One of the most common questions I get from bloggers and makers is, “I have an email list that I've never sent to. How do I start? And what do I send them?”
I've been in your shoes, and it can feel really intimidating when you're stuck in limbo. So many bloggers, creative small-business owners and freelancers know that email marketing is important. They've even started an email list, but are wasting time and energy worrying about what they're doing, or are taking no action at all.
Today, I'm going to change that. This post is written specifically to help you.
How did sending out email newsletters become a thing?
Email marketing started because it's an incredibly effective way of reaching your people and knowing they're going to see your email. But before there were emails, there were real, physical papers that businesses would send out like tiny newspapers.
The idea behind this is simple: people need to feel sure before they'll purchase. If they see your name and feel aligned with your business, staying in touch with them increases the likelihood that when they need something you can help with, you'll pop into their minds. Effectively, people need to remember you and know they can trust you before they'll trust you with their money.
Here's where coaches, business owners, and the like get confused, but any email you send to your list can do this, and it doesn't have to be different than a weekly blog post.
Back when paper newsletters were the only way to reliably reach people at home, printing was expensive and businesses had to pay up front! So to save space, businesses would jam them full of seasonal information.
Emails are affordable, much more targeted, and we can use them to build trust without bombarding our readers with long updates that are usually more about news and sales than about addressing our customers' needs. And I'm not immune, because as a beginner I fell into the same trap! I didn't know that a simple newsletter could be much more effective and helpful.
Here's how a simpler newsletter – like sending out a weekly post and occasional special messages – will help you and your readers.
You don't train your readers to tune you out. Sending an email full of news and updates might make you feel good, but let's think about what it feels like to the reader.
Getting a big email full of information that may or may not apply to you is like going to play catch. Instead of being tossed a tennis ball, picture having a bucket of tennis balls thrown at you.
Just imagine how you'd react for a moment. I'll wait.
In your mind, are you hiding? Maybe a few of you are slow-motion karate chopping them out of the air like a 1980's power ranger? That's what your readers are doing too – only they're either quickly going from reading, to skimming, to deciding not to read, or they're actively ignoring your message.
Sure, some might try to keep up, but it's a losing battle when there are more effective ways to play. If emails are the same as playing catch, why not send one that connects, and repeat that? Soon you'll be remembered as someone who's great at helping your people succeed, and that's a win for everyone.
And if your blog isn't what you want your ideal blog to be? Or if you haven't written to your list in forever? Start writing your dream blog and get those email updates scheduled today! You don't need to issue any press releases, or rename your blog, or change your domain name – those are productive-feeling methods of procrastination. If your list has been dormant for a long time (like over a year) you may want to trash it and start new, but having a high unsubscribe rate at first is completely fine if you know to expect it. And you can always write a few ultra-convincing posts asking interested readers to join a new list if that feels better to you.
Just as an experiment, start writing today, no matter what your blog is now. Soon you'll have a little content cushion, and lots of reasons to celebrate. You'll already be further along than many ever get.
Can we call this a newsletter-versus-blog post mystery solved? Or are you unconvinced?
As always, share what you think in the comments. I'm curious to read what you think.
LAST UPDATED ON: May 12th, 2015
CATEGORY: Content Marketing Strategy
Yikes, newsletters terrify me! I can create a super layout and write a great one for others, but for some reason I am hesitant to set one up for myself. I currently post twice a week and my rss email subscribers get those articles that day. I have a 50% open rate and a 35% click rate, which I think is pretty good? I am happy with that and not sure what I would put in a newsletter and if it would be as well received. Hmmm.
That’s great Kim, what I would say is that you already have a newsletter! What you’re doing already is a newsletter, especially since you can see your open and click rates. So many bloggers don’t think of what they’re doing as a newsletter, but just sending your posts out by email and having that list stored somewhere is the perfect jumping off point for sending them extra emails here and there about other opportunities to work with you, or to support what you’re doing. You’re even more legit than you knew! :)
Scary it’s like you heard my thoughts (Something along the line “I really should do something with that email list, I really should start sending newsletters, I really should figure out what the best way to do this, I really should stop finding excuses not to do it” etc etc etc)
Shoulda Shoulda Shoulda.. Will do-a! :-)
Yea! I love hearing that, Sieb. It’s so easy to focus on other things that feel more urgent, but often the really important things that can make a huge impact on our lives can slip by. Let’s take a stand and put those blog posts to better use by getting them out to your email list!
So far, I’ve sent out three newsletters (one per month), and thankfully, each time I’ve had fairly big news. I’m terrified the month will come when I don’t have exciting or interesting news, and from what I hear from other authors, that fear is pretty common.
