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Email content questions and sending the same content from my blog in my emails?

by Ghoro
18 replies
I'm wondering from your experience how much of the content for your email needs to be unique to only your emails if any? Mainly I'm wondering for the first few series of emails after they first opt in. I have read on here how it's ok to email the same stuff that's on your blog, but what I'm unsure of is can all of it both be on your site and email?

My concern would be something like say they get directed to an article through either a paid ad or is an article they read on someone else's site and that same article is also very early on in the email series. Or even more so the reader takes the time to read multiple articles on my site, just to have all the same articles emailed to them over the next few weeks and quickly lose interest.

And if you do have unique content just for your email, do you treat it like any other informative content?

I could be wrong, but I would guess after the first 15 or more emails, it's then fine to only email new blog articles and sales offers.


Also just a few other questions, other than informative content emails and sales emails, do you send out any other types of emails? Like a smaller, but more personal email or an email giving a heads up about future content or some special sales offer or deal that will be coming in the next email.

When promoting a product that's not your own, do you do it as a review or more like sales copy? And do you have your review or sales copy on your site or just in your email series?

Lastly is sending out an email promoting the same sales offer multiple times to your list a good idea? Not saying one right after the other, but with a big gap of content in between.

Thanks
#blog #content #email #emails #questions #sending
  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Originally Posted by Ghoro View Post

    I have read on here how it's ok to email the same stuff that's on your blog
    It depends where on your blog, whether people actually read it there, what the primary purpose of the blog is, and on various other factors.

    Originally Posted by Ghoro View Post

    can all of it both be on your site and email?
    You surely wouldn't want all the "email continuity stuff" on a blog??

    Originally Posted by Ghoro View Post

    My concern would be something like say they get directed to an article through either a paid ad or is an article they read on someone else's site and that same article is also very early on in the email series.
    Yes, you perhaps wouldn't want it too early in the email series? Though provided your subscribers understand what you're doing and why, and you have the right sort of trust-based relationship with them, it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

    My subscribers know that at some point they may receive an email or two from me, some part of which was previously published elsewhere. And they know why. It's never caused me a problem that I'm aware of.

    Whether something like that is going to be a problem is going to depend on how you handle all the other "email stuff" that would clearly have no place on a blog, I think.

    Originally Posted by Ghoro View Post

    Or even more so the reader takes the time to read multiple articles on my site, just to have all the same articles emailed to them over the next few weeks and quickly lose interest.
    Yes, I see that that might become something of a concern, if you commonly have visitors reading multiple articles on your own blog. (I must say, mine generally don't - but that's kind of "easy for me to say", perhaps, because I happen to be an affiliate marketer, so the primary purpose of all my sites is just to collect the visitors' email addresses. I do actually have all my articles there too, but very people find or read them - and I prefer it that way.)

    Originally Posted by Ghoro View Post

    And if you do have unique content just for your email, do you treat it like any other informative content?
    All the "non-article content" of my emails is unique to my emails. All the opening and closing paragraphs, and subscriber-related chat, and so on. (How could it not be?? Apologies if I've somehow misunderstood your question, here ).

    Originally Posted by Ghoro View Post

    other than informative content emails and sales emails, do you send out any other types of emails?
    I don't send sales emails, myself (again, I'm an affiliate marketer, myself, so all I have to do on that front is send targeted traffic to sales pages on the strength of a trusted recommendation, and I choose vendors whose sales pages can do the selling for me).

    Originally Posted by Ghoro View Post

    Like a smaller, but more personal email or an email giving a heads up about future content or some special sales offer or deal that will be coming in the next email.
    Every email I ever send explains what will be coming up in the next email, and when, and why. That's an absolutely essential part of both "continuity" and of "expectation-setting" - the two fundamentals of email marketing? I probably wouldn't be able to maintain my open-rates over the long term, without doing that.

    I'll stop here: my observations/comments are of very limited value to you, I think, because I'm an affiliate and you're asking vendors, really, I think? Sorry ...


