The #1 reason why you need to start a newsletter
Growing a digital business today is all about finding leads, nurturing them and gaining their trust. Trust is the currency that converts leads into customers. It’s also the currency that Email Service Providers (ESPs) use to determine which leads’ primary inbox they let you into.
As a newsletter operator, you create a relationship with your target audience by offering them value, consistently and predictably. You want to offer so much value to your subscriber base that “No newsletter today?” is the standard reaction if you miss but one edition.
Whatever your situation is, starting a newsletter is an excellent way to consistently engage with a target audience, build authority, or simply own your own traffic source.
Mythbusters: I can’t start a newsletter because I [insert popular myth here]
Before you sign up for that free newsletter account, we have to address a few myths that stop people from getting started.
Myth #1: I have a full-time job and not much time
Absolute baloney. Need proof? Meet Danny, cybersecurity expert by day, newsletter writer by night.
According to Lettergrowth, (a directory where you can other newsletters to collaborate with) Danny has over 1,000 subscribers. He also features a link to a course, which he presumably funnels readers to.
No matter what industry you’re in, you can start and manage your newsletter on-the-side and even from it.
Myth #2: I’m not a good writer
Believe it or not, there are many newsletters that are popular not for their writing prowess, but because of the value they provide.
A big niche that comes to mind here is niche job newsletters like the customer success job newsletter by Nicole St. Germain
As you can see, there isn’t a lot of writing involved. It just share jobs each week in list-style format. Nicole seems to monetize through ads (this edition is sponsored by Huntr), but there’s so much opportunity to offer career coaching, advice and courses with this sort of operation.
Myth #3: My niche is weird
Another fat lie. In today’s world, you can find a similar tribe in almost every niche there is, as long as you do your research correctly.
Just ask The Post Card Whisperer, focused on sharing historical postcards, or Own The Watch, that’s trying to make analog watches great again.
With that being said, I hope you can see that there isn’t much stopping you from starting your own newsletter.
However, recent anti-spam laws mean that there are a few things you need to know about how to start a newsletter the right way, or you can risk ending up on everyone’s blacklist.
What do I need to know about starting a successful newsletter?
As with most great things, there are many elements that make for a successful newsletter. A newsletter is more than “just an email”. Successful newsletters cover topics that are highly relevant to their audience, presenting these topics in an engaging way and most of all, they make it all the way to their audience primary inboxes.
So if you want to create a successful newsletter, you’ll need to pay attention to the following:
- Inbox delivery. Before you do anything, first you need to make sure that your newsletters land in recipients’ inboxes, and not spam)
- Topic relevance. Next, you’ll need to get readers to open your email. The only way to achieve this is to ensure your email subject lines show relevance to your readers
- Engagement. Now, they need to actually read through what you wrote. If you get past this stage, you’re 80% there. Now you need to build on this foundation.
- Consistency. Next, you need a system to ensure that readers get your newsletter content consistently.
- Growth. How do you plan to grow? Most newsletter managers start with a strategy of free subscribers to test the waters, before deciding on how to monetize.
- Monetization. Arguable, but I think that this should come last. Because if you don’t have a moving vehicle, you won’t be able to get it to the market.
Now, let’s talk about putting this into practice and getting started.
I’ll show you how to carefully set up your very own email newsletter that your tribe actually wants to read. But first, the basics:
What to prepare before you start writing
1. Research and choose a newsletter topic that you can commit to
Especially if you don’t have an existing audience, this is key. It’s so easy to dive in head first, burn out and end up at square one if you don’t plan your approach.
I think it was Stephen Covey who said ” as you climb up the ladder of success, make sure it’s leaning up the right wall”
Writing newsletters consistently takes a lot of work, so you need to make sure that you choose a niche with enough fuel in the tank to keep you going in the long run.
Earlier, I created a video showing how I research topics for newsletters: https://youtu.be/j7CHCMzNX9s?si=KqSyJHS9UDLQbxfH
2. Find your audience
Part of growing a successful newsletter is being in constant contact with your target audience and having access to a stream of potential subscribers.
To do this, you’ll need to know where your target audience—where do they hang out online? which social media platforms (if any) do they prefer? what problems do they constantly complain about? what gets them excited?
Collect this information in a notebook, as it will serve as a constant source of inspiration.
3. Pick a newsletter name and branding
Imagine you’ve been running your newsletter profitably for 6 months and you’re getting requests from companies looking for collaborations.
Your newsletter name is the first thing they see to help them decide whether or not to work with you.
If you don’t already have a brand which your newsletter is an extension of, then this can become a difficult situation. Even if you own a brand, you might want to run a newsletter as a standalone entity, so that you can monetize it on its own (i.e with non-competing ads), rather than as a brand asset.
