News from the HELM is a bimonthly email newsletter for all audiences of the Institute for Shipboard Education, including Semester at Sea and Enrichment Voyage alumni, parents, inquirees, study abroad officials, and other important stakeholders of the Institute.
The newsletter contains
- voyage highlights
- program announcements
- upcoming event information
- special deals and discounts
- links to electronic publications and social media networks
The purpose of the newsletter is to keep our constituencies informed about the good work of ISE, invite participation in voyages and events, and encourage other ways of engagement with our programs through social media and sharing, online giving, and job opportunities.
The Most Recent Issue
The April 2011 issue was sent to a total of 56,523 email addresses, all submitted to us by interested readers. Roughly 12,400 recipients (22 percent) opened the email and there were about 4,400 unique clicks to links embedded throughout the email (a 7.96 percent clickthrough rate). Most popular links in this email include:
- Fall 2011 and Spring 2012 landing pages
- Information about full scholarships
- Information about early booking rates for the December 2011 Enrichment Voyage through the Amazon
- A blog post about the return of the Spring 2011 Semester at Sea voyage
- Our new Health and Safety landing page
- A link to the e-version of the Spring 2011 Shipmates newsletter
Was it a success?
Yes. The average open rate for educational non-profit email campaigns ranges anywhere from 20 to 40 percent (www.campaignmonitor.com) with a 3.5 percent average clickthrough rate (www.marketinginprogress.com).
Many factors influence the activity surrounding emails so it is difficult to narrow the statistics across organizations. One way to determine the success of an email campaign is to use past activity as the primary benchmark for comparison. Our average open rate and clicks are 20.86 and 6.88 percent respectively. Compared to past activity levels, the April 2011 News from the HELM generated above average open and clickthrough rates, therefore we consider it a success.
If you’d like to receive our News from the Helm emails, just visit the Semester at Sea website and enter your email address on the homepage marked “Newsletter Signup”.
