Steal these tricks from theSkimm
What’s the secret to a successful email newsletter? Make ’em laugh; make ’em think; make ’em Skimm.
In other words, make it interesting, relevant and easy.
That’s the formula e-zine theSkimm uses. You can steal a trick from theSkimm and produce an email newsletter that’s:
1. Interesting
TheSkimm makes the news fun to read, from the subject line to the final column:
- Subject line: “Seize the Hump” for a Wednesday release
- Quote of the day: “Brad Pitt” – A nametag at an Oscars luncheon worn by none other than … Brad Pitt. You’re doing amazing, sweetie.
- Headlines: “See EU Later,” “Iowa-nna Be President,” “Whatsapp With This”
- Voice: It’s cheeky, inside-y, fun.
2. Relevant
TheSkimm offers news you can use to live your life better. That is, it delivers as much news as you need — and no more! — to be able to keep up with the conversation over lunch or cocktails.
TheSkimm best realizes this promise in its quick, breezy guides, like:
“Thing to know” also gives that inside-y, news-you-can-use-to-look-and-feel-smart tone.
3. Easy
My favorite thing about theSkimm, though, is how easy it is to read. You see that ease in the newsletter’s:
1. Positioning statement. Check out the e-zine’s No. 1 selling point
“Making it easier to live smarter”
2. Readability. TheSkimm is easy to read because of its:
- Length. You get a day’s top news and features in about 1,275 words, or a 6.5-minute read.
- Paragraph length. At about 26 words a paragraph, theSkimm looks easy to read.
- Sentence length. At about 12 words per sentence, it’s easy to understand.
- Word length. TheSkimm is also easy to process, with words averaging 4.8 characters.
- Reading ease. It’s easy to read, too, with a reading ease of 62 on a scale of 1 to 100.
- Reading grade level. Weighing in at the 7th or 8th grade level, this e-zine is accessible to most folks.
3. Skim-ability. TheSkimm is named for its skim-ability, after all! I especially like the way the e-zine breaks down the lead story.
How can you make your email newsletter interesting, relevant and easy like theSkimm?
How can you reach nonreaders with email?
Just 24% of email recipients fully read email newsletters on mobile devices. The rest skim — or just glance at — their messages.
So how do you get the word out to flippers and skimmers via email?
Find out at Get Opened, Read, Clicked — our email-writing workshop.
You’ll learn how to get the word out to email recipients with our simple test, boost readership by choosing the right template for your email newsletter, and avoid getting your headline cut off on mobile email apps.
Plus: Find out how to write links that boost your click-through rate on mobile, where email recipients click on 40% fewer links.
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