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    • Profile picture of the author Ghoro
      Thanks Alexa it was very helpful and I am also looking at this as someone that wants to be an affiliate for other people's products, sorry I didn't really make that part clear.

      Also you made me realize that I may have been thinking about it a bit wrong as to what should be in my emails. I was thinking that my email content would be the same type of thing I post on any blog 100%. I wasn't thinking about "opening and closing paragraphs, and subscriber-related chat, and so on" as well as letting them know when and what will be coming up next, that would only be appropriate for email. So a basic out line of an email could be like, opening, article content and then closing that will include things like letting the reader know what's coming up next.

      I guess at this point I'm now unsure about what would really be subscriber-related chat and what an email specific opening and closing would be, other then letting the reader know what's coming up next. As well as what would be in a non-article and a non-promotional email. However with some searching on here and else where, I'm sure I will find some good examples or explanation

      Thanks
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      • Profile picture of the author TallCoolOne
        Originally Posted by Ghoro View Post

        Thanks Alexa it was very helpful and I am also looking at this as someone that wants to be an affiliate for other people's products, sorry I didn't really make that part clear.

        Also you made me realize that I may have been thinking about it a bit wrong as to what should be in my emails. I was thinking that my email content would be the same type of thing I post on any blog 100%. I wasn't thinking about "opening and closing paragraphs, and subscriber-related chat, and so on" as well as letting them know when and what will be coming up next, that would only be appropriate for email. So a basic out line of an email could be like, opening, article content and then closing that will include things like letting the reader know what's coming up next.

        I guess at this point I'm now unsure about what would really be subscriber-related chat and what an email specific opening and closing would be, other then letting the reader know what's coming up next. As well as what would be in a non-article and a non-promotional email. However with some searching on here and else where, I'm sure I will find some good examples or explanation

        Thanks
        What I do is write a unique value based article for my blog, then send an email to my list that tells them why they need to read it, then link to the post. This has worked well for me for awhile now.
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        • Profile picture of the author discrat
          You can definitely use the material in your Emails on your blog.

          But the tone will be different. And it should NOT be word for word the same.

          IMO, the emails are more personalized and directed than what you would write on a blog.

          You are writing one on one to a Subscriber in your Emails.

          When I Blog I am talking to a given audience.

          Much less quaint for me at least.



          - Robert Andrew.
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        • Profile picture of the author Ghoro
          What I do is write a unique value based article for my blog, then send an email to my list that tells them why they need to read it, then link to the post. This has worked well for me for awhile now.
          It's ok to use some of the same stuff that's on your blog, but make sure that it entices people to check out your post.

          After all that's why you send out a newsletter right? Just make sure it makes people curious to check out your blog post and read the full article and that would be the best option i believe.
          I could be wrong, but I would think I would rather give the readers all the value and content I can in the emails, in order to keep them more personally engaged and looking forward to the content they will get in my emails. Which would then also have the effect of keeping my open rates high, so that down the road when I have a promotional email they are more likely to open it.

          I'm not looking to run an adsense blog or anything like that, so I see no benefit to leading them back to the blog after I already got their email, unless it was for things like a survey, gathering more information, free download, some sales page or so on.

          You can definitely use the material in your Emails on your blog.

          But the tone will be different. And it should NOT be word for word the same.

          IMO, the emails are more personalized and directed than what you would write on a blog.

          You are writing one on one to a Subscriber in your Emails.

          When I Blog I am talking to a given audience.

          Much less quaint for me at least
          Yeah this is the part I'm still unsure of. From what I got from Alexa's post I now get the idea that the opening and closing will be different then what goes on a blog, but it sounds like you're saying the whole thing should have a different and more personalized tone, but I don't get how you would do that. Say you wrote an article on how to water your plants, sure the opening and closing can be different, but when it comes to the core content on how to do it, I don't really see how you could make it any more personalized then what you wouldn't just post on a blog anyway. I guess in general other then trying to provide informative content or to send a promotional email, I'm not really sure what else you would send or say in your emails.

