1) Make sure you should be creating a newsletter. I’ve seen it over and over; businesses and brands will want to create a newsletter when they’re just starting their business endeavor only to discover they don’t have enough to talk about and haven’t attracted a following of true fans that will subscribe. Time is almost always better spent doing things that don’t need a newsletter to be talked about. Once you have people talking without the use of a newsletter, then it’s a great time to start one, to catch people up on what they missed (because you’re on such a role of shipping great content) and what they have to look forward to (because now you’ve created interest in your brands future).
2) Pull, don’t push. Instead of pushing people to sign up for the newsletter with a pop up, get other brand leaders and ambassadors to share the fact you now have a newsletter people can subscribe to. It’s much more effective to have a recommendation than it is to disrupt the regulars who visit your site.
3) Know your goal of the newsletter. You already have a website with a blog section (right?), so you’ve got two questions to answer before adding content to your newsletter. First, is it something that could just be said on the blog or is it special enough for the newsletter? You’ve got to draw the line between blog content and newsletter content. Second, to blur the line even more, are you retaining your voice through the newsletter? It’s often difficult to use a new method of communication and retain the same voice. That’s why integrated marketing is such a specialty practice.
4) Emphasize the community. Show through your newsletter that it’s being sent to a tribe, not an individual. theSkimm ends their newsletter with a list of birthdays. How can you end your newsletter? Perhaps thanking all those that send you an email in reply to a newsletter? All those who interact with you on Twitter? Find a way to make readers feel they belong to something big when they receive your newsletter.
5) NW; DR (not worthwhile; didn’t read). The people you want to attract are the people who read what matters, not the ones that read because something is short, quick, and easy. Write strong, write concise, but by all means, don’t let the word count restrict you from sharing your story. And heaven-forbid, don’t use TL;DR at the end of your newsletter.
Stay Positive & Know That Not Having A Newsletter Doesn’t Make You Any Worse Off
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