Whatever the case, keep these tips in mind when naming your newsletter:
- Keep it simple. You could go down the descriptive route and label your newsletter by exactly what it says on the tin, just like UX weekly.
- descriptive names work for newsletters, especially for SEO gains
- check for similar/conflicting names. I recently had someone else ask if “my first million” was a good idea for a newsletter, oblivious to the fact that there’s been an entire newsletter/podcast/website brand built around this phrase for at least 3 years!
- If you’re an authority in the space, name-dropping also works!
- it’s also a good idea to check that the domain name you want is available. It’s an even better idea to snag it before someone else does.
- A bit of wordplay also works, like Stay Sketchy
How to get the wheels in motion: going live with your newsletter
Now you have the basics figured out, it’s time for you to get the infrastructure in place to go live with your newsletter.
Here are the things you’ll need to get to the point where you can confidently say “Hey, subscribe to my newsletter!”
- An ESP (email service provider) to “hold” your subscriber information, and send emails when you want.
- A landing page that tells potential subscribers what you’re all about, and “collects” their email addresses when they subscribe
- A welcome email
- A logo (optional, but helps)
- A lead magnet (optional, but helps with growth). This is a “gift” you’ll give new subscribers on the spot. This can be a cool, highly relevant PDF, how to guides or other valuable information taht your audience wants badly.
Once you have these, here’s what you need to do:-
1. Choose your email marketing software
Now, select an email marketing platform that aligns with your goals. There are several options: veteran email marketing software solutions like Mailchimp, Constant Contact, and ConvertKit or purpose-built, newer, specialized newsletter platforms like Beehiiv and Substack.
It’s important to choose an ESP that fits into your overall business strategy. For example, if you plan on selling a lot of your own digital products, Kit might be best for you. However, the free plan ends at 1,000 subscribers.
If you plan on growing your newsletter within a “native ecosystem”, sharing other newsletters and products, etc., Beehiiv might be the one for you. Also, the free plan ends at 2,500 so you have a lot more runway.
Compare different ESPs to figure out which is right for you. You also want to check their email deliverability rates, what subscriber management tools are available, what performance tracking tools are available, and what tools are available to help you create visually appealing emails.
3. Design your newsletter
Now for the fun part. It’s time to design an attractive newsletter. An ESP with a drag-and-drop editor will speed this step up, especially if you don’t have graphic design skills.
There are a lot of newsletter templates available online to help you get this done quickly. Include your logo, relevant images, and a balanced layout. Keep the design clean and consistent with your brand.
Create an Email Subscription Form
If you have other online assets (e.g a separate website) you should design a simple, eye-catching subscription form for your website.
This will help you get some automated, “hands-free” growth by funneling subscribers from your website to your newsletter in the long run. Make sure you place it prominently—perhaps in the sidebar, footer, or as a pop-up. It’s always best to ask for minimal information (just the email address ) to encourage sign-ups.
If you have a lead magnet, here’s the perfect place to use it. Tell your would-be subs what they’ll gain by signing up to your newsletter.
Craft a Landing Page for Your Newsletter
When designing your newsletter, consider creating a dedicated landing page that tells your target audience why they should subscribe.
Again, if you have a lead magnet, offer it on this page. Remember to highlight the benefits (what they’ll gain), not just the features (what you do) of your newsletter.
Simply asking them to subscribe won’t cut it. Explain what subscribers can expect (e.g., valuable tips, industry news, special offers). I especially like how HalfBaked goes straight-to-the-point, and clearly tells you what you’ll gain by subscribing:
Also remember to include clear CTAs throughout. Some interesting CTAs include:
- “Get 5 ideas instantly”
- “Join our community and receive weekly updates!”
- “Get exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.”
Additionally, promote your newsletter through your social media accounts to reach a broader audience and enhance its success.
4. Create your welcome email
Your welcome email does exactly what it says on the tin. You’ll use it to welcome new subscribers, and this is also where you’ll add a link to that exciting lead magnet you promised.
In 2024 where even the untrained eye can sniff out AI-written content, please keep this part simple and straightforward for the love of whatever you believe in.
Some thing like:
“You made it!
Thank you for trusting me with your inbox space.
Here’s that X I promised.
Thanks”
Once you have this set up, you’re ready to start writing.
3. Decide on your newsletter format
- How long should my newsletters be?
- Should I lay it out in blog-post style or in sections?
- How often should I send out a newsletter?
Let me answer these common questions for you.
How long should my newsletter be?
The short answer is – it depends.
It’s no news that today’s internet user has an extremely short attention span. You’ll see that big, established newsletters like Brain Food by Farnam Street lay their newsletter out in neat little paragraphs with entire editions done in around 500 words.
Morning Brew’s daily newsletter , on the other hand, contains over 2,000 words per edition.