          Any more help on where I'm confused would be great

          Thanks
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          • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
            Banned
            Originally Posted by Ghoro View Post

            I see no benefit to leading them back to the blog after I already got their email, unless it was for things like a survey, gathering more information, free download, some sales page or so on.
            An additional potential reason is "to get people used to clicking on your links, expecting and finding something they like". This can make quite a difference to your click-through rate when you're promoting something. This is why I sometimes do it, even though I have some reservations about it for other reasons.

            Originally Posted by Ghoro View Post

            I would rather give the readers all the value and content I can in the emails, in order to keep them more personally engaged and looking forward to the content they will get in my emails.
            I instinctively agree with this perspective (I know that many people here seem not to, though.)

            My own main reason for not sending by email a link to an article on my website is that I don't particularly want my subscribers reading all my articles on my website "in their own time". I want them reading them "in my time", i.e. when it suits me for them to read them, because that gives me the chance to build gradual credibility and trust rather than chasing a quick sale. For my business, this matters very much.

            A jumbo-jet needs a good, long runway before it can get off the ground.

            Originally Posted by Ghoro View Post

            it sounds like you're saying the whole thing should have a different and more personalized tone, but I don't get how you would do that.
            I do it like I'd write personal emails to my friends and family.

            Originally Posted by Ghoro View Post

            Say you wrote an article on how to water your plants, sure the opening and closing can be different, but when it comes to the core content on how to do it, I don't really see how you could make it any more personalized then what you wouldn't just post on a blog anyway.
            You can make it into a funny story. (Yes, some people might "do that on a blog anyway", I agree.)

            Originally Posted by Ghoro View Post

            I'm not really sure what else you would send or say in your emails.
            I'm probably the wrong person to ask, because nearly all the "content-meat" in mine is recycled articles which most people haven't read before. So it's nearly all either provocative or funny (or both), because nearly all my articles are either provocative or funny (or both), I hope. The content that I use to spread across the web to attract the traffic to my site seems to be content I can re-use to build credibility and trust with people who have already opted in. Fortunately.

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            • Profile picture of the author Lucian Lada
              Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

              My own main reason for not sending by email a link to an article on my website is that I don't particularly want my subscribers reading all my articles on my website "in their own time". I want them reading them "in my time", i.e. when it suits me for them to read them
              Why don't you hide the articles (which I call "mini-articles") to which you link in the emails from your website? That way, they can't go on a "reading spree."

              Ghoro,

              Here's an example of adapting an article to an email: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post8245452

              The <content> bit is where you would insert part or the whole article.
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              • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
                Banned
                Originally Posted by Lucian Lada View Post

                Why don't you hide the articles (which I call "mini-articles") to which you link in the emails from your website? That way, they can't go on a "reading spree."
                (For those interested in Google, and so on) you shouldn't ever be in a position in which Google can decide that "you're showing visitors one thing and search engines something different" because that's one of the biggest red flags you can give them that may make them suspect you're trying to manipulate their algorithms. Some SEO-textbook authors state that "hidden pages" arouse algorithmic suspicion.

                I think you can "semi-hide" them (have them there, and linked to, but not easy to find), to some extent. You need to be careful not to use "obvious/silly tricks" like links of the same color as the background, etc. etc. (I mention it only because there are still some people who are ill-informed and naive enough to try that sort of thing!).

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  • Profile picture of the author JensSteyaert
    It's ok to use some of the same stuff that's on your blog, but make sure that it entices people to check out your post.

    After all that's why you send out a newsletter right? Just make sure it makes people curious to check out your blog post and read the full article and that would be the best option i believe.
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  • Profile picture of the author Lucian Lada
    Hmm, is it worth all this trouble of pleasing Google, at the expense of risking your visitors going on a reading spree?
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by Lucian Lada View Post

      Hmm, is it worth all this trouble of pleasing Google, at the expense of risking your visitors going on a reading spree?
      Not to me, really. The more experience I accumulate, the less interested I am in anything to do with Google anyway (but like many affiliate marketers, beset by misinformation on the subject, I started off wrongly imagining that "ranking my sites" was going to constitute a significant component of my future income ).

