It's official: we launched a newsletter. If you're on the list, you already know this. (And if you aren't, you can sign up here.)
But let's be honest - do you like getting newsletters? No. Probably not. In fact, studies show that 75% of email newsletter recipients really don't want their email newsletter. They just ...
...
...you're right. You caught us. WE MADE THAT STAT UP. Completely made it up. And here's why: we couldn't find a stat to back up our claim. What's more, we couldn't find a stat to refute it, either.
Our real story is something more simple: we wanted to develop an email newsletter to keep those who care up to date with our happenings and goings-on. The purpose was to communicate in a way that was low-barrier and high content.
How do we do that? Let's just say we're learning as we go.
Learning What We Do and Do Not Know
Here's what we know:
- We know that it is a benefit for some of our clients, employees and friends to know what we're doing at Blend Interactive. That benefit may be business-driven ("I want to know if they do good work") or it may be curiosity-driven ("They seem like cool people who eat cake a lot.")
- We know that there are people who do not want this benefit. We are okay with that.
Here's what we DON'T know: that, while there is tons of analysis on open rates and link clicks (by day and by subject), there is little easily-accessible research on:
- Perceptions of email newsletters; i.e., do people actually like them, or do people see them as spam?
- Comparative research between text-only and graphic/image-laden newsletters; i.e., is the "View Images" button an obstacle to link conversion, or is it an assumed hurdle with no effect?
What we see here is an opportunity to do a little research on our own. We're doing so with a two-pronged approach:
- Informative: We'd like to tell you what we're working on, how we're doing, and why we love working at Blend Interactive.
- Scientific: We want to test email perceptions, including whether or not there is a real barrier to producing a text-only newsletter.
Let the Research Begin!
The first step begins today, with the launch of this newsletter. No, there aren't any images. This is on purpose - we are testing our hypothesis that when you, the user, see that "View Images" button, your mind automatically snaps into spam mode. Over the next few months, you may receive emails with images added. Or, you may see the structure change. You are our guinea pigs. You are our readers. You are our target audience.
As findings are discovered, we will post them for public criticism. This is original research on our end, but it's research that's only moving forward because of you, the email newsletter reader.
Unless you're one of those people who don't like email newsletters. In that case, we still love you anyway.