There’s things I love to talk about that don’t fit neatly into my blog categories–like travel, writing, and marketing tips–so as a value add, I try to include those in my newsletter. People keep signing up, I have a great open rate (well above MailChimp’s list average), and the only person to unsubscribe was a vengeful friend (long story). So I hope I’m on the right track!
I guess only time will tell. I do wish I had a little more engagement from my list, though. Even with contests and asking for feedback, I don’t get much. Any suggestions?
That’s great, Holli! What I’d suggest if you’re afraid of that is sending out your blog posts to your list instead of sending out a summary with a lot of little pieces of news. That way, when something exciting happens you can send it as an exciting additional highlight, but you don’t feel like you’re letting them down by “just” writing fascinating, exciting fiction that’s exactly what your readers want you to be focused on! If you worry that you would be sending out too many posts by doing that, you can always check your numbers after a month and see if it made a difference, and potentially scale back on your blog while scaling up on your writing work, and then see what that does to your numbers. If you’re happy with it as-is, then that’s great – but your list is a living and breathing thing, and being willing to play with it a little to see what works best for your audience is a helpful (if scary!) muscle to build.
I agree with Keetha on a few points. With the exception of a few, I throw most e-mail newsletters in the trash bin. This has made me procrastinate on the e-mail newsletter thing.
I want to put more thought into it first because it is definitely about what the readers want. As a reader myself, I know most newsletters, haven’t impressed me. So glad you wrote this!
I am still up in the air on what to write too. Blog posts, easy! Newsletters, kind of a fun but doable challenge if I put my mind to it. Thanks Kyla! :-)
You and Keetha make a great point, Laurali. No one wants content that doesn’t connect in their inbox! My perspective is that if you feel like blogging is easy you’ve already got what it takes to feel that way about your newsletter! And even better, unless advertising income is a big part of your income, you can start spending more time on what you post (so you’d have time to do audience research and dive into what your readers really want) and post less without it effecting your bottom line because you’re providing more value and building trust more actively when you have a newsletter. As someone who started my newsletter very late in the life of my blog, it’s been a huge help and let me make more for my clients and readers by getting off the hamster wheel of constant posting I felt I had to do when I was more of a lifestyle blogger. It’s definitely not the only way to Internet (lol) but its been really helpful to me in a number of ways. Thanks for sharing your perspective and experience, I appreciate it!
Thanks, Kyla! I appreciate your feedback. I do have some cool ideas for an e-mail, based on a few I’ve seen that I do actually like and keep. Maybe I can take what I like, the best attributes, and use it to make my own.
P.S.
I like yours! :-)
Thanks Laurali, I’m glad that you like mine! I appreciate you reading and commenting. Don’t hesitate to be in touch! :)
Laurali, I found what you had to say about newsletters really interesting. Can you pinpoint what you like about the ones you read and enjoy?
As someone with a very young newsletter, I would love to know what you find worth reading.
This post brought up some great points, and I definitely nodded along to a lot of them – like not knowing what to write about in a newsletter or blog post, so instead I just … don’t.
I tend to be quite literal and I have to say that I felt like the solution was kind of glossed over – all you have to do is write content that connects! What if you don’t know what that is?
Sometimes I have ideas for posts and newsletter issues, although I get hemmed up right away by wondering what content to put where — in the newsletter or on the blog? — and tend to quickly dismiss an ideas as, “No one would be interested.”
It’s easy to do that because, honestly, I get a lot of boring email newsletters. Newsletters that are nothing but sales pitches for a course or ebook or system or workbook. Newsletters that have the same images and witty quotes and captions that that person already posted on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, so there’s nothing new there. I don’t want to do that to my subscribers! So I find I don’t do … anything.
Again, thanks for *your* newsletter and this blog post. It definitely got me to thinking. :-)
You’re exactly right, Keetha. Writing content that connects is the absolute hardest part. That’s something I’m passionate about teaching and I’m going to post about it! I’m trying not to do it all in one post & share pieces of my perspective that are digestible in one sitting. I feel like I’ve been in a similar place to you before. It’s so tempting to not send anything when you’re not sure if it’s the exact right thing for your audience.
What I would say is just that your trying to figure that out by posting to your blog and sending that out by email – even when it’s not perfectly strategized or completely on target – still puts you in a much better position than waiting to send does. When you keep working on your content, with your audience giving you feedback, you can learn so much and build stronger relationships with the readers who love what you do and want to support you.
I’d love to work on this with you since you feel like this didn’t quite hit the spot for you- you’re exactly who I want to help! If you email me at kyla@kylaroma.com I’d love to brainstorm this with you one on one if you’re interested so you can tackle your newsletter without feeling like its part guesswork!
Kyla, thank you! I’d love to get in touch!
That’s great to hear. I’m looking forward to hearing from you and learning more about what you do. Talk soon!