I watch who is clicking and send them an invite to subscribe to my private email list or private twitter account.

Frank,

How does that work, your private email list or private twitter account?

Two email lists? And two twitter accounts?

Twitter is my gateway, but not my sales channel. I find people over time on Twitter, but the waters are so murky
most of the twitter stuff is worthless otherwise.

I do harbor the belief that after my portfolio is fleshed out a great deal more that should I gain name recognition
huge numbers of people would look me up on Twitter, FB and elsewhere. I have over 13k Twitter follower, currently.

I can easily see how I can make a second email list with the FAA email list App. But the invite, how do you phrase that?
Do you offer deals? etc.....

Dave

Dave -- I want to jump in again and say that I don't do promotions either. "Differentiate with Value, or die to Price" - Jeffrey Gitomer


http://www.gitomer.com/articles/View.html?id=16051

So how do you get people to join a "private email list"?

Or do you just set up a more responsive second list?

Dave

since the email campaign only allows subscribers to one list, from what I can figure out, I add these people to a second list then send them an email of such ... if they wish to decline to send me a reply. So far, no replies. I do a spread sheet twice per year on my top click through followers.

Frank and Dave,

First, I'm coming to a similar conclusion regarding "promos" and "discounts" etc. If you do them very often, potential buyers will just hold off and wait for the next promotion. It also tends to devalue the perception of your work by subconsciously getting lumped into "bargain bin" category.

I'll still do them I think, but very rarely. I recently did a 75% off discount that worked, but I think that was ultimately a mistake. I then went to try and delete as much of the remaining posts about it.

I had decent luck with the FAA email newsletter, but the problems I had with it were that many more people signed up for my newsletter via my website. When I'd copy their email over to my FAA newsletter to consolidate the list, users would get upset because it appeared they were getting a newsletter from another source than where they'd originally signed up.

Also had trouble with FAA email newsletters making through bulk/spam server filters and never getting delivered.

So, I switched to mailchimp which initially was better, but now mailchimp is so popular, users recognize the mailchimp "look" and delete without opening.

Tried out Tinylettter. That was actually a much better success rate, but it's so bare bones with it's settings. When I'd contact support for how to change settings, they'd say tinyletter is meant to be simple and if you want other features, they suggest using their parent company mailchimp.

What I've discovered, and this is ever-evolving of course, is that people used to like the nicely laid out newsletters with links, embedded images, text, etc. Then everyone started inundating everyone with these slow loading, photo packed, text dense, strangely formatted, etc. newsletters and they started to get fed up. Now, whenever they see something that looks "produced" with lots of content, they don't even think about it.. instant delete.

My last 2-3 mailchimp newsletters were doing good if I hit 40%

Now, I think it's best to keep it short. Make a subject title that doesn't sound like a promo, nor generic vague salutations. Users don't wan't to be marketed to, nor deceived.

You have to keep it short, to the point, no more than one small image, and then maybe just a link if they're interested in reading more. Don't try to "click bait" them though. This is perceived as deception too.

Approach the message as if you're sending a message to a friend whom you know to be very busy. Don't waste their time with a bunch of fluff.

For this approach, even though there aren't many tools you can use with it, the tinyletter approach may be more successful. Just don't overload it with images, or promo stuff.

Give them some short, useful or entertaining information that can be quickly digested and a link to a blog post with more info if they want it.

I'm no expert, but these have been my personal observations from my own efforts.

"Approach the message as if you're sending a message to a friend whom you know to be very busy. Don't waste their time with a bunch of fluff. "

Exactly !!

"I had decent luck with the FAA email newsletter, but the problems I had with it were that many more people signed up for my newsletter via my website. When I'd copy their email over to my FAA newsletter to consolidate the list, users would get upset because it appeared they were getting a newsletter from another source than where they'd originally signed up." ...... "Also had trouble with FAA email newsletters making through bulk/spam server filters and never getting delivered. "

That list you copied over, use that only to send invite emails for those people to subscribe to your FAA. The issues with emails landing in the inbox has to do with email marketing rules just updated, and mostly to do with gmail and aol accounts. Sean put a fix in the FAA tool a month or two ago, so you might want to try it again.


EDIT: (copy and paste link) here TinyLetter talks about that too: https://tinyletter.desk.com/customer/portal/articles/1521537-yahoo-and-aol-changes-to-dmarc-may-affect-deliverability

Frank,

I didn't know that about the "from" email address. Good info, thx!

As for FAA emails, I also didn't like them because they looked more like it was an email from FAA with my name on it. I wanted something that looked more like it was direct from me. Haven't played with it in awhile, but a long time ago I sent out a message saying I was migrating over to mailchimp for the newsletter emails. I forget how I did it, but I made it easy to find out who wanted to still be on it and who didn't. It'd be a tough sell to now switch back I think. And, mailchimp does give you some very awesome stats. Problem is, those stats aren't so awesome if no one is opening the newsletter. ;)

That being said, I haven't used the FAA newsletter in a couple of years I think. Might have another look and see what's changed or possibly improved.

Hey Frank,

Had a fresh look at the FAA email campaign tool. Did a quick test campaign to myself and noticed the url at the top of the email as well as the images embedded along the right side, are linked to my FAA gallery and not to my Artist Website. Tried it while logged into the Artist Website too. Same thing.

There doesn't appear to be any way for the sender to change that. Do you know of a way?

If the links in my own email campaign could be changed to my AW site instead of my FAA gallery, I'd try using it again. As it is, I guess I'll stick with mailchimp/tinyletter.

Skip -- When the new AW's were launched a few weeks ago then all the email campaign templates became FAA no matter where you send from. I too hope it will go back to our personal Branding for the AW, however, I don't mind the way it is as it helps with on-site conversion. In other words, though my email subscribers have always seen newsletters with my Branding, before they subscribed they always saw FAA or Pixels. Never my AW.

Once I started my marketing from the Pixels platform is when I started getting more buyers subscribing due to Perceived Value, Trust, and Confidence because it shows that I am a part of a larger community, especially since I am not really a household name. Make sense?

Frank -- Hadn't thought about that angle. Good points with regard to larger community, trust, and conversions.

I'm happy with mailchimp and tinyletter for the most part, but I'd like to separate the image/print/pillow, etc. promo emails to strictly those who join the list from the FAA et al portals.

I'd like to start doing some newsletters that are just quick blurbs about something interesting, or travel observation, experience, etc. with NO promotion or links to promotion at all.

Some may call that a mistake and missed opportunity, but I'm coming to the conclusion that you have to FIRST be someone they care to listen to, and who's not trying to sell something all the time. Maybe a link at the bottom, or perhaps something about stuff for sale once every 3-5 newsletters. You know?

I think often people buy from someone that interests them or they want to support in some way. Of course the image matters some, but I think the relationship they feel to an artist they happen to like weighs MUCH heavier than the image itself.

Yes, Skip, you are thinking right. Compelling art with value messages is the only way.


I have learned quite a bit about this at gitomer.com check out the sales videos

Interesting read --


Tips On Crafting A Popular Newsletter, From Top Newsletter Authors

http://www.fastcompany.com/3033338/most-creative-people/tips-on-crafting-a-popular-newsletter-from-top-newsletter-authors

A look at the six most popular newsletters on TinyLetter and what they're doing right.