Your newsletter's website
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A professional newsletter backed up by a tawdry website is like trying to sell fresh prawns on a bed of rotting lettuce. Those prawns sure look tasty, but are you going to buy into them when they're surrounded by decomposing plant matter?
Just as your newsletter and publishing activities need to reflect professionalism, so do your website's design and content.
Apart from the overall impression an associated website conveys, a website or web pages can also boost professionalism by providing subscribers with extra resources and support.
A newsletter website should offer more than just a subscription form. Consider adding the following:
- archives, possibly with a search facility.
- background information on the newsletter.
- background information on the contributors (which is also a chance to give your newsletter a more human face).
- a subscriber FAQ (answering common questions on subscription processes and more).
- contact details.
- subscription preference center, where readers can update their email address, change delivery preferences, unsubscribe etc.
Some people question whether online archives are warranted, arguing that it encourages people to visit the website rather than subscribe to the newsletter. I disagree.
The argument may have some truth, though the whole point of signing up with a newsletter is so the information comes to you, rather than the other way round. Regardless, not having archives means you miss out on all these opportunities:
- archives demonstrate the value of your content to potential subscribers.
- search engines index the archives, generating more visitors for your site (and subscribers for your publication).
- they give you a history, proving your competence as a newsletter publisher.
- people link to archived material (again meaning more visitors and subscribers).
- you can reference them in future newsletters, so you avoid repeating yourself.
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