Using data and feedback to cleverly redesign a newsletter
Success achieved
From 700 to 1400+ subscribers in only a few months – how the UK Chamber of Shipping redesigned their newsletter and used data to attract more subscribers, triple their open rates and tailor their newsletters’ content to the interests of their members- Website
- https://www.ukchamberofshipping.com
- Project dates
January 2016 – October 2016 (ongoing at date of publishing)
Project team
- Jonathan Roberts, Head of Communications, UK Chamber of Shipping
- Stepahnie Kenyon, Senior Communications Manager, UK Chamber of Shipping
- Jenny Atkinson, Communication and Event Executive, UK Chamber of Shipping
- Gary Stevens, Omni Digital
Introduction
The Bulletin is the shop window for promoting the work of the UK Chamber of Shipping, distributed weekly to our member companies, government representatives, parliamentarians and journalists.
The Bulletin features the latest press releases, updates and commentary on policy issues and lobbying campaigns from the UK Chamber alongside signposting events and regulatory guidance on a range of key industry topics.
Discovery
The Bulletin was relaunched in January 2016, concurrent to the launch of a new website – radically changing and developing the way we communicate with our members. Moving from an outdated system, with poor analytical tools, limited segmentation and low interaction to a modern, streamlined and integrated system has resulted in a dynamic and engaging newsletter for our membership and industry stakeholders, with proven results.
Content ranges from news items, podcasts, videos, blogs, events and thought leadership pieces – covering everything from technical aspects in the shipping industry to macro-economic responses on political issues. We regularly create special editions on topical subjects, including content from a range of industry sectors to ensure relevance to, and engagement with our diverse membership, as well as providing a platform for member marketing through blogs and advertorial content.
Objectives
- To redesign the weekly newsletter to members to provide a modern, forward looking service
- To provide an informatative platform where members can look for the latest news, events and regulation documents with ease.
- To ensure the newsletter mirrors the website to provide a consistent and streamline communication tool.
Activities
The Bulletin provides a sector-wide overview of key topics across a diverse and varied membership. Ensuring content is appealing across our audience is therefore central to the aims of the communication department in the design and delivery of each edition.
The design template features a weekly high-level overview from the CEO, aimed at reflecting the personable and open door approach to membership engagement, but also signposting key issues and areas of activity to stakeholders, demonstrating the efficacy and value add of the chamber to its members, and reaffirming key external communications messages.
Headline content included within the Bulletin is written with the end-reader and membership in mind – taking our understanding of the needs and interests of the membership and developing a range of tailored content on issues which matter most to the sector. This is often segmented into a range of content types, from macro-political and economic commentary on issues which matter to the UK business community, thought leadership and horizon scanning blog content, through to technical narratives and guidance on complex regulatory agendas.
The Bulletin is used to amplify the work of our expert policy team, with clear signposting to our online library of detailed policy documents including legislative updates, consultation documents and sector specific committee meetings. This is complementary to segmented membership communications and ensures that announcements are widely circulated to a senior audience.
The Bulletin has been designed and developed, in order to accommodate member-generated content and advertising, making it a key part of the chamber’s sponsorship model. Stringent editorial control does however ensure that such features are content-led and adds to, rather than detracts from, the value add and thought-leadership approach that is central to the chamber’s communications strategy.
The design of the Bulletin template draws upon and is a reflection of the UK Chamber’s website, ensuring consistency in design and branding across our digital presence.
The structured design enables us to clearly signpost and prioritise content for the readership; with a clear lead story, followed by additional feature content, with clear and simple list views for informative rather than content-led items such as events listings and links to the library document repository.
The success of the design is supported by the analytical evidence that the highest engagement is focused upon the lead story – which is purposely chosen each week to reflect the interests of the widest segment of the readership, with other sections and calls to action being tailored and segmented to appeal to specific elements of the audience.
The Bulletin template is optimized and tested across email providers and devices, ensuring a seamless user experience whether viewing on desktop or mobile devices. In addition to being fully responsive the template is also specifically designed to provide succinct content teasers, clear calls to action and easy navigation for users from the newsletter, driving traffic seamlessly to website content – all of which is reflected in the high engagement shown in the analytics.
Engaging digital content is key to the UK Chamber’s communications strategy and this focus is reflected in content within the regular Bulletin.
New media content such as the UK Chamber of Shipping Podcast – which features senior industry figures in thought provoking, topical discussions with the UK Chamber - has proven extremely popular in engaging the Bulletin audience with listener and subscriptions analytics showing tangible spikes as a result of inclusion in the newsletter.
In addition, regular video content also features in the Bulletin, such as our Delivering for Britain project which showcases the diversity and innovation within the sector.
Newsletter
The Bulletin is a central element in the marketing campaigns of this digital content, proving to drive traffic not just to our website, but also to our social media channels with high levels of discussion and engagement as a result.
The design and visual appeal of the newsletter is also key to driving engagement with the use of striking, illustrative imagery throughout the newsletter by way of signposting content visually throughout. In addition the use of memes and image based quotes has also proven a successful tool in increasing engagement and click through rates.
Innovation
With a modern and striking design, using clear signposting and content marketing the Bulletin provides a thorough and engaging overview of the UK Chamber’s activity and is aligned in style and branding with our new website.
Figures show engagement that is consistently above industry averages and through meticulous analysis of available data and member feedback, the communications department is able to adapt and tailor content to continually meet the needs and expectations of the readership
Challenges
Updating and untangling our old systems. We had many outdated systems that were interlinked and had set rules attached to how they communicated with each other. Updating one part of the system caused an error with communications in other parts of the system – a whole over haul of all our systems was required, starting from scratch to rebuild the connections between the varying different platforms and tools we use now.
Achievements
The 1400 strong readership of the Bulletin consists of senior figures from across the chamber’s 175 member companies and key stakeholders, including industry partners, government officials and parliamentarians.
With integrated analytics we are able to accurately measure distribution growth, engagement and crucially employ these analytics to understand the interests of our membership and tailor content accordingly.
Regular measurement, through MailChimp, website analytics and media monitoring services, has shown engagement that is consistently well above industry average in open rates, click-throughs and list growth.
This approach is employed right across the chamber’s membership communications and website and has resulted in tangible increases in membership engagement not just with online content and our social output, but with the wider work and activity of the association such as policy committees and increased event attendance. It is therefore an indispensable tool in the delivery of the UK Chamber’s engagement and communications strategy.
Targets & Statistics
Comparative stats - previous vs current period
What would we do differently?
Complete a full assessment of all the different systems used to ensure any knock on effects and considerations to improving one system will not be detremential to another one.
Feedback & Testimonials
“From [a] modest beginning - I think that the Chamber has now well established itself as the ‘come to’ source and a real shop window for the industry and the Bulletin has been a central element in this development."
A senior industry figure
