200,000 Readers Weren't Enough?

Fox Racing's marketing e-newsletter prematurely stopped

Meryl K. Evans, Editor, eNewsletter Journal

Marketing newsletters work when the reader (buyer) trusts that the value they receive from the newsletter is applicable to them and comes from a stable company. A newsletter that demonstrates these key components – value, trust, applicable, stability - will result in sales.

Fox Racing Bear meets future customer

In this review, we look at Fox Racing's “Fox Racing” Newsletter, a weekly newsletter. Fox Racing sells motocross, mountain bike, and BMX apparel and sponsors the sports’ top athletes. In reading about the company on its Web site, you get the feeling they're a family -- especially since the owners' children work in the company. This family “feel” is reflected in the newsletter, which works to their advantage. Between the newsletter and the Web site, you know there are humans behind the company.

At the time of the last issue (December 2002), they had an impressive 200,000+ subscribers. Despite the nice number, they weren't able to measure the e-newsletter's conversion rates. You can have a large subscriber list, but if you don’t measure what you manage, you don’t know how it’s doing. Metrics are the key to measuring an e-newsletter's success and ultimate survival.

The Quick Scan

The first thing to catch our eye is the length. The newsletter is too long. We get too many emails, and a long one just adds to the bulk. If Fox Racing wants to communicate the information, we recommend putting some of the content on the Web site.

Second issue is the layout. The newsletter editor did explain that she used to put the content in one column, but the newsletter got too long. She tried to improve the length by having two columns, but it didn't work as hoped. Although, print newspapers and newsletters use columns, e-newsletters should not. When you look at a printed page, your eyes can easily scan up and down by column. We have less screen space in an e-newsletter compared to a printed page. Studies have shown that readers tend to scan a Web site or e-newsletter by going left to right because scrolling up and down is a chore. Once you reach the bottom of the screen, then you can scroll. In this newsletter, you have to scroll down to complete an article and then scroll back up to read the next column's article.

Each section is linked in the table of contents list at the top of the newsletter. The names are just right since it leaves little room for guessing, something you don't want to do when readers are scanning the content. The issue contents are not presented in the same order as the issue itself, which can be confusing to the reader. The editor explained this as a layout issue. When the newsletter was presented in one column, the sections were presented in the same order each week. However, to balance both sides of the newsletter required a little rearranging, which meant presenting the information in a different order.

Each section has a direct link to the article. This makes it easier for the reader to scan and go directly to the information of interest. Fox Racing has good reason to have an e-newsletter: to build customer relationships.

Inside Content

Readers have the choice of subscribing to the newsletter in either HTML or text format. Not many publishers have the luxury of offering both, but it’s a plus when they do. Many people like to see the colors and organization of HTML text, but others prefer the download speed of a text newsletter that can be read on a PDA, cell phone, or other non-graphical e-mail viewer.

Customer Testimonial is a note from a customer offering a personal anecdote with a Fox Racing product along with person notes. One issue included a note from a customer in the Czech Republic along with a photo. The other issue had a shorter note about an experience with a product. Testimonials are a good tool in earning trust and building relationships. These should be included on the Web site and briefly mentioned in the newsletter. The note from Czech Republic was long and would be better served with a quote and a link to the Web site to see the rest of the testimonial.

WHOOPS! gives readers a chance to share a funny or embarrassing story from the track. Both issues explain the contest and how to enter. One issue publishes a winning story, but it's long. In this section, include a brief overview of the contest with the basic Ws (who, what, when, where, why, and how). Then, link to the rest of the details on the Web site. The same thing applies to publishing a winning entry. Publish a sentence or two with a link to the Web site to read the rest of the story. This contest is beneficial because it builds relationships between the readers and the company -- a way to connect the two.

Featured Sale Products provides pictures and descriptions of products on sale. This is a good tool for reeling in readers who may have never bought a product either because it's pricey or they didn't have an urgent need for it. This section can be shortened by limiting it to the summary, which is the first paragraph in both issues: "You can get the young motocross riders in your family outfitted in a Fox Racing uni at great sale prices" and "You can wear Fox Racing style at any budget."

After that, include a few product names and a link to the sale page where the photos should be located. It's fine to display one photo, just be sure the photo has a link associated with it and that it's small enough to ensure the e-newsletter loads quickly. Too many photos in an e-newsletter can slow down the loading process.