The main thing to consider when deciding on your newsletter length is your audience. The best way to build a loyal following is by keeping your ear to the ground, and making sure that each newsletter campaign you send contains relevant, high-quality content that trains your subscribers to keep opening your emails.
Newsletter design: Blog style or sectionalized?
Again, your delivery style should depend on what your email subscribers value. One common thread I have noticed however with most newsletters is that the most popular ones don’t tend to feature a great wall of text.
Rather, most tend to segment their newsletters into themed sections, interspersed with images, quotes and text. Here’s how Superhuman lays this out
Figure out what key themes resonate with your audience (now’s the time to get the notebook out) and ask yourself: “Can I generate engaging sections I can commit to in each episode?”
You can sign up to a bunch of newsletters in other niches and reverse-engineer their layouts. For example, each edition of SuperHuman has:-
- a summary
- news (today in AI)
- an educational section (how-to guides, videos, etc)
- tool recommendations
- prompt of the day
- AI-generated images,
- and of course, ads
How often should I send out my newsletter?
How hungry is your audience for your content?
How often does your contact list want to hear from you?
How much have you got in your tank?
I can’t tell you how often you should send out your newsletter, but I can tell you that you need to send it often. Whether you’re sending it daily, weekly, or monthly, send your newsletter out often.
Obviously, the more frequently you choose to publish, the more work there is for you to do. The good news is that there are no hard and fast rules to this game. You can choose to change your sending frequency whenever it suits you.
Getting the work done: Write engaging newsletter content
Now, the real work begins! Content forms the meat and bones of all email marketing campaigns, and this includes your newsletter.
Your newsletter subscribers expect valuable content, and its up to you to deliver what they expect with every email campaign you send. Once your subject lines get readers opening your emails, (aka through the door), it’s up to you to keep them engaged from start to finish.
Here are a few key things to remember:
- Introduction: Start with a friendly greeting and a summary of what’s inside.
- Body: Share valuable insights, tips, stories, or updates. Keep it concise and scannable.
- CTAs: Include relevant calls-to-action (e.g., “Read more,” “Shop now,” “Share with a friend”).
- Footer: Add an unsubscribe link and contact information.
- Images: Use images where appropriate to break up the text.
- Variety: Vary your text styles. Use headers, bold text, italicized text etc to make your text sing different notes.
Examples:
- Subject Line: “ Our Weekly Digest: Marketing Tips & Trends”
- Introduction: “Hello, fellow marketers! Welcome to our weekly newsletter.”
- Content: “This week, we explore SEO best practices, share success stories, and reveal a surprise giveaway!”
- CTA: “Read the full article ” (linked to your blog post)
- Footer: “You’re receiving this email because you subscribed on our website. If you’d like to unsubscribe, click here.”
Get website traffic
Now you’re rolling, it’s time to get some traffic to your pages and show your audience what they’re missing out on. I’d recommend publishing 5 – 10 editions before you start hustling for subs, so that potential subs get a feel of your content before deciding on whether or not your newsletter is worth their time.
Remember that list you created at the beginning? Now’s the time to re-visit it. Use social media to find where your audience congregates and share your newsletter in natural conversation. Remember, social media works best when information is shared naturally, not “pushily” (otherwise, you get banned for spam).
This part takes careful planning and patience, so you must be prepared to not give up.
Some ideas for getting newsletter subscribers
- Online forums. Hang out in online forums where your target audience hangs out, and engage. Post helpful solutions and mention your newsletter “for more tips”
- PR Outreach. Register to PR outreach sites like Qwoted and Connectively (formerly HARO) and offer helpful responses to journalist requests. You’ll be asked for your source – plug your newsletter here
- Cross-promotions. Reach out to other newsletter managers for cross-promotions. Ideally this works if you have a few
It’s usually best to start off with free traffic. Once your idea is proven, you can consider scaling with ads.
Refine your email marketing strategy
Now you’re on the move, you need to refine your strategy as you build momentum. These tips will set you apart from your competitors.
Segment your audience
Segment your subscribers based on their interests or behavior. For example:
- New subscribers
- Existing customers
- Blog readers
- Opened in the last 30, 60, 90 days
It’s crucial to test and optimize your email campaigns before sending them to clients to ensure they are effective and engaging.
Review your campaign metrics
Every time you send out an email campaign, it’s a good idea to check your metrics to see how your email subscribers responded to your message.
This will give you an idea of your audience temperature, what they liked to read and what they didn’t – all of which will help your future campaigns.
Consistency is key
Remember, consistency is key. Send your newsletter regularly (weekly, biweekly, or monthly) to keep your audience engaged. Creating your own newsletter can streamline communication, promote brand loyalty, and potentially generate revenue by selling ad space. Happy newsletter crafting!