Behind the Scenes: Crafting Your Weekly Newsletter

Today, in 4 minutes or less, you'll learn:   

1. The key steps I follow to write and publish your weekly newsletter. 
2. Tips for your newsletter journey and connecting with your community.  
3. Why an email list can be such a valuable asset for your business.

Connecting with you through our weekly newsletter has been a truly rewarding experience! Each week, I dedicate time to crafting content that empowers you to push forward in creating and growing your online businesses. I fill my content with strategies, tips, and tools you can implement, and I hope it gives you lots of encouragement and inspiration – you can create the business of your dreams!  

In this newsletter, I will explain the key steps I follow each week to publish my newsletter and provide some tips for publishing your own. Let's take a look.   

Behind the Scenes: How I Create Your Weekly Newsletter    

1. Brainstorming and idea generation: I am constantly scanning for new newsletter ideas, and much of what I write about has come from working with or chatting with mums about starting their businesses. I write down these ideas as I go (or save them in Trello) so when I sit down, I have a lot of ideas I can start working with. This previous newsletter about conquering writer's block may also give you lots of topic brainstorming ideas.   
2. Writing and editing: I start by drafting the newsletter in an online document, which allows me to organise my thoughts and ensure clarity. After writing, I run my work through Grammarly to catch any errors. I then copy the email across to Kajabi.    
3. Subject and preview lines: I spend time crafting an attention-grabbing subject line in the hope you will open my email and engage with the content. I also send a test email to check that you can see the whole subject line (especially on mobile).   
4. Calls to action: each newsletter includes a call to action, such as links to my latest blog posts, my website, or simply an invitation to reply to the email.    
5. Publishing newsletter: at the publishing stage, I complete the following tasks -   
   • I publish a blog post with my newsletter content on my website so that the newsletter can be read there (enabling new readers to find the newsletter later).   
   • I set up my newsletter using a template I have saved on Kajabi.   
   • I test the newsletter by sending it to myself first, checking the formatting of the email and subject line and testing web links in the email.   
   • I then schedule the newsletter for the following Monday at 7 am.    

Tips for Your Newsletter Journey       

If you decide to connect with your community through a newsletter, consider these tips:    

• Research and subscribe: subscribe to other newsletters, read blogs, and listen to podcasts to see what resonates with you and your audience.    
• Personalisation: can be beneficial, and most email platforms allow you to enter your customer's name throughout your email copy (it will automatically draw it from your saved contacts).   
• Keep it simple: don't overwhelm yourself. Start with a basic design and high-quality content. You can always enhance the design later.    
• Get creative: add banners, images, videos, links, and affiliate products. I have added my email signature graphic to the bottom of my email. Test different styles and see what works best for you. Also, test these on multiple email platforms to ensure more creative emails are not treated as spam (you can always be more creative on your website, blog, and social media).    
• Monitor engagement: watch opens, clicks, and unsubscribe statistics. Ensure your emails don't end up in junk folders.    

A well-crafted newsletter can be a powerful tool to connect with your community and drive your business forward. Building an email list can also be a powerful asset for your business as you can have a direct line of communication with your community, regardless of the current status of social media algorithms. Relying solely on social media can expose you to any changes the big social media companies make, which so many business owners have experienced over the past few years (primarily as the big companies have focused on monetising their platforms and prioritising paid advertising).  

Keep experimenting and finding what resonates most with you and your audience. Have fun with it, too. You've got this!