Teachers TV broadcasts a range of interesting and useful programmes for an audience in the education sector, over the Internet and on TV. Their bulk email marketing campaigns consist of a weekly newsletter, sent on a Monday.

The email aims to make their audience of 100,000 school staff aware of the coming week's schedule, driving them to the website to watch programmes and encouraging participation in forum debates.

But with low open and click-through rates the newsletter is not generating the desired brand loyalty for Teachers TV. So how can it be improved?

Current Design

1. The first impression of this newsletter and its content is that it's a little crowded. There's a lot of text and it's heavily scattered with links hoping to draw users to the site. Unfortunately this creates a confusing mix of information which is likely to have just the opposite effect. Users won't know where to look or click first and you may lose their attention.

2. The personalized 'Dear X' is not necessary because there is no personal message to the recipient. As the main aim of Teachers TV's email marketing campaigns is to inform viewers about programming, a better use of this space would be a headline here, giving them an immediate, easily visible clue to the rest of the content.

3. On closer inspection, the 'Watch on TV' links all take the recipient to the same place - the TV Guide. This is confusing and could be frustrating because you can't, in fact, watch anything on that page. What you click should always be what you get - so if the link says 'watch' make sure the landing page is the actual video.

4. Information in a bulk email marketing campaign should be structured in an easily digestible way. Recipients seldom have the time or the patience to read lots of text - they tend to skim the headlines, so a lack of these could mean they are missing vital information. When writing headings, think about what's interesting and important to your audience.

5. Allowing recipients to download a schedule directly from the newsletter without even visiting the site is a key mistake. This is a major bulk email marketing tool that could be used to guide people onto the website. This pdf allows them to bypass the site completely.

6. Telling people they can comment is fine - but they haven't been given a reason to comment. Try to find something that will spark their interest, or even rile them so they feel impelled to make themselves heard.

7. The Heads and Governors feature is a little obscure. It's not clear why it's being featured, what it's about or why someone would want to watch it. The comment is rather general and uninformative too.

8. Finally a key player in improving open rates for this bulk email marketing campaign is the subject line and there is room for improvement here. 'Media Literacy - are you up-to-date?' may not be as clear to all recipients as it might seem. Asking a question is a good idea, but not all of them will be familiar with the term 'Media Literacy'.

How could it be improved?

1. The mantra of all effective bulk email marketing campaigns is 'keep it simple'. Divide the content into two or three main sections with clear headings that remain the same each week. Keep the text to a minimum - guide your audience onto your website if they want to know more.

2. Make sure links take readers where they expect to be taken. A 'watch now' button must lead you directly to the video page. Email marketing campaigns should never appear misleading or you'll lose the trust of your readers.

3. Make sure recipients have to visit the website to see the online programming schedule. This is a really useful bulk email marketing tool because it forces people to visit your website for the information they need - once there they will see the other great content on offer.

4. Incorporate a weekly headline that the audience can relate to. This can also function as the subject line for your bulk email marketing campaign. Make sure it draws on something that your readers will feel adds value to them - remember the copy writing mantra "WIFIM" (What's In It For Me) when you write for an audience, try to see things from their perspective.

5. Liven up your email marketing campaigns with well-chosen images. These are elements that can change week on week and make the newsletter feel fresh. Readers can see there's brand new content at first glance.

6. Teachers TV has a really handy tool that allows you to filter programming according to the subjects that most interest you. This should definitely be mentioned in all its bulk email marketing campaigns. It's a key opportunity to offer something genuinely unique and valuable to all recipients and pull them to the website.

7. Engage with them. Entice education staff to become involved in the community by showing them that other people are already commenting. Feature a comment and a new topic of the week and invite them to respond. Don't be afraid of publishing something controversial to get people going.

For more information on Teachers TV visit:
www.teachers.tv