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      • Profile picture of the author Lucian Lada
        Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

        Not to me, really. The more experience I accumulate, the less interested I am in anything to do with Google anyway (but like many affiliate marketers, beset by misinformation on the subject, I started off wrongly imagining that "ranking my sites" was going to constitute a significant component of my future income ).
        So why not then hide your pages from visitors?

        Plus, you can get the best of two worlds: hide the pages with extra content for the email series both from your visitors and Google, by making them "noindex."
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        • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
          Banned
          Originally Posted by Lucian Lada View Post

          So why not then hide your pages from visitors?
          I do that, now, sometimes (I've hardly made any sites for over two years, anyway). But you can actually link to them (just not from the home page) and still more or less hide them, anyway.

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  • Profile picture of the author vedremo
    Banned
    I think it would be better to personalize each email instead of just having the exact same content in every single one of it. That way, it won't seem like spam at all.
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  • Profile picture of the author amcg
    I'm wondering from your experience how much of the content for your email needs to be unique to only your emails if any?
    100%. The worst thing you can do is re-hash other people's content, actually, worse still is sending the same emails repetitively. This is a sure way to lose subscribers. Content is hard, whether for your blog, email, social networks etc but if it help sells your product you have to put the effort into a good content strategy and execution.
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    • Profile picture of the author Ghoro
      Thanks again Alexa for clearing some things up and for more great information. And thanks Lucian, your example you linked to is exactly what I needed and being able to see an example in practice really help put this all together for me

      And I get your idea of maybe hiding some content on the site here and there, but I would think when the reader first gets to my site from wherever he came from, I would want to show a full looking site so that I look more credible then any squeeze page. However this does somewhat go back to the original question of having shared content on the site and in the email and that even though I give the option to go off and read all the content on the site, would really rather have them reading my content when I want them to and not on their own time.

      I guess it's all really a balancing act, other than the email specific opening, closing and fluff, you also want some of the core content to be unique to the email series, either in the email itself or by a link in the email. However you also want the site to look credible and be more than just a squeeze page and you don't want to have all your good content only in your emails and none on the site.
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      • Profile picture of the author Lucian Lada
        Originally Posted by Ghoro View Post

        I guess it's all really a balancing act, other than the email specific opening, closing and fluff, you also want some of the core content to be unique to the email series, either in the email itself or by a link in the email. However you also want the site to look credible and be more than just a squeeze page and you don't want to have all your good content only in your emails and none on the site.
        You're over-thinking it. You don't need original content for your emails, unless you don't write enough articles that you can adapt into emails. People don't remember everything, and I don't think they're get put off when they re-read some of your older stuff. I re-read articles on blogs that I follow all the time.

        However, I do write original content for the email series in the form of mini-articles I link to. When I write an article, I try to remember that it will be transformed into two emails, and that it would need one or two mini-articles each (depending on whether I promote in one of them or not.)
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        • Profile picture of the author Ghoro
          Originally Posted by Lucian Lada View Post

          You're over-thinking it. You don't need original content for your emails, unless you don't write enough articles that you can adapt into emails. People don't remember everything, and I don't think they're get put off when they re-read some of your older stuff. I re-read articles on blogs that I follow all the time.

          However, I do write original content for the email series in the form of mini-articles I link to. When I write an article, I try to remember that it will be transformed into two emails, and that it would need one or two mini-articles each (depending on whether I promote in one of them or not.)
          Oh ok, I guess I just miss understood the purpose of locking content away on the site that could only be accessed from a link you send in an email. However I also really like your idea of splitting up content into 2 mini-article emails, with a good cliff-hanger and explaining what they will be getting next, it sounds like a great way to have the reader even more engaged.

          I never even thought about it until now, but it would also maybe make sense that you wouldn't want each email you send to be too long. While a 2000+ word article can be great on a blog, that maybe a bit too much for someone to bother with when they're at work checking their emails on their phone.
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