Does it have to be relevant?
Delivering on your promised content is critical to success in sending out email newsletters. If you don’t deliver what your readers signed up to receive, chances are they’ll be visiting the unsubscribe link more often than you like. This raises the question: does all content have to be relevant? Of course not! You are in charge here, which means you get to make the call. Before you burst out into maniacal laughter at the control you possess in this situation, remember that while your content doesn’t necessarily have to be 100% relevant, you do need to keep the interests of your readers in mind. Industry-irrelevant but much-loved items can become a hallmark for your newsletter.
Why email non-topical content?
Your readers are people; rich individuals with many layers. Even if they came to you for a fairly specific reason, chances are they have many other interests.
It’s good to shake things up. People don’t like repetitive content anymore than they like to be repeatedly reminded to complete a task. If you offer them something a little different once in awhile it can serve to re-engage their interest.
You can demonstrate your own humanity. Unless you’re a team of robots offering up robotic content, chances are good that showing your dimensions (as people or as a company) will be seen as a good thing.
What type of content could be included?
Recipes - an obvious choice for folks who deal with health, fitness or who have a local contingent that they send email newsletters out to.
Local interest pieces - this option doesn’t just exists for businesses that largely operate within their own communities. Your interests and actions in your community will paint a picture of who you are with your non-local readers.
Jokes or funny stories - people love to laugh and some newsletters are just perfect for this sort of aside. People gravitate to jokes, as any family with the Sunday paper can attest. If jokes aren’t quite appropriate there might be space for a humorous story. Who knows - you might find that your best word of mouth comes from humor!
The three examples above only begin to touch on the myriad of options that exist for an email marketer to spice things up in a newsletter. The more you know about your readership the easier it will be to touch on ideas that are of interest to them. The more you let your reader know about you, the more easily they can connect on a personal level.