Lee likes Bikes and Ask Andy are question and answer columns giving readers a chance to interact with the e-newsletter. To distinguish the "Ask Andy" and the "Lee Likes Bikes" columns requires reading their bios at the end of their columns. To ensure newer readers and readers who forget things because of information overload, we recommend a small byline along the lines of, "Your questions answered on riding technique and gear." Both articles are long and include multiple Q&As. Again, it would be wise to take the recommended approach for the WHOOPS! section by including a short summary with a link to the Web site for the rest of the details. If possible, try to sneak the readers' names into the e-newsletter for that "Hey, I am mentioned" effect. Most people are excited when they see their name in newspapers and e-newsletters. This provides a personal touch and adds to building relationships.

Still Noteworthy connects readers from other countries to the specific Fox Racing site representing their country. For instance, Canada takes readers to www.foxracing.ca. The section also includes tidbits such as ordering the catalog and the virtual community available on the Web site (chatting and email accounts).

This section can be trimmed by providing just the links to the international versions of the Web site and the other resources. One issue did have two paragraphs addressed to readers in Brazil (one in Portuguese and one in English) introducing them to the new www.foxracing.br Web site. In this case, it's worth sharing. Maybe a better title for this section would be "News and Links" or something similar.

From Our Fans publishes personal notes from readers. Again, it offers a personal connection, a boon for building relationships. Keep the e-newsletter version brief and link to the Web site if the note is long.

Quote of the Week is just that, a quote. Beneficial or not? With all the other material the e-newsletter offers, it may be one section that can be slashed. The audience for the products and e-newsletter is, "For our motocross and mountain bike lines, primarily males aged 12-22. For our sportswear line, males and females 12-30." This is a young audience who may not be too interested in quotes since a majority is most likely attending school or university. We propose to kill this to make room for the more desirable information. 

Other sections are not recurring sections. For instance, one issue was the holiday issue. The issue provided the holiday hours, ideas for stocking stuffers, and holiday shipping information. It makes good sense to include this since it provides "business not as usual" information that the readers otherwise would not get. Other sections include an inspiration gallery request, a talk with a reader, a picture of an employee's grandson, stats, and an update on an event. Such articles should be thrown into a specially named section so they appear consistently in each issue in the same spot. Most of these were tidbits except for the talk with a reader, which was long. This one should be shortened and linked to the Web site. The picture of the employee's grandson is a nice "we have a face behind the company" addition. There are no pictures of employees on the Web site. Why not add them to the Web site?

The newsletter includes a contact email, a box for subscribing, as well as an unsubscribe link in the footer of every email. Good information to include in every newsletter. The reason it's key to have the unsubscribe information is to save time for both reader and company. If the reader can't find an unsubscribe link, the reader emails the company asking to be removed. Having the link also sends the message that the company is not trying to trap the readers into keeping something they don't want.

The Factor Lowdown

Value

The ratio of information vs. selling is balanced though both need shortening. The selling is done tastefully through feedback from readers and company notes like, "WEBMASTER NOTES: We hear you! Fox Racing now makes two snow gloves to keep your digits warm and dry." This demonstrates the company's ability to listen and take action on customer requests. Sharing sales is another good strategy since it offers the customer a price break while putting a spotlight on the kinds of products the company sells. When someone clicks on a sale item, they might go look at other products that aren't on sale. Win-win.

Relevancy to readers is average. The e-newsletter publishes motocross sport information, interviews with people in the sport, products to help improve the experience of enjoying the sport, and answering reader questions. The length is too long and the filler material should be linked and published on the Web site. Let the reader have control over reading more or not.

I know nothing about the sport. In just reading these two issues, I learned about some of the well known athletes of the sport and the typical things associated with motocross. The newsletter saves time in the sense of providing a high level overview with occasional details on the sport. Armed with the new information, I know what I could search for on the Internet if I want to learn more. The newsletter wastes time with the length of its content and its column layout.

The archives are available online, but you wouldn't know it from looking at the Web site itself. They are located under NEWS > ARCHIVES. We recommend changing it to newsletter archives or just newsletter for brevity since archives can mean many things. However, the e-newsletter is not in publication as of this writing and they may have removed links. I reached the archives from a link in one of the issues, not both. The archive page is easy to navigate.

