Authenticity, as I’ve written countless times, is the key ingredient of successful blogging, Twittering and other forms of social networking. It’s also key to a successful e-newsletter. Authenticity means being genuine, trustworthy and credible (see definition here, here and here). But beware… don’t fake it.
Here’s an example of fake authenticity in an e-newsletter I received recently. The editor’s note starts out:
“I haven’t been sleeping well lately, but I’ve been thinking about you a lot… “
Yeah, right.
You (an e-newsletter publisher with thousands of subscribers) have been thinking lots about me. Not likely. Not only do I not believe you but I’m put off by this attempt to make me feel sympathetic. Instead, I feel manipulated. My advice to marketers who want to “get personal” is to keep it real. Don’t overstep the bounds of what’s believable.