Learning from eNewsletter

As many of you may know, last month marked the first time that we distributed our monthly newsletter KMA Insights using our recently developed eNewsletter technology. eNewsletter is newsletter distribution software that allows individual managers to personalize the messages that accompany a corporate newsletter.

Gauging from the volume of activity generated by our launch, it was clear that we were on to something big. Newsletters are a hot topic. Many organizations have turned to newsletters to develop and nurture business relationships. In fact, we learned just how large the electronic newsletter industry has become. Sporting strategy and content consultants, trade shows and conferences dedicated to the design, development and implementation, the newsletter industry is clearly a substantial and dynamic entity.

Interest in eNewsletter gave us an opportunity to provide a number of demonstrations soon after our release. From these demonstrations we learned a great deal about how eNewsletter might be used. Consulting firms, law firms and financial services organizations were among those immediately expressing interest. One consulting organization viewed eNewsletter as a tool to personalize and maintain contact with alumni, an apparently rich source of new business. Another firm envisioned eNewsletter as a client contact tool, while yet another saw eNewsletter as a tool for staying connected with their broker/dealer community.

In citing The Attention Economy by Tom Davenport and John Beck, one reader informed us that our eNewsletter software could help organizations attract the attention of their customers and other key stakeholders. He further informed us that, according to Davenport’s and Beck’s criteria, eNewsletter was an “attention getter” because it: 1) was personalized, 2) came from a trusted source, and 3) was concise. Who are we to argue?

By analyzing the trackable URLs that eNewsletter provides, we learned valuable marketing information about our readership as well. While we expected that the lion’s share of readership activity would take place in the first few days, we were surprised that even four weeks later people were opening the newsletter for the first time. Said one executive, “I’m down to 400 unopened emails,” a statement that is open to a multiplicity of interpretations.

We saw indications that our readership seemed more inclined towards the business-oriented articles than to the more technical articles. Additionally, we learned that some folks like newsletters that scroll (our former format) rather than newsletters that require you to pop open each article individually. We are grateful for all comments, be they criticism or praise and can’t wait to see what we learn from this one. Tell us what you think at: info@knowledge-management.com, and thanks.