Rightmove is the UK's leading online property website. It's used by over 80% of estate agents and the service has nearly three million registered users. The site enables visitors to browse pictures and information, request details and arrange viewings, or save properties for later viewing.

Rightmove already sends another, highly targeted automatic property update to users based on their saved search criteria. The aim of this email newsletter is to showcase all of Rightmove's services, including their overseas properties and holiday lettings, and convey a sense of personality through themed editorial.

Currently the most popular links are those personalised to show properties in the recipients' area but these currently appear at the bottom of the email.

Analysis

1. There is a confusion at the heart of the newsletter. How does Rightmove's objective for the newsletter – to show there is more than one side to the business – relate to what the target audience want?
   
   People on the web are very task orientated and the statistics for the newsletter would seem to reflect this. The majority of click-throughs are for information on properties in their local area. This is at odds with the non-personalised, editorial focus of the email in general.
   
2. The information seems mixed up and doesn't meet any particular needs. Users scan newsletters very quickly when they open them. They are looking for words and phrases which relate to what they want to achieve. If they are looking for new houses, they might expect to see a heading 'New homes'.
   
   Scanning this newsletter is difficult. There are dense paragraphs of text with headlines which don’t relate to property, such as 'Pitstop for Formula 1'.
   
3. The image at the top of the email doesn't convey anything. The individual pictures are too small and the image of a sofa doesn't seem relevant. The overall size of the image pushes everything down the page and will be the first thing I see – or possibly the only thing I see if it's being displayed in a preview window.
   
4. The introductory text is very difficult to read. The amount of text, bold formatting and blue link text mean a reader will quickly dismiss this part of the message without having understood what you want to tell them.
   
5. The most popular links, those personalised to location, are just two word text links hidden at the very bottom of the email. There may be many more recipients who would click on these but fail to see them.
   
6. The sports theme assumes all readers will find this interesting and seems out of place in a property newsletter. Themes might offer a way to bring together various elements of your service but it could simply alienate your recipients if it's not in line with their interests.
   
7. Job vacancies seem very out of place in a marketing email.
   
8. 'May we suggest' seems surplus to requirements. There's already a large amount of information being conveyed – this section only serves to further crowd the page.