I got this idea from another forum that I'm registered with. In short, I periodically get a newsletter emailed to me that has links to a couple choice new thread. I'm not sure what the exact criteria is, but it seems to pick new threads that have the most amount of replies. They are using Threadloom, which does this for them automatically, but does not support the forum software that RB uses. Perhaps there is a similar service that does? We kicked around the idea of picking threads manually for now and doing email blasts, since RB doesn't move too fast these days anyway.
The reason this is great is because it entices people to come back to the forum and participate. For those that don't regular check the forums, there might be several new threads of interest in between their visits that they never end up seeing. But getting a newsletter, "You might be interested in these new threads..." will attract them back to the forum. The idea is if you registered for the forum then you have interested in it, but if you forget to check it regularly then you will rarely participate in new threads.
The email format was pretty simple. Thread title with hyperlink, post date, replies, views, and X amount of words from the first post, then a picture (if a picture was posted). All registered forum members are automatically opted in to this newsletter, then there's a link in the email to unsubscribe. Here's a mock up, for example.
Thoughts?
