Whether you’re a creative, an entrepreneur, or have a platform of any kind, you should have an email list and be sending out newsletters.
Why? Email is one of the best ways to engage with your audience.
Email has the ability to offer exclusivity (because people have to opt in to your list). You can skip the fight with social media algorithms to be seen by your audience.
You also have the opportunity to be quite personal with your newsletter. My newsletter, Wired & Inspired, is where I get to share some of my most fun and creative content.
If there’s one thing about Wired & Inspired, it’s that it’s never going to be boring.
So if you have an email list or want to start sending more newsletters, here’s the number one question you’re probably asking yourself…
What the heck do I write in my newsletter?
If you’re just starting out on your email marketing journey, here’s one of the most important things you need to remember:
The main point of sending a regular newsletter is to simply remind people that you exist.
Sure, once you get the hang of it, grow your list, and start developing more offers, then you can dig into some more refined email marketing tactics to really sell your different offers.
But if you’re still figuring out consistency with your newsletter, remember that showing up is the most important thing right now.
And here are some creative ways to show up for your email list.
1. Practice your storytelling skills
This is my MO here, and honestly, it’s the one I recommend the most.
Storytelling is a great skill to develop because people are basically guaranteed to be engaged. You’ll never send a boring newsletter if you commit to storytelling.
“But I don’t have any stories that are relevant to my business!”
Yes, you do. You just need to make them relevant to your business.
Here are a couple stories I’ve shared with my newsletter subscribers:
– How I retired a cult joke I used to make on discovery calls
– Becoming the captain of my middle school swim team
– A terrible play I was in during college
– Fighting with my sister about book recommendations
– A personal trainer I definitely didn’t hire
And I was able to turn all of these stories into a relevant lesson about marketing, copywriting, or business.
Anything can be a relevant story to promote your business. Your newsletter is the perfect place to refine those storytelling skills.
In fact, for any of the following ideas, just assume I’m advising you to plug it into a storytelling framework.
Got it? Good.
2. Share a client success story
Great! Another opportunity to practice your storytelling skills!
Sharing a juicy client success story can be a great way to promote your services, as well as inspire people to take action on the goals they have.
Here’s a simple formula you can use to tell your client’s story:
1) The problem they had
2) The process you took to help them
3) The results they got from working with you
Top it all off with a brief but powerful testimonial in their own words, and you have an inspiring story to share with your subscribers.
3. Give a peek behind-the-scenes
Give a brief walkthrough of something you do in your business or work you do for your brand.
Including some screenshots, pictures, or time lapses of you working can be a great idea too.
Taking your audience along with you and showing the details they wouldn’t otherwise have access to can be great trust building content.
4. A day in the life
This can be as detailed as a minute-by-minute itinerary of your day, or simply a screenshot of your Google calendar.
Explaining how you structure your day, what goes into your work, or how things can sometimes get off-schedule (if you’re me) is content that other nosy people will enjoy.
It can also give people some insight into what goes into a profession like yours, since they’ll likely not understand what an expert [insert your business here] does each day.
5. Monthly recap
Highs and lows of the month. Content you created or worked on. Projects you finished.
Even just sharing what did and didn’t work for you that month (in life or business) can be a great newsletter idea.
Making this a series means that you’ll always have at least 1 newsletter idea sorted each month too.
6. What’s inspiring you in life or business right now
This is what I do in Wired & Inspired!
I have a section talking about my inspiration for the week. Usually it’s just a couple bullet points talking about books, movies, articles, albums, or random findings on the internet I enjoy.
I don’t keep it super related to business, since I like to take inspiration from all types of mediums, which I feel makes me a better writer.
7. Listicles or top-ten list
Sharing a list of helpful resources or a top-ten list can be super valuable content for your subscribers.
If you’re able to grow your list quite a bit, you could even offer some of these spots for sponsors, but if you’re just starting out, be sure you focus on providing valuable content first.
8. Your perspective on a current event or pop culture moment
Again, this is something I love to do in my newsletter. (I look for any excuse to talk about Taylor Swift, or more recently, Chappell Roan.)
Talking about something current or pop culture related is guaranteed to help you find common ground with your readers.
9. Feature a guest or do a newsletter swap
Running out of ideas for your newsletter? Just get someone else to write it.
JK, it’s not as easy as that. However, featuring a guest in your newsletter and having them write about a topic they’re an expert in is a great way to share value with your readers that you might not have yourself.
If you can do a newsletter swap, that would be even better. If you and another business owner have similar audiences, it can help both your businesses by exposing you to similar subscribers. Simply include a link in each newsletter for subscribers to get on your list, and it should be a helpful exchange of value for you both.
10. Create a character for your newsletter
THIS is definitely something more businesses need to get on!
Creating a character, or using an alter ego, for some of your newsletter content is definitely the opposite of boring.
I don’t want to dig into this too much, (because I haven’t done it… yet) but it could be a fun way to get a different tone of voice in your writing.
For example, if you’re super approachable and relatable, the character you create could be the opposite – a tough love, no BS kind of voice. This character can handle topics that might be a bit different from what you normally talk about.
If you do this, please let me know, ok?
11. Add an advice column
Coaches! This is a great idea for your newsletters!
It’s a great way to share your perspective and expertise with questions your audience is facing in real time. Plus, you’d always have a guaranteed bank of content for your newsletter.
12. Answer some FAQs
While you should definitely have FAQs on your website, like on a services page, why not answer them in a newsletter too?
You can even get specific on topics that you don’t normally get to go into. For example, as a website copywriter, I might answer FAQs on SEO optimization. It’s something I cover in my projects, but not always in my website copy. It’s still incredibly relevant to my audience, though.
13. Upcoming events, releases, or educational materials
If you’re involved in your community (whether that’s online or in person) it’s a great idea to give recommendations you know your community will also be into.
Books, conferences, networking events, or webinars are all relevant things to include in your emails list.
14. Follow a monthly or quarterly theme
If you pick a theme or series to follow for your newsletter, it can help streamline your ideas.
For example, if you’re an interior designer, and you know that you’re focusing on paint colors for the entirety of September, you’ll have plenty of ideas to pull from. It helps get you out of analysis paralysis when you already have a broad topic for you.
15. Just brain dump – but make it entertaining
Sometimes just speaking about what’s on your mind, but writing it effectively, can be enough to keep the troops entertained.
If there’s something on your mind, write it! Maybe your audience will relate to you.
Remember, showing up for your newsletter is more important than getting it perfect every time
And in case it wasn’t obvious yet, you should subscribe to my newsletter.
Subscribe: The Wired & Inspired Newsletter
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