Does writing your newsletter make you writhe in pain and wanna cry?
Oh the crap that went through my head in the beginning…any of this sound familiar?
Who’s going to read this?
What if it’s not good enough?
Nobody cares about this shit.
Nobody is going to sign up for this.
I resisted building my list and sending my newsletters when I opened my business in 2008. If I knew then what I know now, holy fuck, things would be way more interesting, exciting and less stressful.
I’m going to make this easy for you. Stop resisting. Get your shit together. And send your consistent newsletter so that you can build your platform, your business and your legacy. Here’s a fantastic checklist (and a few great resources) to help you create an email newsletter strategy and put it into action.
And if you need content ideas and you missed this blog I wrote for my healer posse ages ago, check it out. You’ll have enough ideas here to last you a year.
Before I get to the checklist, I’d like to give a quick shout out to Alexandra Franzen, whose email newsletter is my model, inspiration and consistent boost to keep up my own.
First Things First – Get Your Technology Shit Together
To be able to send your emails you actually need people to send them to. Here are the steps to take if you haven’t already set up a way to collect people’s names and email addresses.
- Buy your domain name and build your website, even if it’s a cheap, free one for now. You need this. Stop resisting.
- Think about a freebie you can give away and have that handy. Anything is good for now. You can change your mind later. A simple checklist or cheat sheet will work. Stop resisting and get this done. This article might help you with freebie ideas.
- Sign up for an email server. I use AWeber. There are several. Don’t delay. You need this. Go now. My link is an affiliate link – cuz AWeber is awesome.
- Create an opt-in form and put it on the home page of your website. You do this on the email server dashboard. You did go sign up for that right?
- Share your opt-in form everywhere you can think of; social media, email it to friends and family. See below for more on sharing.
Is all the tech-crap stuff making a headache come on? I got you. You might give my virtual assistant goddess a call. Tara at Projects Made Simple, will make you so happy you forget about the investment because your life is so much easier.
Set a Schedule and Stick to it
- How often do you want to communicate with your fans? I send mine on Tuesday mornings. Marie Forleo taught me that “If it’s not scheduled, it’s not real.” And I’ve lived by that ever since I heard it. Get the damn newsletter creation into your calendar – both as a writing to-do and a posting to-do.
- Consistency is more important than frequency. Just pick something and roll with it. Then don’t miss a date.
- Your email server site has a scheduling function. You can knock out a month’s worth of newsletters in a few hours and get them all set up and scheduled. Better yet, get your virtual assistant on it and sit back and bask in the extra time you have to build your business instead.
Send some valuable content
- Knowing what to write in your newsletters is probably why you’re reading this. And here’s the thing; your content is all around you, every day, in every moment, in every challenge and victory, in every interaction. Stop using “I don’t have anything to write about” as an excuse!
- Now that you’re mindset is elevated, do this homework: Go sign up for five newsletters of people you’ve actually purchased things from and start looking at what you love about those newsletters.
- Sit down and brainstorm what topics turn you on. What could you talk about all day long? What are the sub-topics under that topic? Make a long list.
- What’s a conversation you had the other day about said topic that you can remember. Let us be a fly on the wall. Put some dialogue in your newsletter and bring us into the scene.
- What systems, products, apps, or programs do you use? Tell us and link them up.
- This is an awesome article with 75 content ideas for you!
- There’s no TMI. The more specific and personal, the more universal. We’d like to know you’re human and imperfect, like us, so tell us a story about your life and let us get to know you.
- Feel something please. If you don’t feel anything, or worse, you feel bored, tired or disinterested when you write your content, guess what we will feel? Can you say “unsubscribe?”
- Remember to use your email server website and explore it for ideas, tips and tricks. AWeber has been a great source for that.
- If you’re totally out of ideas, promote someone else you think would help your people. A little write up or testimonial for someone whose product you’ve used and love, a note about a person you’re grateful for and why…these are feel-good notes. And you want your people to feel good.
- Have some flipping fun for Goddess’ sake! This isn’t torture. What things do you do to bring joy into your life? Why not write about those things and spread the love?
- Don’t be afraid to sell – but watch the amount of it. Selling your stuff is a form of self-care. Seriously. Don’t avoid it. When every single newsletter is a sales pitch is when this gets tricky. Make sure you send valuable content, some free stuff, some great stories and ways for people to connect with you. And yes, let us know when you have something for sale too.
Share your opt-in everywhere you can think of
- You did everything but you’re wondering why there’s nobody signing up for your list? That’s because you forgot people actually have to know about your list. Share that opt-in page everywhere and talk about what exactly they will receive. Be fun, be creative, add a freebie, but don’t forget to actually share and talk about it. You can share it on Facebook, or any other social media site. You can create a flyer about it and post that somewhere. You can send the into to your neighborhood listserve. You can bring an email sign up sheet to any event you’re attending or speaking at. And, if you’re not already blogging and using a clickable link at the end of your blogs as a sign up, you should do that every time.
- Other creative ways to share your opt-in include participating in an online summit, being a guest on a podcast, or including it in anything you write and pass out; books, pamphlets, hand-outs, brochures.
- Your opt-in on your website is the main home for it. Make sure it’s above the fold on your site when people arrive on your site. Don’t make them scroll for it!
- A powerful sentence about your freebie or the subscriber’s takeaway for signing up is all you need. Make it good.
- Experiment with opt-ins, freebies, sharing, etc…Just don’t let your perfectionism problem get in the way of you getting this out there. Trust. You can always change your mind and up-level later.
Whatever you do, start today
It took me a while to learn what I needed to learn to make my newsletter and list-building feel fun and good. The biggest mistake I made? Not starting sooner. I learned that email is your best chance to get in front of customers and prospective customers and as an author, it’s what makes up your platform when it comes to publishers having an interest in you. In general, the bigger the list, the better the numbers and the easier it will be to share and sell your gifts to the world.
Photo by Austin Chan on Unsplash
Remember, you were born, so you’re worthy. Your message and your gifts matter. The only way more people will come to know about you and those gifts is if you share them. Write your newsletters and let your best clients get to know you, your why, and your mission and purpose, and start leaving your legacy…today.
Need more help than what’s here? Feel free to shoot me an email and set up a free consultation! bewarriorlove@gmail.com
Wanna join my email list, become a part of the Brave Healer revolution, and get an idea of what I do every week? You can do that HERE!
Laura Di Franco, MPT won’t let you settle for a mediocre life. Your health, wealth and happiness is one Brave Healing book, poem, workshop, strategy session or moment away. With almost three decades of expertise in holistic physical therapy, six published books and a third-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, Laura’s energy and method are contagious and unlike anything you’re experienced. Check out her newest book, Brave Healing, a Guide for Your Journey, her badass programs and free Facebook group for healers. www.BraveHealer.com
