It boggles my mind how nightclubs are still sending so many one-off emails about upcoming events. Moreover, it kills me to see how the ones that are sending newsletter style emails are still not producing them effectively. It’s not rocket science. But I still come across clients that are missing the basics.

Here are some tips to get you started — or to help you quickly review your existing e-mail newsletter and confirm that you’re still in line with best practices to make it successful.

It’s All About the Reader, Not You

Remember: When you’re developing an e-mail newsletter, make it relevant and interesting to your audience. This sounds so simple, but I still see clients whose e-mail newsletters are “all about us” – XYZ Production Presents, John Smith Promoter Hosts, etc. That’s nice, but what’s in it for the reader?

Many times this type of information, if included at all, should be relegated to a brief sidebar — it’s not the meat of your e-mail newsletter. If there’s more to the story — for instance, you’ve added new DJs to the line-up that may sway your decision in attending — then that might warrant a full-blown article.

Think About the Competition

I’m not talking about the venue down the street from you. I’m talking about the competition for eyeballs and time that exists in the email inbox.

Many companies develop their e-mail newsletter content in a vacuum. Put it in context. Why would someone read your e-mail first? Why would they read it at all? If you can address these questions and come up with honest reasons justifying the readers’ interest in your e-mail, you’re on the right track.

Include a Table of Contents

This seems simple, but it’s still surprising how many e-mail newsletters lack this fundamental feature. Studies show that most people spend just a few seconds deciding whether to read an e-mail. By incorporating a table of contents at the top, the reader can easily see everything your e-mail newsletter has to offer and decide whether to read it. If the first event doesn’t engage them, the last one might.

Be sure your table of contents is as descriptive as possible. Actual event headlines will engage better than section titles that are the same each time you send. More descriptive, benefit-oriented headlines work better than general ones with nothing to offer the reader (Stephanie Pratt from The Hills this Thursday – Reserve Today for chance to free entry)

Headlines Aren’t Enough

One of my clients sends an e-mail newsletter to drive traffic back to their website. The content is an image of the event flyer with a list of headlines. While some promoters have beautiful flyers that draw people in, most don’t.

The shortcut here is to include the flyer and the first sentence or two from the promotion copy. This is better than a headline alone.

A better strategy is to write some original copy about each event that entices the reader to click-through and read more. “Teaser” copy works very well here. Don’t give away the key points of the article, but let people know what they’ll learn if they read it. The Opium Group does a great job at drawing readers in: http://www.setmiami.com/promo/20100224.html.

For instance, if the event lists top celebrity to attend an event, let them know that if they request more information they can reserve from the website. It’s a quid pro quo — you need to let the reader know what they will receive if they give you the time it takes to click-through and read the event information.

Incorporate Video

I’m surprised at how some of the largest nightclubs in the world are not leveraging the use of video in email, or video at all. I’ll admit this is somewhat new. A recent Forrester Research report stated that video in e-mail is increasing CTRs (define) significantly — double or triple what the same e-mail received without video. There are ways to benefit from this trend without costly technology. If you’re looking to be at the forefront of your competition, check out my recent article Five Tips for Including Video in Email.

Have a Goal

We used to develop e-mail newsletters just to do it. E-mail was the only way to communicate with people in a cost effective way.

Today, e-mail is a proven effective marketing channel. But many companies still neglect to assign bottom line, quantitative goals to their e-mail marketing efforts. Many e-mail newsletters are primarily used for branding and to drive awareness, but that doesn’t mean you can’t develop quantitative goals. Read my article Why E-mail Matters More Than Ever for the Nightlife for insights on email tactics.

Open and click-throughs are good, but the closer you can tie your goals to the business mission, the better. Think in terms of lead generation, sales, and other conversion metrics. Even things like how much time people coming from e-mail newsletters spend on the site versus visitors from other sources can be useful and justify your efforts.

I look forward to your comments!

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