I remember driving by our current house when it was for sale and thinking to myself, "Who would EVER buy that dump?!"
Spoiler alert. It was me. I ended up buying that dump about a month later.
Such is life when the Seattle housing market was (and still is) INSANE and homes were selling in less than 24 hours with no contingencies.
If you've ever turned a dilapidated house into a dream or even more liveable home, then you've got what it takes to construct a winning newsletter.
Just like a home renovation, launching a successful newsletter is all about planning, demolishing, reconstructing, and finally, unveiling your masterpiece.
So, pull on your metaphorical hard hat, and let's build your newsletter strategy brick by brick!
Surveying the Structure: Define Your Purpose and Audience
Before a single nail is hammered, you need a plan. Similarly, every newsletter begins with a detailed blueprint—its purpose and audience.
Your Newsletter Launch Checklist:
- The purpose is the structure you're going to renovate. Are you creating this newsletter to share your expert knowledge, promote your latest products, or build a bustling community around your brand?
- The audience is the future inhabitants of your newly renovated abode. What are their preferences, their pain points, and what kind of content are they eager to consume?
Remember, you're designing for the people who'll inhabit the space - your audience. This first step lays the groundwork for everything that follows, so it's critical to nail it down right.
These industries particularly stand to gain from a well-crafted newsletter:
- Real Estate: Highlight available properties, share home buying/selling tips, and provide market updates (I always open these!).
- Events: Sharing behind-the-scenes, exhibitor updates, product features (check out Planted Expo's newsletter here, however looking at that opt-in page, it needs to be updated -note to self!).
- SaaS & Tech Companies: Provide product updates, tips and tricks, and industry news.
- Retail: Promote sales, feature products, and share styling or usage tips.
- E-commerce: Highlight new products, offer exclusive discounts, and share user-generated content.
- Education: Share updates about curriculum, events, and accomplishments.
- Non-profits: Provide updates on ongoing projects, share success stories, and call for donations or volunteers.
- Healthcare: Share wellness tips, new medical research, and health industry news.
- Food Brands: Promote your products, share behind-the-scenes content, and invite followers to events (join Piquant Marketing's newsletter here).
- Health (Fitness & Nutrition): Provide workout ideas, nutritional tips, and success stories.
- Travel: Share travel tips, feature destinations, and offer package deals or discounts.
- Financial Services: Provide financial tips, industry news, and updates on services.
- Professional Services (Lawyers, Accountants, etc.): Share industry insights, case studies, and service offerings.
- Marketing Agencies/Consulting Services: Share marketing tips, case studies, and industry news.
Drafting the Plans: Design Your Content and Calendar
Now that you have a clear vision, you need a comprehensive architectural plan—your content strategy.
Just like a floor plan guides your renovation, your content calendar steers your newsletter creation process.
- Content: Consistency is the key to a well-planned renovation and the same goes for your newsletter. Regular, valuable content establishes your credibility, builds trust, and keeps your audience eagerly waiting for your next edition.
- Calendar: Creating a content calendar is like laying a project timeline for your renovation. It helps you organize your newsletter dispatches, ensures timely delivery, and maintains consistency.
Step-by-step process to create a content calendar:
- Choose a Format: A content calendar can be as simple as a spreadsheet or as complex as a tool integrated with your content management system. Choose a format that suits your team's workflow and your resources.
- Set Cadence: Decide whether you want to plan on a monthly, quarterly, or yearly basis. This can depend on the nature of your newsletter and the resources available.
- Set Publishing Dates: Decide on the frequency of your newsletter. It could be weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, etc. Then, mark these dates on your calendar.
- Brainstorm Topics: Based on your audience and your goals, brainstorm topics for each issue. It can be helpful to have a theme for each newsletter to give it a cohesive feel. Keep in mind annual seasons especially if these are important to your industry.
- Assign Responsibility: If you have a team, assign responsibility for each newsletter to ensure accountability.?
- Bonus Points for Creating KPIs: What can be measured can be improved. Be sure to add metrics to your monthly planning. You want to know what's working and what's not so you can iterate and improve.
Out with the Old, In with the Value
Blueprints in hand and calendar set, it's time to roll up your sleeves—it's demo day!
Just as you'd replace outdated fixtures and worn-out wallpapers, your newsletter should cut through the noise and deliver only?what adds value to your reader's life.
DELIVER ONLY WHAT ADDS VALUE
- Educational Content: Replace irrelevant fluff with meaningful, educational content. Share industry insights, best practices, and useful tips that help your readers excel in their endeavors.
- Entertaining Content: Paint those drab walls with vibrant, engaging content. Inject a dash of humor, share a fascinating anecdote, or include a captivating graphic.?
- Inspirational Content: Swap out that leaky roof with content that uplifts and motivates. Share success stories, challenges overcome, and insights that inspire your readers to take action.
The Reconstruction: Building Consistency
A quality renovation is all about consistent work and attention to detail. The same applies to your newsletter.
By delivering consistent value, you're slowly building a loyal readership, brick by brick.
- Quality: Strive for quality in each edition, like each brick in your construction. Make sure every article, tip, or graphic adds value to your readers.
- Frequency: Just as construction work follows a schedule, establish a regular newsletter frequency. Whether it's weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly, stick to your schedule.?We all have those emails we KNOW will be in our inboxes.
Adding the Finishing Touches: Crafting Effective Calls to Action (CTAs)
Choosing the perfect light fixture or doorknob can transform a room. Similarly, a newsletter isn't complete without a compelling Call to Action (CTA).?
Final Touches for Your CTAs:
- Strategic Placement: Place your CTAs where they make sense and flow naturally, like the placement of a bathtub in a bathroom and not in the middle of a living room. The best-converting placement is above the fold in an email, which means BEFORE anyone has to scroll down, that's where a CTA goes.
- Quantity: Strike a balance with your CTAs. Like not putting three faucets in one sink, don't overcrowd your newsletter with CTAs.?One or two is PLENTY per email. We want readers to be guided to ONE main action.
The Reveal: Review, Refine, and Invite Feedback
After months of painstaking work, it's time for the big reveal. Just like your beautifully renovated home, your newsletter is ready for a grand unveiling. But remember, the work doesn't stop here.?
The Big Reveal Checklist:
- Monitor Metrics: Keep a vigilant eye on your newsletter's open and click rates, like you'd inspect your newly laid foundation. This gives you an idea of what's working and what needs tweaking.
- Gather Feedback: Just like you'd ask guests for their opinion on your new living space, ask your readers for feedback. Let them guide your next steps. Feedback can be as simple as (my fav I've seen is from The Hustle by HubSpot):
- Continuous Improvement: Even after a home renovation, there's always something that needs fixing. The same goes for your newsletter. Based on feedback and metrics, tweak your strategy for continuous improvement.
Top 10 Email Clients (aka Platforms) for Businesses:
Explore more here, Klavio is one I'm particularly interested in experimenting with, mobile optimized to the max.
From Renovation to Revelation
Just like a home renovation, building a successful newsletter requires careful planning, consistent delivery of valuable content, engaging CTAs, and regular improvements based on feedback. But when the dust settles, and you step back to admire your newly renovated digital home, you'll see it was all worth it.
Every dollar spent on email marketing is an ROI of $42!!!!!
