Ever open a newspaper? A magazine? What’s the exact ratio of ads to content? If you’re like most readers, you’ve never really noticed. Sure, you might have had the thought, “There’s a lot of ads in this issue.” But, chances are, you didn’t actually count them–you just had the impression that there felt like a lot of ads.

Would it surprise you to know that the “standard” formula for how many ads isn’t too many is a 50-50 split? That means most readers are comfortable with half of what they’re reading being advertising and half being content. (Crazy, right?)

Alas, a newspaper or magazine has completely different goals than you do with your professional services newsletter. So, that means it’s unlikely that a 50-50 split is right for you. What’s right for your newsletter depends on many things:

• Your frequency: How often do you publish?
• Your newsletter’s length: How long is each issue (on average)?
• Your goals: Ideally, what do you want readers to do after reading the newsletter?
• Your audience: Who reads your newsletter? What are their expectations?
• Your industry: You shouldn’t copy your competitors, but you do need to know what they’re doing.
• How much growth you have: Is your newsletter growing really fast, or have most of your readers been around for awhile?
• How much growth you want: Are you happy with the pace or do you want to grow your list faster?
• What would you be advertising?
• What’s the price point of what you offer? And is that a big or small investment for your readers?
• What’s your marketing cycle? And where are you in it, right now?

It’s the answers to all of these questions that you meld together to determine the right advertising ratio for your newsletter. For instance, if you’re a professional speaker with a best-selling book, blurbing the book in each newsletter might make sense. Not only would that blurb bring in sales, but it’ll also build your credibility to new readers. If, on the other hand, you only “sell” keynote speeches at a five-figure investment, it probably won’t work to blurb your speaking offering in each issue–at least, not if you want that ad space to convert to immediate income.

So, that’s why it’s important to consider all of these questions as you put together your custom ad-to-content ratio. In fact, it’s such an important determination that many businesses hire us to consult with them on what the right ratio is for their newsletter. We’ll take a look at your answers to these (and other) questions and create the ideal ratio for each issue for you–then you’ll know exactly how much advertising a newsletter should have.

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Every html email newsletter template needs a great nameplate–that’s the banner graphic that goes at the top of each issue of your newsletter.

The nameplate helps readers identify your newsletter–it’s like the newsletter’s logo, and just like your company logo it gives them a branded touch point that helps them know to take the newsletter seriously. A great nameplate gives your newsletter an extra polish and helps your newsletter stand out in the sea of html email newsletters.

Your nameplate needs to be memorable, especially if you publish less often than once a week. Remember, your readers get a lot of email each day, and your newsletter isn’t the first thing on their mind. So, if they get lots of emails in between receiving each issue (and in today’s inboxes, trust me, they’re getting lots of emails in between receiving each issue), the best way to make sure those readers remember the newsletter is with a memorable nameplate.

But making your newsletter memorable and professional-looking are just two reasons why you need a great nameplate. The other reason it’s important is that it reminds YOU to take the newsletter seriously. Time and time again, when we design a newsletter for a client, they remark on how now that they have a professional design, they’re prioritizing the newsletter more. They’re writing more regularly, and writing higher quality articles–all because they don’t want to put “just anything” in their new, polished template.

It’s sort of like the way wardrobe experts talk about when we dress up for work–that we take the job more seriously. So a great nameplate is like a really good pair of shoes–it requires you to show up at your best.

And upleveling every aspect of your newsletter necessarily improves your results. When you take the newsletter more seriously, and “dress it” accordingly, and fill it with high-quality articles, and send it reliably, guess what? Your results get better and better. More clients get back in touch about working with you again. More prospects contact you about hiring you. More media contacts you for interviews.

If you don’t currently have a great-looking newsletter nameplate design, it’s time to hire a professional and have something with high-impact designed for you. You’ll be delighted what a difference it can make.

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