Does Size Matter

This puts me onto one of my pet topics: in some respects, the online media work much like the offline media.

The New Yorker succeeds with lots of long, detailed articles, while People relies much more on pithy, chatty pieces. It wouldn't occur to us to say that one of them is doing it "right" or "wrong" -- they're just serving different audiences, and both of them have been successful for a long time.

For whatever reasons, some folks active in the online media don't translate this kind of thinking into the online sphere.

I rarely read HTML formatted newsletters. I get tired of waiting for images to load or having to click a button for images to load. The best e-newsletter I read is formatted with nothing but text and uses a line of dashes between sections. Each section is about 200-500 words and, while the content differs, the presentation and order of the sections is always the same. It makes for a quick and pleasant reading experience.

I think the length of blogs and emails should be different. Think of your message with an email. Most often you're trying to get someone to take action -- buy a product, share with a friend, join a conversation, take a stance for a social cause, etc. -- whereas with a blog, you're trying to share information and start a conversation.

I'm a big fan of well constructed emails that link to a website, blog post, news article, etc. for more information. It shows the content that people are actually interested in when they click to read more.

I agree with Marina, use only as many words as needed to express your point.

I sent a newsletter to about 600 people each month via Constant Contact. I write short headlines, one explanatory sentence and then a link to the story on my blog.

I dont expect people to read everything I write about. Just trying to give people a quick read on what I am doing, what's on my mind, and how I can help them.

see: http://www.alanweinkrantz.typepad.com

My main challenge with short vs. long is what sort of mood I'm in when I first come across it - even the most interesting of content will not interest me if it's 2,500 words and it's standing between me and Inbox Zero.

To remedy this, I try hard to sort my communications based on average length. I'm always in the mood for a Seth Godin post because he's always brief, so he's in a different RSS category than Lifehack.org, which has great articles but are long and require concentration. I route all email newsletters to a special folder that I only access when I'm in a reading mood.

In all things, you should only use as many words as are necessary to get your point across. The shorter, the better.

I am of the opinion that sometimes less can be more. I have visited many blogs where the entries go on and on and with the best will in the world lose interest.

I'm going to have to disagree that blogs are a different matter. Wordy posts often will keep me from reading a blog. Some people do write lengthy post well, there are clearly separated sections, maybe a graphic to help me access it the content or interest. But I couldn’t count the number of times I’ve skipped a post or just stopped reading a blog because of the “essay” format of the posts. Obviously your blog isn’t one of those. 

I don't think you're doing anything wrong with your newsletter. I think you're doing things *right.* I *like* reading newsletters with a lot of content--as long as the content is interesting, valuable to me, or helps me in some way, and especially if it's well written. Then I feel like I'm really getting something.

It does help to have paragraphs that aren't too long. And I often prefer newsletters that look like a blog or a web page--easy to read, nice layout, images inserted--not just courier font.

It's a personal preference, though. Some newsletters I skip over--especially if the title of the article or the first paragraph doesn't hook me in. And it all depends on how much time I have, what my day is like, and how relevant the newsletter seems to me.

I look forward to your blog posts; I find them helpful. Thank you for sharing them!

Definitely agree here. I have no problem reading a relatively long blog post if the content is interesting. I can't stand receiving a long email.

I don't want to spend all day in my inbox. Maybe this is because the GTD side of me is too busy focusing on emptying that inbox. When I come across a long email, it's like a speed bump.

@Steve - things are never easy. For the record, I prefer text emails for newsletters. But I'm going to do an HTML version soon-ish, because I really like what Blue Sky Factory made for me. It looks like my blog. I'll try it once.

@Sue - I dunno the details. It was info from http://www.blueskyfactory.com , so when Greg ( @gregcangialosi ) catches all this in his egofeed, I'm sure he can educate us. : )

MarketingProfs sends very brief newsletters out.

I'd like someone to teach me how to send out a text email using constant contact. I tried and got all messed up and ended up using their HTML templates.

It doesn't seem easy.

Is it?

I think that as long as the content is engaging, it will get read. If it's a really long sales pitch, not so much.

Not at all. First, I'd like to know the basis of the study. Who did they ask? Entrepreneurs, accountants, housewives...each of those audiences has very different needs.

Second, content is king (or, if you are Jeff Parks, "conversation is king".

If your newsletter is well written, contains great content and is formatted nicely, then people will read the sections they want and skip over anything they aren't interested in.

I'm not saying an email newsletter should read like a book or magazine - it should still be fairly brief and link people to more information if they want to dig deeper.

I think your newsletter is terrific. Don't err on the side of brevity if it's not what your audience wants.

My two cents for a Saturday morning. :-)