What Makes A Good Casino Newsletter?

[Casinomeister]

Originally Posted by Petunia

...I'm rambling again. Maybe because I'm bored. I have no good newsletters to read tonight. **

The EIG Nice report should be out this evening

Seriously, I think one key item is that if you enjoy writing about something, it will show - and this is how you can engage your readers. Also keep in mind there are many cross-over interests; scuba diving for lost treasures, history of card games, gangster stories, weird tales from Hollywood - don't just focus on casinos. You'll find that you can only say so much.

[spearmaster]

If you're writing for a casino, the task is obviously a bit more difficult, since you take more risk by going off the beaten path. Us webmasters can take a beating and not worry about it too much because it probably doesn't affect our revenues - heck, might even increase our revenues - but the opposite would probably be true for an operator.

Basically, what Meister said is true. We have to show that we're not robots - that we actually have emotions, likes, dislikes, a mouth that sometimes needs cleaning with soap... Remember - especially with emails - people don't often respond to a personality unless it really shows - since a computer is basically a robot... people treat it like one. Bring your newsletter to life with colorful descriptions and thought-provoking comments and you're basically dragging the reader into your own home, office and life.

Look at it another way. If you take the posts in these forums, you'll discover that some people appear entirely mechanical - they mouth what they think they're expected to mouth, they toe whatever line the majority seems to support, they agree with everyone and anyone. As far as I am concerned, that's robotic.

Now look at some of the others, including a few in this thread - who call it like they see it - who aren't afraid of a fight - who are willing to provide suggestions and advice when asked - some even basically spill their guts in here.

It isn't difficult to tell who the life of the party is. Now your objective is - make yourself the life of the party!

[Petunia]

** Only tequila [and maybe beer] is the life of the party.

In all seriousness, what you said is dead acurate Spearmaster. Pple don't reply to a 'mailer'. I've had so many funny things that i've read in the newsletters of some of my fav casinos, but never bothered to reply, or answer as I expected and 'auto responder' to say "Thank you for your e-mail. Your comments and feedback is appreciated. Now please hand over your money". - or something.

I also agree with CM, we have a saying "What is on the mind, flow from the lips" in this case "flow from the pen". If you are passionate about what you write, or why you are writing it, it will show. I do write a bit, one would never say it with my spelling and bad grammer.. Truth is, I always get a reply... even if it is to say "What the hell are you on about?!" and the best thing is... I REPLY. That is the other side of it. I know that it can be overwhelming.. but a personal reply... aaaahhhh.... when last?! One of my favourite things to do is sending provocative answers to questionaires, just to see if anyone notice. Well, it turned out they don't... Once an operator did. The person replied "Oh, okay" - and I was happy! We became friends. I became a VIP. Easy. lol **

[webber286]

Thanks for the well thought out and detailed responses Petunia, Spearmaster and Meister. This was an important one to read and quite timely as I'm in the process of planning out a newsletter. It's good to hear that people want more than just the latest bonus offers, I really didn't have any interest in going down that road, and it certainly doesn't jive with my site's brand.

One question I have is the repetition with which you would want good information sent to your inbox. I subscribe to newsletters that send information daily, and some that send quarterly, but both seem to be about right for the subject matter. There certainly could be a daily newsletter with everything that happens in this industry, but a weekly or monthly timeline seems much more manageable and probably appreciated by the recipient. Or, maybe it's a question of only sending out a newsletter when there really is something to say, whether that be 3 days in a row or 3 weeks in between.

[spearmaster]

Select a period - depending on how active your site is, or how many events have occurred, or even depending on how much time you have.

Personally, I recommend weekly. If you write a good newsletter, like Meister, it becomes something to look forward to every week.

[amandajm]

Some newsletters I read come daily, some weekly. I drop those that send more frequent newsletters than frequency of updated content on the actual website.

I used to get involved with the Wizard's newsletter in the form of a mathematical quiz, which consisted of sending in the answers. Used to check the inbox for the leaders table and competed with a friend over the answers. Then we would correlate how we got the answers. I learned alot. Teach me things and I can't forget you.

Was more interesting to me than the actual gambling at the casinos, which I found more boring daily. That would be down to my horseracing background of checking the runners daily etc.

[KasinoKing]

Originally Posted by Zarathustra

Hi guys this is my first thread.
I am conducting some research regarding online casino newsletters. My main question is... what makes a good newsletter... what interests you, i.e. promotions, stories, winners information, game reviews, tips... etc.
Also what kind of subjects and issues interest you, what are your favourite online casino newsletters?
any feedback is greatly appreciated
Many thanks to one and all
Thus Spoke Zarathustra

Simple answer - the only good newsletters are the ones offering sensible promotions.
(I'm sure most people know what I mean by that! )
Everything else is just dross - I never read it.

I think casinos should let the PLAYER chose which type of newsletter they receive.
I would love to be able to unsubscribe from all those REALLY ANNOYING MG casino ones offering "Amazing 15-20% redeposit bonus!"
Please casino's; get a life and stop sending out this garbage!

[Petunia]

** Hmmm, how about a 'promotions' letter, that contain ALL the available bonusses and promotions in one, applicable to YOU, but still giving you a choice of which ones you take up on? What freaks me out, is the fact that one ONE day, I can get up to 5 promotions, ecluding 'FYI and Newsletters' from my casino. If I unsubscribe from the newsletter, then I don't see the promo, and if I unsubscribe from the promo,then I don't get the newsletter!! aaarrrrgggghhhh!!! Either way, I think, ONCE a week, per casino GROUP, would be puuuurrrfect for me. Most of the time, I don't even look at it. The delete button is 'turned on automatic'.**

[Zarathustra]

Thanks to everybody who has contributed so far....

As we can see each person has their own individual take on this issue... those who appreciate the efforts of newsletter writers to entertain and inform, and those who just want to get the bonuses.

What the above discussion would seem to demonstrate to me is that there is a slight divergence between the expectations and desires of non-industry players (players with no internal experience of the industry) and industry players (people who work in the industry and play casino games).

The comments and views of industry players expressed above have been useful to me as not only are they inspiring, but also, they have broadened my horizons of what is possible when writing casino newsletters... i.e. instead of simply relentlessly pushing promotions, a casino newsletter writer can with confidence branch out into unrelated subjects and inject a little personality into their work.

With regards to the non industry players, this is the group that I am most intersted to hear from... I want to know what the customers want. At the moment it would seem to me that the non-industry players can be situated on a spectrum:


interested........................................ ............................show me the $$$
in content

on the one hand we have those that appreciate the newsletter content and take the time out to read features, on the other hand we have those who couldnt care less, dont really like accepting regular newsletters as they find them a pain... and only give a damn about the promos.

This in turn raises the interesting questions....

1. Where do you sit on the spectrum? (i sit close the the "interested in content end)

2. What actually makes you open your email newsletters? (i.e. catchy subject line, or force of habit- as derived from your prior knowledge that it is a good quality, informative and interesting newsletter)

WOW THAT WAS VERY LONG WINDED....

HOPE I DIDNT BORE Y'ALL

Thanks

Thus said Zarathustra

[jetset]

Didn't bore me, in fact I've been reading this whole thread and the different opinions with interest.

I believe you are on the right track in listening to what experienced industry people have to say, but giving closer attention to what the "non-industry" players think, because they are going to be your primary audience.

This sort of attempt to get player opinion on an interesting issue is never wasted in my view, and I would like to read more player views on what they would like to see in a newsletter from an online casino or poker room.

Perhaps an easier way to get a focused response might be to set up a poll or a series of non-leading questions that will enable succinct answers that don't soak up too much of a respondent's time and energy?