While you are in the process of creating your website or blog, it is really important to start thinking about a newsletter you can offer – whether weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly – to your followers.
Study after study shows that newsletters can create a loyal following and repeat sales.
And the good news is, newsletters are fast, easy, and can be a fun way to get creative. BUT if you’re not creative, don’t worry – you don’t have to be!
A few things to think about before you start designing:
- What is the purpose of your newsletter? Do you want to put together a document to keep readers updated on your industry? Do you want this to be more of a personal newsletter on your interests, recommended products, etc.? Get a good sense of your objectives and goals.
- Sit down and brainstorm every potential component you can think of that could be included in your newsletter – tips, jokes, quotes, testimonials, videos, articles, etc. Make this list as long as possible (research what others have done for more ideas) and then refine your list down to the elements that get YOU excited. If you aren’t excited about what you’re doing, it’ll never get done. Alright, I’ll just give you my list and you can expand from there…
- Table of contents
- Intro paragraph/letter to readers
- Quote of the week
- What’s new with (YourName)
- Upcoming teleseminars, webinars, events (yours or others in the industry)
- (YourName) recommends section (books, IM products, events, etc.)
- Fill in the blank formula (tip + few paragraph explanation)
- Tips from the top (you + other experts)
- Fun facts
- Write how-to articles
- Resources within your market (links to other’s sites/blogs, affiliate links)
- Quiz (multiple choice)
- Interview (bullets of the interview or transcribe)
- Video of the week (if a digital version)
- Updates in the industry
- New product launches/JV opportunities
- ______ in Review (Week, product, quarter, etc.)
- Statistics
- Inspirational Thought/Message
- Photos you’ve taken
- Mission statement
- Add volume and issue number
- Guest articles or blog posts
- Forum Q&A of interest
- Lists (5 rules/tips, etc.)
- Preview of next newsletter
- Ask (YourName) section (they email in questions, and you answer)
- Integrate “Send to a Friend”
- Add “you can use this on your site if you add (this sentence/paragraph about me) to your post”
- Case Studies
- Call to action
- Coupon for a percentage off your product or service
- Refer a friend section
- Celebrity profile (top IMs)
- Humor – joke of the week
Next, consider what format you want for your newsletter.
- You can do a plain text format which is easy, fast, and has good deliverability in email accounts – but, it’s a little boring because there are no graphics or creative ways to break up the text.
- HTML newsletters are a lot more fun because you can adjust the theme, colors, and layout – but, some email accounts only accept text emails so your email may appear messy.
- You could also create your newsletter in a word processor (like Microsoft Word) and publish it as a PDF. This can give you a little more of a professional feel and you have complete creative control as well.
- Or, do you want this to be a downloadable newsletter to send to people via email or post on a website? Or will this be a printed newsletter that you mail to your customers?
If you’ve written in the past for articles or blogs, you know that writer’s block can set in and deter you from producing a finished product. I suggest writing out a list of ideas – article topics that you can put into a document and pull out when you need a little shove in the right direction.
Frustrated with the design process or feeling a wave of procrastination in getting started? Go to your favorite search engine and type in “free newsletter templates” and bingo! – You’ve got instant motivation and a fill-in-the-blank template you can go to town with. Or, send me a quote request and I would be happy to help design and execute your newsletter.
Start with brainstorming about topics and elements you can put into your newsletter, then finish up with designing the template. Newsletters can be fun and rewarding (both personally and financially). Enjoy it!
