The Aussie Email Newsletter Survey 2007 Results
Email newsletters (eNewsletters) are fast appearing in our in-boxes yet it seems if we go looking for research on how people use this form of advertising, we can only know find data on how "Americans" read and use eNewsletters.
You see there are many unanswered questions about email newsletters. Yes, sure we can track results of the actual newsletter, and tell you how many get delivered, how many opened, how many forward the newsletter, even who opens each issue but with our strive for excellence we wanted to know things from the end users perspective. So we conducted our own survey on how we "Aussies" use and read eNewsletters to make eNewsletters a better communication tool for the receiver, the sender and especially our clients.
How did we get the information?
It seemed obvious that if the survey was on how people read eNewsletters, we used various newsletters to post the survey link.
Interestingly we put the link on three eNewsletters distributed in Queensland (with a total database of 5600 - a 4.8% response rate was achieved.) Interestingly, we ended up with 28% of respondents coming from outside of Queensland. That's the power of email.
268 people from around Australia responded. 37% were male and 63% were female.
Who were they?
Respondents were business people with three quarters of respondents reading their emails at work. One of the reasons why B2B (Business to Business) type industries are getting the best results from eMarketing.
85% use Microsoft products to read their emails - 66% use Outlook and 19% Outlook Express. But so far only 9% have upgraded to the NEW Outlook 2007 and 61% have noticed no difference viewing their email newsletters.
Pretty as a picture
92% prefer HTML (the pretty ones with pictures) rather than the plain text version. This means you need to cater for this 8% who chose the text version.
Almost half view their emails in the preview pane which means when designing your newsletter you remember that only a portion of the whole design is going to be seen.
Personalisation is still a winner with 35% liking a personalised greeting i.e. "Hi John". This one surprised me, I thought it no longer mattered but it seems even though we know it is computer generated we still like to hear, and see, our own name.
Saving trees
Only 4% print eNewsletters and 44% sometimes but 21% never. Saving trees is also a reason why people will subscribe to your newsletter (9%).
Which days are you most likely to read an eNewsletter?
Every week day was the rated about the same 8% or 9%. The weekend got 4% but the most interesting is that 18% said that it "didn't matter" and a whopping 34% said it "depends on the topic or sender".
Do you download images to read an email?
A very high 25% "Always download graphics" as their email is set to automatically download. 22% said "Depends on sender or content" and 27% said "Very often". With almost three quarters of eNewsletter readers surveyed being readily willing to download graphics it's easy to over dose on the graphics. This still leaves many that do not download so willingly so a compromise needs to be met between graphics and text. Enough text to make sense of what is about and who it is from, yet enough graphics to entice them to want to see the entire email in detail. Also note that unless people download their graphics tracking will not work.
Also note that if a reader sees mostly BOXES in an eNewsletter (where the graphics are meant to be) 12% say they will delete it. And for many (37%) the downloading pictures is all too hard and they choose to use the 'read on-line' link or 'web link' to view eNewsletters which means you must provide a link where people can read your newsletter in their browser. This is often seen as a hyperlink at the top of an eNewsletter saying something like - "Having trouble viewing this email? Click here to view on-line."
Spam Filters
With most people using Spam filters it's not surprising that 63% said they had had legitimate eNewsletters caught in their Spam filter but a surprisingly high 79% check the spam folder for legitimate emails so even if your newsletter gets snabbed by the filter, seems people will go looking for it if you have built a good relationship with them.
Other interesting facts from this survey
Viewing eNewsletters and emails
- More females prefer HTML format (95%) than males (83%), whereas more males prefer plain text format (15%) than females (5%).
- Marginally more males DON'T view their eNewsletters in preview pane (46%) than females (38%).
- 20% of the 41-55 age group stated that they always view graphics, compared with 34% of the 26-40 age group and 30% of the 56+ age group.
Content and features - Gender based
- 77% of males enjoy Industry News features in eNewsletters, as opposed to only 65% of females.
- 67% of males like updates on products and services in their e-newsletters, as opposed to only 55% of females.
- Females enjoy attractive design and layout, and interesting or motivational quotes in their eNewsletters (63% and 53% respectively) whilst males are not as concerned (52% and 46% respectively).
- Events and conventions appear to be a female-dominated area of interest, with 51% stating this as their favourite or most useful industry, as opposed to 35% of males.
- Conversely, accounting and financial planning appears to be most interesting to males, with 65% stating it is their favourite or most useful, compared with only 28% of females.
- Personal Growth and PR or Media were both areas dominated by females, with 37% and 27% listing as favourite or most interesting industry respectively, compared with 25% and 15% respectively.
Content and features - Age based
There is a definite age distinction evident in some of the favourite or most useful industries. In particular:
- Only 22% of the 56+ age group listed business coaching as favourite or most useful, compared with 45% of the 41-55 age group and 40% of the 26-40 age group.
- Accounting or financial planning had a heavy representation in the 56+ age group, with 57% listing it as a favourite or most useful industry compared with 36% of the 26-40 group or 45% of the 41-55 group.
- Marketing was most heavily represented in the younger groups, with 45% of the 26-40 age group listing it as a favourite or most useful industry, compared with 34% of 41-55, or 22% of the 56+.
These differences are most likely due to the nature of the respondents, some of whom in the 56+ category may no longer be working, and possibly more interested in travel and leisure.
Validity of results
- Results are skewed towards females (61% of responses) compared with males (37% of responses)
- Results also significantly skewed towards 41-55 age group (46% of responses).
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