How to create an email marketing newsletter that people want to read
Why start an email marketing newsletter
There are many reasons to start a newsletter.
Despite what the guru’s are telling you email is not dead.
With the ever-changing algorithms it is getting harder for you to organically reach your fans, even if they are following you.
And with the chance of a social media platform disappearing overnight or worse you get kicked out for voicing your opinion, relying on social to build your community is not an option.
I’m not saying you should ditch your social media presence; your audience will follow you in different places. Email is one and social is another.
With a newsletter you are in charge.
You can build your audience and decide when and how to communicate with them.
You can create your true fan base and build trust with them.
You can add value to their life and when the time is right, they will buy your services.
So where do you start?
Pick an email provider
There are many email providers out there. And each one has it’s own strengths and weaknesses.
As you grow you may want to look at tools such as Kajabi or Kartra that include an all-in-one approach to have your digital products and email in one place.
But to get started I always recommend MailerLite. You can have 1000 subscribers on the free plan and it’s so intuitive and easy to use.
How to create a newsletter that your audience will love
1. Clarify your why
The first things I always do with any client is understand their why.
When you approach your business with your passion and end goal it shines through.
People want to listen. People want to engage.
They will seek you out and seek your content.
So whether it’s to prevent people from going through burnout or to inspire positive change in the world, or to help women overcome fear and anxiety to be the best business leaders they can be and create joy in others.
Lead from this and have this as your guiding light to everything you create.
2. Know your audience
I have covered this at length in this blog.
Here are some of my suggestions:
- Talk to your audience
- See what topics resonate more on your social media posts
- Do feedback surveys
- Read review sites or comments on Facebook Groups for your niche
- Use tools such as Google, Answer The Public, and UberSuggest to know what questions are being asked and what content is being shared
3. Provide value
Be useful. Share your knowledge. Give all your stuff away from free.
Don’t be scared to do this.
No matter how much free knowledge you give away people will still want to use your services.
Giving all your knowledge and tools away for free builds trust with your audience.
They may go away and put some of it into practice, but the likeliness is they won’t get long term transformation without a full coaching package.
4. Curate info from your industry.
If you are a coach for female entrepreneurs share things about getting funding, events, free courses they can do, networking groups that may be of interest.
If you are a health coach share recipes, events, news stories on the latest research.
People don't have time to go out and look for the info they need every day.
By curating this for them you are bringing it to one place. And you are the trusted advisor of this so they will trust the info you bring them is good.
5. Share personal stories
The thing that will get people opening your email is knowing they will probably find out something new about you.
Chances are they have subscribed because they like you and you inspire them.
Share what you are working on, what you have done this week or month, personal as well as business.
And share your challenges and how you’ve overcome them, no matter how small.
How to make it easy, so that you maintain consistency
1. Create a content pillars
From your customer research and your own brand values and what you want to be known for pick themes you will always write about. Coming back to these will help you when you draw a a blank.
2. Content calendar & Publishing schedule
Plan out a content calendar so you don’t need to think about what you need to write. And stick to your publishing schedule. An accountability buddy can help in this area.
3. Make it a habit
Do it at the same time every week or month. Set a reward for completing it.
Do it after another activity.
So when you get in from the school run on a Wednesday the first thing you do is write your newsletter. Read Atomic Habits to get tips for making it a habit.
If you’re looking for more help in launching your newsletter I am launching a new four-week course in November. The usual price is £95, but for the first beta test I am offering this at a heavily discounted price of £65. Find out more about what you will learn here.