About:mozilla/newsletter redesign
This page is tracking ideas for updating the HTML email version of the about:mozilla newsletter.
There is a design bug at https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=650106
Contents
Sample Newsletters
Compare and Contrast notes
- Mozilla & You has clear date information. It's not clear from about:mozilla newsletter when this was sent out (you can infer by looking at the Upcoming events section)
- Anchor links in about:mozilla are at top of the main column and push down content, but in Mozilla & You they are in the sidebar and leave more space in main content area.
- The about:mozilla design has a lot of white space in right column, the use of space in Mozilla & You seems to be better.
- There is an intro on Mozilla & You and about:mozilla jumps straight into anchor links (the about:mozilla subject line is basically an intro of that week's newsletter -- eg, 'Why We Need Firefox, Community Phonebook, Reinventing News and more…' -- maybe worth revisting?)
- Mozilla & You is personalized (a note saying it came from Jane & Winston at top) and about:mozilla isn't as much (there's a note about it coming from Contributor Engagement team at bottom).
- There are lots of graphics on Mozilla & You which look nice but we want something easier to maintain -- so maybe we can use graphics but they would need to be more generic and not need to be rotated or would be more limited (I could see having one community photo in each issue).
- Both have canned links but the placement is different -- in footer of Mozilla & You and sidebar and bottom of main area in about:mozilla (the about:mozilla ones should also be updated)
- The amount of content is higher on about:mozilla (this is fine but may require different design approach in places)
Content Ideas
No Anchors At All
Anchors can not work correctly in many email clients so may not need them at all.
Calendar Information
Calendar information is currently spread out in three different places -- there are two sections linked in anchors (Upcoming events and Community Calendar) as well as a Community Calendar section in the right column (which has a lot of overlap with other content). Recommend consolidating this into one Calendar section.
- Good place to put an image that doesn't need to be changed -- some sort of calendar graphic
About Information
Currently at bottom of main content area. Maybe a shortened version of this could be moved up as an introduction?
Canned Links
There are currently canned links to:
- http://communitystore.mozilla.org/
- http://developer.mozilla.org/devnews/
- http://developer.mozilla.org/
- http://planet.mozilla.org/
Some of these, like the Community Store, may not make as much sense now and we may want to add other links.
Get Involved CTA
We might want a standard Get Involved CTA similar to the 'Are you on Team Firefox?' box in the Mozilla & You newsletter. This would have some text and a link to mozilla.org/contribute.
Meet A Mozillian
Community photo(s) with link to bonjour mozilla
Bump Font Size Up A Little?
Featured Article?
Highlight one specific article as a feature and maybe use that as subject line.
Subject Line
Best practice: Around 40 or 50 characters max -- as concise as can be and still make one point.
'Why We Need Firefox, Community Phonebook, Reinventing News and more…' is too long and tries to summarize several different things.
Suggest New Text
header: about:mozilla / date
intro: This newsletter is by, for and about the Mozilla community, focusing on news and contribution opportunities.
planet summary: no anchor links, 5 header+paragraphs w/links
meet a mozillian: a paragraph w/ links and a photo highlighting a specific community member(s)
community calendar: list of specific upcoming events and a link to a calendar page plus a calendar graphic
CTA (would stay the same each newsletter like the 'Are you on Team Firefox?' content: Want to get involved with Mozilla? / Want to become a Mozillian? (something like that) w/ maybe a dino head graphic
links: a small set of relevant links plus the email address to contact us
footer: privacy policy, unsubscribe, etc.
