comparison of charlottesville tomorrow's newsletter changes
DESCRIPTION
After sending out two reader surveys, Charlottesville Tomorrow's engagement editor found that newsletter readability was an issue for its audience. Based on survey feedback, the newsletter was redesigned, with favorable changes in metrics. This slideshow was assembled by the Charlottesville Tomorrow team and shows a side-by-side comparison of those differences and their results.TRANSCRIPT
EXHIBIT A:Newsletter
beforereader survey
The feedback from our readers on the newsletter broke out into two main categories.
AESTHETIC
• Include maps, diagrams, and pictures as much as possible.
• Modernize the look & feel.• New template• Less cluttered• Less dense• More images• Too busy. Cleaner look would be more inviting to read.
CONTENT
• Let us get to know the people who contribute more.• Shorter, more concise.• The emails are walls of text I don’t understand.
EXHIBIT B:Newsletter
afterreader survey
• Intro paragraph summarizes content and provides a personal touch
• More use of images
• Staff photo shares who we are with our readers
• Reader comment is prominently featured
• Cleaned up the template, modernized the look & feel
• Shortened the article summaries
Since the Redesign:
• Our open rate has increased 25%; the average is 28%
• Our click-through rate has increased 32%; the average is 10%