5 Things You Need to Know About Creating Awesome eNewsletters

5 Things You Need to Know About Creating Awesome eNewsletters eNewsletters are powerful marketing and communication tools for several reasons. They can drive sales and leads, lead to a larger social media audience, increase traffic to your website, and serve as great places to repurpose content. They are crucial for maintaining an engaged audience, but you can lose a lot of people if you drop the ball.A survey of 277 hiring professionals conducted during May and June of 2016 by Recruiter.com and my company, Come Recommended, found that eNewsletters are among HR and recruiting pros favorite content formats.So, what makes a successful eNewsletter?There are five crucial elements1. Focused ThemesA bad eNewsletter is scattered and unfocused. If readers open your newsletter and see 10 different unrelated messages, they will be turned off. Instead, you should stay focused on one theme. You should have a very clear, straightforward goal in mind.Lets say you h ave a new wertzuwachs tracking feature you want to demo for hiring professionals. The content in your newsletter should be related, so make sure everything you share via the newsletter aligns with performance tracking. For example, you could share content that explores the challenges that companies face when it comes to annual performance evaluations.2. Balanced Content and DesignContent needs to be concise and to the point. Our survey found that 22.5 percent of HR professionals prefer content that is about 390 words long and takes approximately three minutes to read.Your subscribers dont want to open an email and see a Dickens novel. Large blocks of text head straight to the trash bin.Adopt a clean, minimalist design. There should be plenty of open space and the content should be organized into sections with small blocks of text. The readers eyes should comfortably follow the flow and feel of your eNewsletter.Regarding the content, you need to find a balance between educational and promotional. Most of the content you produce and share through eNewsletters should be educational. Readers want your expert advice on employer branding more than they want your sales pitch.Thats not to say you shouldnt try to promote your products or services. Keep promotional content to around 10 percent of the newsletter. When every newsletter has some form of sales content, you may come off as spammythe only click youll get will be on the unsubscribe button.3. Strong Subject LineHow are you attracting readers to your content? Our survey found that your headline is the most influential element in getting readers to your page.Your subject line is just like your headline your make-or-break point with the subscriber. It can be tough to stand out in your readers overflowing inboxes.You cant stick with the same exact subject line over and over again. What does your subjectsay that influences readers to open the newsletter? What incentives are presented? Why should they open it right now?eNewsletters are all about clicks and getting more people to your site. You cant drive traffic if your subscribers arent reading your emails.Make your subject line undeniably compelling. Address a common problem like soaring turnover rates and demonstrate thatthe eNewsletter contains expert insights into solving the problem.Keep your subject line short and sweet. Tell readers what is contained in your message and use action-oriented words just as you would with a call to action.4. Clear Call to ActionA common mistake many organizations make is trying to get their audiences to perform multiple actions with one eNewsletter. If your readersare overwhelmed bymultiplebuttons begging for their engagement, they simply wont do anything. Youre diminishing the value of each call to action if you put five in one message.Leadreaders to one main thing you want them to do e.g., explore your new video interviewing features, share your article to social media, or forward an infographic to a friend. Make your calls to action simple and clear, anddont forcethemto compete with one another.Consider including interactive content, like quizzes, contests, and games to help your audience retain your brand messaging. According to researchfrom the Content Marketing Institute,79 percent of content marketers agree that interactive content enhances retention of brand messaging when combined with traditional marketing tactics.Furthermore, 81 percent of content marketers agree that interactive content grabs attention more effectively than static content. When you have your readersattention, you can build a relationship with them thats founded on trust and respect.5. Established CredibilityStick to your word. On your subscribe page, set clear expectations, and then follow through on your promises.If youre promising a weekly eNewsletter, give peoplea weekly eNewsletter. If youre offering access to a free eBook on talent mobility programs, deliver that product.Be detailed and specific a bout why people should subscribe, what they can expect from you, how often they will get it, and how they can opt out. If you bury the opt-out options and make it hard for readers to unsubscribe, you may end up in the spam folder. Successful eNewsletters belong in front of your audiences eyes, not in the trash can.What makes your eNewsletter successful?Heather R. Huhman is a career expert, experienced hiring manager, and founder and president of Come Recommended.

