Writing Newsletters That Build Community and Connection

There are so many poorly done newsletters/email campaigns. As someone who turned an organization's newsletter w/ 15-20% open rates (quarterly) into two weekly newsletters each with consistently 65-70% open rate for years, I've learned a lot of lessons. Here's how to make your email something your audience can't wait to read: -Find the anti-pattern -5x value rule -Get over yourself, focus on delight -Trash compactor mindset -Only serve your fans What these mean: 1. Find the anti-pattern Figure out what your audience is craving for, that difference that would be so refreshing they would exhale when they learn about what you write. When I worked my first VC job, most VC fund newsletters were self-congratulatory announcements about portfolio company raises, investor press mentions, and occasionally a thoughtful piece. Pattern: Self-promotion in service of fund promotion. Anti-pattern: Zero self-promotion, only pure value given. Figure out what everybody does that is bad, and flip the script. 2. 5x value rule A lot of writers lack the humility to consider the fact that their idea/message/offer is simply just not as valuable as they think. When marketers/writers ask me for feedback, I tell them to consider what they think would be enough to get someone to care about their writing. Then 5x that bar. Make it so high a bar for value that it would be an "of course" decision for someone to read/respond/share about your stuff. 3. Get over yourself, focus on delight. It is obvious when newsletters are written with a KPI/explicit transactional goal in mind. Impress LPs to get them to invest. Convert those customers to subscribe for a plan. Get people to request meetings with you. If you provide delight in their experience of your product, the results will come. What would you do if you only want to make them as delighted as possible by your email every time they read it, without any conversion needed? Do that. The conversions will come. 4. Trash compactor mindset Remove the excess volume from your emails. I don't just mean concision in terms of length. Every marginal word you write should provide something of value - learning, insight, engagement, social proof, etc. If the next sentence doesn't raise or maintain the average value per word of your piece, don't include it. That might mean segment your audiences with different versions. Every sentence is a chance for the reader to lean in, or for them to rationalize why this is the last one of yours that they will read. 5. Only serve your fans. Don't try to get people onto your newsletter for subscriber-growth-sake. Every subscriber should be on your distribution because they make the active choice to become an audience member. If you had to describe what you write about and someone wouldn't automatically sign up, don't do it for them. Make something that will be shared word-of-mouth that will get them anyway. Opt-out list building does not make up for a low bar for content.

If I had to build my 60,000+ subscriber newsletter again from scratch today Here’s the 6 things I’d do ⬇️ Story time: starting my newsletter I went against a lot of best practices and yet I grew to 60,000 subscribers and over $180k in sponsor revenue in year 2. Sharing my tips below… ➡️ 1. The 50 Subject Line test Most newsletters fail because they pick a topic they *should* talk about and not something they are passionate about talking about. If you can’t write the newsletter for a year, you won’t see significant money. Sit down and write 50 subject lines about all the things you’d want to write about. Then categorize them and figure out who would benefit from those. ➡️ 2. Th 10 person survey I’d next find 10 people who fit that description and ask if you could send the first few newsletters to them for feedback. This gets you into the rhythm of producing while ensuring your format resonates. ➡️ 3. The 6 month test Once you’ve received feedback, I’d commit to a 6 month test of one format. Most newsletters fail because they simply can’t stay consistent. Sponsors and subscribers are looking for stability. Build the muscle of showing up. ➡️ 4. The 90/10 sales rule Most of you are starting a newsletter as a sales vehicle to your products…. And that’s OK but I’m starting to see newsletters that don’t add any value. They just sell. Focus on 90% value. 10% sales. This increases your referrals because no one refers commercials but they do refer documentaries. ➡️ 5. Network effects There are two network effects I’d focus on right from the beginning: - who do I know that reaches my audience on social? - who do I know that reaches my audience via email? Find 5 people in both cohorts who is just a few steps ahead of you and ask for a shoutout in exchange for a dedicated promotion of their product when you hit 10,000 subscribers. Here’s a sample script to steal: Hey ______! I love your content about X helping Y achieve Z. 6 months ago I started a newsletter helping those same people solve the following pain points: - pain point - pain point - pain point I’m now confident in the format, value and feedback I’ve received and looking to partner with a few people to help cross promote each other’s content. I know I’m a few steps behind you so I’d do a promo now and then again when I hit 10k as part of my 10k celebration! Here’s the copy for the promotion so you can see what (newsletter) is all about: Insert Promo copy Let me know what you think! Appreciate you, Name ➡️ 6. Inject yourself Many newsletters miss the opportunity to build emotional connection with their audience. Ways to build connection: - images - life updates - stories Those are the 6 things I’d do if I was starting my newsletter again today from scratch before I ever touched paid marketing. Let me know what you think!

Many people still think email newsletters are for sharing updates. If you want to grow an engaged list that enjoys listening to you... Your emails should be focused on the reader - not you. Here are five mindset shifts you should make if you want your email newsletter to grow your business 👇 → Focus on giving, not asking When your intention is to help people > Give them value. Teach something. Entertain them. They'll want to read your emails. Instead of asking for something. Give more. And, see what happens. → Forget what you want to say and think, 'what do they want to hear?' An easy trick is to write down every question someone asks you. Check your call recordings. Social media comments. Conversations with clients. And notice what they're after... What do they want to know? What are they interested in? What are they struggling with? Now you have topics worth reading for your newsletters. → Stop worrying about impressing and focus on connecting Who cares about what recent awards or achievements you've made... Sure, it's good for credibility, but you don't have to talk about it all. the. time. Instead of trying so hard to impress people with your - knowledge - status - accolades Focus on connecting. ✨ How can you better connect with your audience? How can you be real, authentic, and vulnerable? People want to read newsletters from those they feel connected with. Focus on being that person. → Instead of going long and deep, focus on the most important parts People are busy and don't need to spend more time reading emails. You might want to write a long newsletter. But, make it easy to consume. Make it - skimable - snackable - powerful How much value can people grab in just 3 minutes? If it's a lot, you're golden. → You can be as niche as you want I know you see LinkedIn creators broadcasting to join 100,000+ people on their newsletter, and sure, that's awesome and everything... But, you don't need a ton of subscribers to be successful with your email newsletter. Actually, the more high-quality leads you have signing up the better. You don't need everybody and their mom to read it. Just focus on helping one kind of person. More subscribers aren't everything. The right subscribers who resonate matter more. ----- What mindset shift do you think is the most important? 👇 --- If we haven't met yet, Hi! 👋 I'm Michelle, a story-driven and conversion-focused ghostwriter for coaches and consultants. If you're into authentic marketing and using the power of words to grow your business, make sure to follow Michelle Pitcher. 🚀