I have registered on a lot of sites and opt-in for their newsletter to be notified of updates.
One thing bugging me is, when a site sends a great mail in their newsletter but doesn’t include a direct link to their web site. The mail is coming from their domain so it isn’t hard to guess but users are lazy!
Since I’m registered on too many sites to visit regularly, I probably do want to visit a site, if it contains exiting updates but I have to admit, that without a direct link, I might not go for a visit but just archive that mail instead. It’s a pity so I’m suggesting this template for all your newsletter posts.
Hi Peter [name of user, if known],
We have just updated our site with a cool new feature, allowing you
to Y while doing Z. It's amazing and magical. Boom. Read more about
this on our blog? [link to blog post, if available]
Visit us at thecoolapp.com [link to your site]
Kind regards,
[personal name or team code name]
--
This mail was sent to john@doe.com [email] because you signed up
for thecoolapp.com [link to site]. Unsubscribe immediately, if you do
not wish to receive more updates from us [link to unsubscribe link].
These basic elements should be in any marketing mail you send. If you are using any tracking tool, such as CampaignMonitor, you will notice a lot of people actually clicking your main web site link.