Heres how to be your own personal best friend

Heres how to be your own personal best friendHeres how to be your own personal best friendLast week, on a day when I was feeling particularly moody, my friend Sarah sent a text asking how I was doing. I told her the truth I felt overwhelmed with work, hopeless about dating, frustrated with my weight, and who CARES SINCE IM SUCH A LOSER JERK ANYWAY NONE OF THIS MATTERS.She immediately shot back, HEY. Dont talk about my friend like that and then proceeded to calmly text me all the ways I was actually doing fine - Im finally working on writing projects that have been dream goals for decades, Im actively choosing not to date so I cant expect humans to come beating down my door, and I recently abfluged working out with a trainer which has already helped my lower back pain go away.I decided to believe her because, well, she was right like fruchtwein people, Im usually way too hard on myself. I clamp down like a Venus fly trap when Im feeling less than perfect, holding fast to every negat ive thought and refusing to let in kindness. But when framed through the eyes of someone who cares about me, my life becomes less about the ways Im failing and more about the ways Im kicking ass. Sarahs simple admonishment - Dont talk about my friend like that - made me realize that no matter how much time I spent being a good friend to others, I remained terrible at being a friend to myself.As we get older, women invariably do for others before we do for ourselves. Maybe you have children or elderly parents that need your time and attention, a stressful boss, or a demanding partner. Putting ourselves last is a cultural construct, just like gender, race, and people who think reality shows like The Bachelor are not rigged. Setting our mental and emotional needs on the back burner just makes it easier to forget about them entirely. And, while best friends are great at giving perspective, rckendeckung, and getting us out of emotional spirals - what happens when theyre not around?As we get older, women invariably do for others before we do for ourselves.Theres no way Im suggesting you replace your friends. If youre at all like me, it took you decades to cultivate a chump-free lifestyle, and we all need people to talk about the Real Housewives with over pizza and whiskey, OK? But knowing how to support yourself will help you feel more centered, independent, and able to actually enjoy yourself when youre spending time with the people you love. Becoming a best friend to yourself will take practice, it wont all happen overnight. Heres an easy way to start.Send yourself encouraging messagesI send myself notes all day long - my inbox is basically a virtual high-five session. Bitch, you look dope as hell today or You just wrote the hell out of that chapter Do I feel like a maniac having a folder full of emails where I am my own hype man? Yes. Does it help me feel better every single time I send one? YesIf it feels awkward to send yourself a positive note, just think about what your best friend in the entire world would say about whatever has you feeling challenged. Channel their goodness and send yourself an empathetic or invigorating message. This might feel silly, but theres actually science to back it up Positive affirmations are powerful reminders of what you value, they help shape the way you perceive yourself in the world, and even boost your performance at work. Most importantly, they can simply remind you that youre a street walking cheetah with a heart full of napalm when you need an immediate boost of confidence.Take actionA good friend often has spot-on actionable advice - even if its something we dont want to hear. You need to give that same kind of actionable advice to yourself and actually follow through. For example, a few years ago, I was tired of thinking about my body only in terms of how I looked, and not how I felt. I knew my scale and full-length mirror were a big part of the problem. So, when I moved back to New York, I l eft them both in Seattle and never bought new ones. Do you know how good it feels to get rid of scale? Its like having sex on top of an active volcano while you surf down a wave of lava. I read too many comics but YOU GET THE IDEA.Similarly, I want to commit murder whenever Im stressed out and my friends tell me to go for a walk or take a yoga class they know I spend all day inside writing by myself, and that Im basically allergic to exercise. But, somehow, theyre always right - I feel better when I get out of my head and into my body. These are things I needed to learn how to tell myself. Now when I feel my shoulders creeping up towards my ears, I tell myself to get going and then simply get up and move around. Let me impart this critical advice If you already spend too much time in your head, theres no shame an emergency one-person dance party.Think big pictureIf your friends are anything like mine, they spend a lot of time reminding you that things will get better. Theres a lot of encouragement to KEEP GOING - to work on the things that bring us joy even if they dont make us money.On New Years Day, I write a list every year of 100 things I want to accomplish in that year. Its full of things small and large (read all of the books on my nightstand, go to Paris for my 40th birthday), and I look at it whenever I feel stuck or useless. It reminds me that Im working towards some kind of goal every day. Your list can be big or small, you can write on your birthday or Arbor Day or today, but write down some short and long-term goals to reference whenever youre feeling like you need to shake things up. Taking action, even a small one, could get you out of your current funk.Being your own person is mostly about trying to dig yourself out of the cycle of negativity that affects us all. If youre not sure how to start the process, call your best friend - or better yet, just ask yourself.Danielle Henderson is a TV writer, freelance writer, former editor and staff writ er for Rookie, and author of the book Feminist Ryan Gosling. Her memoir, The Ugly Cry, will be published in 2018.This article first appeared on Shondaland.