E-newsletters are a fantastic and cost effective way for third sector organisations to communicate what they do. But I feel it's an application that's both underused and often misused. They are a great opportunity to shout about your achievements and keep stakeholders informed and engaged. They are also an ideal way to speak to a large number of people in a short amount of time. But in an age of email information overload how do you avoid people pressing the delete button before reading?

As someone who writes a regular e-newsletter, but is also a recipient of over 30 different newsletters from various third sector organisations, I have been doing my own exercise in what makes me read them. Here are my personal tips:

Sign up to other organisation's e-newsletters. What are they writing about? What are they trying to get across and how are they doing that? Think about the style and tone - is it personal or corporate? What is the approach and how relevant is the content? Think about whether the e-newsletter is helping the organisation get its message across? As a reader does it inspire you to keep reading? Have you learnt anything new from reading it?

Have you signed up to your own organisation's e-newsletter? What do you think of the content? Do you think it's communicating with the reader effectively?

Content is critical. If you don't think you've enough news for a monthly newsletter it's better to wait than send out information for the sake of it. Do plan what you want to say. Ask colleagues to provide content ideas to give a broader voice. Think about when you've got enough content and save stories for future newsletters.

Who is your target audience - supporters, donors, stakeholders, trustees, or all of the above? In the not-too-distant future we will be communicating with different audiences in a more direct, targeted and personalised approach. They will decide how they want to receive your information and in what format. E-newsletters will be an important part of this mix. Getting it right will be crucial.

Keep it fresh and regular. It's important to think about when you send out your e-newsletter and how often. A monthly or bi-monthly update is an achievable target. Anything more than that could be information overload and not sustainable. If there's a major new story then decide whether it's worth sending a special e-news update.

Think about the time of day and day of the week it goes out. In the last few months I've been getting a lot of e-newsletters after 5.00pm on a Friday and even arriving at the weekend. I know all the hard work that would've gone into these newsletters but I'd be surprised if there is a high opening rate at these times. You should also consider holidays. School holidays might mean a high proportion of your target audience never see that e-newsletter.

And finallly...think about what to write in the subject area: What you write in the subject area can make a huge difference to your e-newsletter. This is one of the hardest things to do (and the thing I personally leave until the end). A phrase that teases the reader could at least get them to open your e-newsletter.

Happy Writing!

Jude Habib is the Founder/Director of sounddelivery - a social media training and production company