In its report on the usability of email newsletters, the Nielsen Norman Group says that users have highly emotional reactions to them. Not so with website usability, where users are usually much more oriented toward functionality. Even a website that users visit daily seems to feel like a tool: users want to get in and get out as quickly as possible rather than “connect” with the site.
In contrast, newsletters feel personal because they arrive in users’ inboxes, and users have an ongoing relationship with them. Newsletters also have a social aspect, as users often forward them to colleagues and friends, the report says.
(via Corporate Engagement)