On the subject of metrics, the company has reports on open rates, click-through rates, bounces, and other similar metrics. What was lacking is not being able to measure how many people clicked and purchased a particular product featured in the newsletter. These metrics would answer questions of: Is the company making sales with the e-newsletter? If so, on what items? Sale items? New products? Or neither… maybe the readers purchase something else just from clicking on a link taking them to the Web site.

We suggested an inexpensive way to track the conversion rates obtained from the newsletter, which would be building separate landing/order pages that are only accessible from the newsletter. They could be 'mirrors' of their current order pages, except with a 'hidden' field code that marked the orders 'newsletter'.

There are excellent Web analysis tools available for tracking ROI and it's recommended that newsletter publishers take advantage of the available. One such tool for measuring conversions is called HitBox Professional, a product of WebSide Story. Disney, ESPN, and other 'big boys' use it.

Fox Racing's editor responded, "Yes, mirror pages are one way to track conversions, but maintenance could be an issue." 

Trust

The newsletter has a strong trust factor. This is the first time I've heard of the company since I know little about motocross. In a short time just peaking at two issues and the Web site, the company earned my trust. Its interactions with its readers, its voice, the listing of sales, the brief paragraph in a second language, and the photos together sent the message that the company is a trusting and credible source on the sport. Despite the e-newsletter's flaws, something about the tone and personality told me this is an honest company talking about what it knows best.

The question and answer columns build community. The staff is available to answer questions and help as needed. It takes little effort to find contact information. This review focuses on the e-newsletter, but we want to recommend they add a personal note of introduction to the Web site's front page to enhance its relationship. The front page just shows a picture. It also lacks links to original Web site content. When clicking on Team Fox, it takes you right to the athlete's page and information. There is no background information on Team Fox. Obviously, these are the sponsored athletes. Clicking on Shop Online takes you right to the products, no introduction plus the top level navigation changes.  
 

Stability

The decision to cease publication of the newsletter was a mistake. It undermines the company’s solid position in the market. The message it sends to 200,000 buyers is that Fox Racing is on shaky ground. This was a popular newsletter that communicated weekly to its vast audience. The worst thing a company can do is to cut off regular communication with its fans in an abrupt manner. Why? Because it says, ‘We are in financial trouble.’ No one likes to buy from a company who is not doing well.

The newsletter published weekly for almost two years. Regularly sending a weekly e-newsletter is an amazing feat! If Fox Racing decides to resume its newsletter, it may want to consider publishing twice a month to ensure it publishes valuable content and not feel pressured to dig up what's available.

The voice is clear and personable especially since its readers are on a first name basis with the people in the e-newsletter. It does present a family feel and that is not easy to accomplish. It needs more stability in terms of the topics as opposed to a "stream of conscience" type writing, which is the impression you get from reading the content.
 

Da Final Word

As a long time sports fan, I looked forward to studying the newsletter about a sport I know little about. It wasn't the sport that was overwhelming, but rather the content. It had a lot of sections and most were lengthy. I couldn't detect a sense of repeatability between the two issues nor looking through the archives. Scanability isn’t there.

Quick steps to improvement:

• Fewer sections

• Shorter articles

• One to three recurring articles of similar themes (a maneuver, tips for improving in the sport, an interview with people in the sport for example)

• A formal metrics system for measuring ROI

• Easier and more consistent navigation

Remember the audience age is under 30 on average. The younger they are, the shorter their attention spans. These quick steps should quickly address the major problem and get the niche e-newsletter on the road to success. Along the way, it may hit the ground, but these will be overcome with metric analysis and making adjustments as necessary to benefit the company and its readers.

The basic premise of the e-newsletter is good. Fox Racing has valuable reasons for offering the e-newsletter. These suggested changes should improve clickthrough rates even beyond the respectable 27 to 43 percent per newsletter. And with this much potential – Fox Racing should seriously consider offering the newsletter again.

Thanks to Sandy Syrett of Fox Racing for her contribution to this review.

Meryl K. Evans is an editor, wordsmith, and writer for InternetVIZ and other resources. The content maven is available for editing, writing, and pepping articles and copy. InternetVIZ is a custom publisher for companies wishing to find, acquire, and retain customers through Internet newsletters.