How to Write a Newsletter
Everyone and their Mama is preaching at you to “start an email list” and “grow your email list overnight”. And that’s all great and dandy, but what do I say? ← that might be what you’re thinking. I often get asked about how to write a newsletter because I know you’re sitting over there knowing for a fact you need to start an email list. But then, what? Right?
This is the most common barrier and disconnect for small business owners. You’re pretty much willing to do anything and everything to grow your business.
So, you don’t need to be convinced that you need an email list.
You already know that.
You just need some tools to figure out what to say, how to say it, and when to say it. Am I right?
Today, I want to lead you through a few necessary steps to help you get that email list off the ground and running. Even while you sleep.
First off, if you know you need an email list, but haven’t started it yet, I have a solution for you! I use and LOVE ConvertKit. If you sign up using this link, you can get your first 30 days FO FREE!
Alright, now we can move on!
So, you’ve started your email list. You posted about it on Facebook and your mom and college roommates signed up. Bless them. Those are your people. Now it’s time to grow that list and get your dreamies on it.
Step One:
Set intentions. This means you need to set intentions for yourself AND for the people on your list. The worst thing you can do is get people to sign up, send them an email three weeks later, and then they unsubscribe because they don’t remember who you are. The next worst thing you can do is start your email marketing journey without a plan. Set intentions for this. This isn’t a huge formal step. In your mind, decide what purpose your email marketing will play in your business and what intentions you have for impacting the lives of people on your list.
Step Two:
Write your mission and goals. In the same breath of setting your intentions, it is time to write your mission and your goals. I am a firm believer in writing a mission statement for every area of your business. It does not need to be some big, fancy mission statement that you hire a copywriter to help you write. It’s purpose is simply to give you purpose. What is the mission of your email list? Write it down. What is your 3 month, 6 month, 9 month, one year goal for your email list? Write that down. When you have goals set for something, it keeps you accountable. When you start something with the mindset of “we will see how this goes and take things as they come”, you will not see intentional progress.
Step Three:
Pick a frequency. Just like you need to have goals and a mission, you want to set a frequency, and stick to it. Consistency is Queen! Your audience wants to know what to expect from you. They will also be less likely to unsubscribe if they know what to expect from you.
Step four:
Create opt-ins. So you’ve created the list and you’ve taken the time to set some goals. Perfect. Now you need to get people on your list! The most effective way of doing this is by having some type of opt-in on your website. This basically means that you give them something in return for their email address. I always suggest to not be too icky with this. Truly offer something of value to them. Don’t be sneaky with a download that is actually promoting a paid product or service. Offer good value. Offer something that impacts their life in a positive way!
Step five:
Remind and refresh. So often we can get caught up in the shuffle of work and business and we forget about what we are doing and why we are doing it! And that will be the same for your readers. They might forget who you are or what content you are sharing. So, once in a while give your readers a little refresh about who you are and why you’re writing to them!
Step six:
Share share share. Talk about your email list in your Instagram posts. Talk about it on your Instagram story. Talk about it on Facebook. Make it something that people know about and want to be on. Give value and content that is valuable and important. This step is two-fold. Share about your email list everywhere, but share things with your reader. Make her feel taken care of and appreciated.
Step seven:
Create a quiz. The best and most effective way I ever grew my email list was because of a quiz I created. You can read all about my process, how I did it, and what my results were in this blog post.
Okay, so you’ve done those steps. Those steps are geared towards streamlining and systemizing your email list.
But now it’s time to sit down and write your weekly or monthly newsletter and all you see is a blinking cursor. What do I write about? How do I make sure this is meaningful?
My best advice is always this: be honest. The times when I share about something hard or scary or something that I’m struggling with, are the times when I get the most interaction.
Above all, people want to know that you’re a person.
How this plays out:
use your life and your experiences to shine light on a life lesson.
Talk about a time you failed and how you overcame.
Use your experience with something to build your credibility on a topic.
Share a letter of encouragement. All people at all times need encouragement. You could be someone’s answer to prayer showing up in their inbox.
You don’t have to overthink it. If you’ve taken the time to write a mission and a goal for your email marketing, you just need to make sure that everything you write about, somehow ties back to your mission.
One more tip: if you have a blog, use the blog content as the theme for your newsletter. If you’re on my email list, you probably see this happening. I post a blog post on Tuesday, and when my newsletter goes out on Wednesday, it usually has a story or a snippet from the blog post in the email. And then I prompt the reader to go to the blog.
Here’s how this play out:
On tuesday, I post this blog post: My Best Secret to Growing a Business That Lasts
I send out my newsletters on Wednesdays. So…
This is the newsletter I sent out:
Subject: Are you making this mistake?
“Hi {{ subscriber.first_name }}!
I’m coming at you from my crazy, messy office. I’ve got leftover makeup from yesterday on and I’m sipping on some bubbly water. If you’ve been reading my emails or keeping up to date with me over on Instagram, you know that life and business have been a little busy lately.
My business growth over the years has been slow and steady. I’m proud of that. Slow growth builds strong roots. However, in the last couple of months, there’s been a big shift in my product shop sales and to be honest: I was completely shocked by it and I wasn’t fully prepared for it.
It’s a great problem to have, I know. But it still means there’s a lot of issues to iron out.
As I look back on the last several years and study the ups and downs of my business, I see some trends that have set me apart and set me up for this “boom” in my business.
My biggest “asset” will probably surprise you.
It’s me.
Yep, that’s it. It’s tapping into my OWN skills and personality and creativity to create a brand that screams “Rachel”. I don’t want to look like anyone else. I don’t want to build my business to be a replica of someone else’s. I want it to be MY business. A living, breathing representation of me and my personality.
I know that might seem simply or “too easy” but trust me, there is power in putting your face inside your brand and fearlessly being YOU. This “asset” has worked for me. It’s built a business that is more than “just an Etsy shop”. It’s created a brand that connects with real people to cultivate real relationships, which leads to REAL revenue.
Are you making the mistake of NOT being the face behind your business?
If you are, don’t fret. We can work on that. For now, read more about how and why I use myself as an asset in my business.
Cheers to being beautifully YOU.
xoxo,
Rachel”
See how I expanded on but still left mystery about the blog content? That drives people to my website and blog! This is the most simple way to think up content for your newsletter!