A subject I have been meaning to tackle for some time is the Globe and Mail. You will hear more about my newspaper preferences later this week, but The Globe and Mail is THE national Canadian newspaper, therefore very important, and considered to be a respectable publication. I read it online and sometimes hardcopy, and there is no doubt in my mind that the Globe and Mail is a trustworthy publication with a lot of high quality content.
However (and there’s always a “however”) I do not understand why they haven’t managed to figure out how to deliver a decent looking email newsletter. Its not that difficult, when you are a major publication like the Globe and Mail, to create some sort of template, so that all your email newsletter subscribers have a good-looking page to arriving in their inbox. And I am not just talking about their newspaper headlines, they have a daily email called Style Counsel, which is possibly the most unstylish newsletter I have ever seen in my life. Bloggers with zero budget manage better than this.
The images can do the talking. And if Globe and Mail would like me to recommend some graphic designers that can help them to sort out this ugly newsletter template, I’d be happy to help.
This is a Style Counsel newsletter from the Globe and Mail. Apprently its about eco lingerie, but the whole thing is overshadowed by advertising, and there is no product image. How can you talk about lingerie without a product image? Plus the choice of font is ultra-boring.
This is what Fashion Magazine's email newsletter looks like. Lots of visuals, and nicely designed.
This is Refinery 29's newsletter. Also looks good.
This is what Vitamin Daily's newsletter looks like when it arrives into my inbox. They are probably, sort of considered to be competition to Globe and Mail's Style Counsel. It's obvious which one looks better.
Another poorly designer Style Counsel newsletter.
Just to get my point across, I am also going to show you what Globe and Mail’s headlines newsletter looks like, compared to some other publications.
The Guardian's daily headlines newsletter.
The Financial Times daily headlines newsletter.
and the Globe and Mails' headlines newsletter. No design, no thought about the fonts, no imagery, no formatting.
Maybe I’m being harsh but in this day and age, where many people are consuming news and information through their inbox, it is just as important to have a good looking website as it is to have a good looking newsletter. Especially if you are a major, national publication.
Anyone wanting to have a better look at the blogs mentioned above can see them here: Refinery 29, Vitamin Daily, Fashion Magazine, Guardian Online, and Financial Times.
