The managing director of Lyris delivers more suggestions on how to build an engaging and personable newsletter online to drive reader engagement.

Get blogging!
Got a blog? Link to it. Also, create a blog just for your customers and subscribers, and publish a good comment in the newsletter.

Choose anecdotes or comments that highlight problem-solving or premium quality or praises an employee. If one post generates a lot of good comments (no flame wars!), publish those to keep the conversation going.

Create mini-sites around specific topics or seasons
Populate them with reader-generated content. Be clear that the content comes from readers. Highlight the link to the form or email address where readers can send their content.
 
Add video content to your website and link to it from your newsletter
Also, patrol video-sharing sites like YouTube and promote any that relate. Promote the link and provide detailed instructions on how to upload content.

Add a small bit of editorial content to your commercial email messages (not transactional emails)
This could be the reader-generated content we saw earlier in this article, or something you write to bring the company closer to your subscribers, such as an editor's note, inspirational quote or reader comment.

But, proceed carefully. If your sales messages previously have taken the hard-sell route, introduce the content gradually and watch your feedback addresses and delivery reports to see if people love or hate your new approach. After all, you may be taking a much different course from what your readers want.

Give away a prize in each issue and then spotlight the winner
And not just any prize, but something you know your readership would want, either tied to your regular promotion, a new product introduction, a paid download, a subscription or the like. So, no free iPods unless your newsletter caters to Mac fanatics, and then make it an upgraded version.

Post job openings
Are you one of the fastest-growing companies in your area? Is business booming and product flying off the shelves? Every company needs product advocates, particularly employees who use the products and services, and can evangelise effectively.

A few caveats
As important as it is to build value by making your readers active participants, you do need to watch out for four big traps:

• Keep it relevant. Anything you add must relate to your business, goals or newsletter topic. Don't just stick in a joke of the day or a trivia fact to fill space. Also, remember what your message is supposed to do. If your standard email message is a deal of the day, or you send three times a week or more often, keep the content short. On the other hand, if you contact subscribers weekly or less often, your added content might well give your newsletter more shelf life.
• Once you change your format, commit to it. Adding editorial content and features to a sales message will require time and money, two resources that often are in short supply for email marketers. The time comes in researching, writing and producing the additional newsletter copy. The money comes in paying that person or staff people.
• Do readers want it as much as you do? Test and retest before you launch a major change. Survey a sample of your newsletter base for reactions and suggestions.
• When you go live with your new format, scrutinise. Study your feedback emails and watch your delivery reports, in case you start generating more spam complaints and unsubscribes. Don't pull back immediately, but listen carefully to what your readers will tell you.

Changing your newsletter format can be tricky, and it will require a greater time and money commitment. But if you keep the content relevant and include readers at every turn, you will most likely deliver messages with greater value for them. That, in turn, can help you recover your costs with more sales and lower address turnover.

Part one of this article featured in last week's newsletter. You can view it here.

Andrew Robinson is managing director, Lyris.