How to Evolve a Newsletter
What do you need to know before launching--or changing--a newsletter?
This one’s for everyone. Especially if you’ve been here a while OR you’re developing your own newsletter. But enough preamble. It’s story time …
When I started up my newsletter in circa 2020, I was trying to get into the ebook game. “Start a newsletter,” the gurus said. “That’s how you’ll get new readers and eventually, buyers.”
They weren’t completely wrong. I know this sounds superdy-duperdy salesy but newsletters tend to have a better sales conversion rate than other forms of content.
Starting a newsletter is easy. Growing it and keeping it is much, much more difficult. Especially when you need to change it…
Know Your Topic
Before you start a newsletter, you really need to have a good grip on your topic. Some might call this your Why, your Niche. But it’s best to start and stick with a focus.
When I first started up The (New)sletter, this was my first failure. (I know, I know … terrible name. But I thought it was so clever at the time.) First off, the name is so vague, you don’t know what it’s about.
The name wasn’t the main problem, though. My content was all over the place:
Thoughts on writing.
Ebook Promotions.
Updates on my various writing projects … some which totally stalled out and became non-news.
But then I became disenchanted with the whole ebook hustle. It just wasn’t for me.
So I quit the newsletter for quite a while, too.
When I resurrected it, I did so through my business Wordrobe Media once I went full-time with it.
I rebranded it as The ForWord Writers Newsletter, more as a placeholder name because I knew I just needed to get content out there. The name is still too vague and I never intended to keep it even this long but I haven’t quite landed on the next name yet.
Now I’m rotating the focus a little more because storytelling is bigger than just writing. You honestly don’t have to be a great writer or storyteller to sell products. People create awful copy every day that sells products.
But how do you build a true connection? How do you leverage your Story to make an impact? That’s where this newsletter is headed …
Know Your Audience
Frankly, most of my subscribers came from (and for) the ebook promotions—especially the free ones. Which is why I quickly grew from 0 to about 2500 subscribers in a couple of months despite not having a major following anywhere.
But the problem with having an audience who only comes for free stuff is, well, they’re really difficult to convert into buyers. They want everything to be free.
I get it. Me too. I love free stuff. Until I realize how much I like to get paid. Totally changed how I consume “free” content.
I realized I wanted to shift my audience away from the ebook freeloaders to people who are interested in how writing can help them grow, both personally and professionally. I wanted to encourage others who wanted to monetize their writing, even if that just meant they got better at writing emails.
Seeing how my audience needed to change, I literally told people to unsubscribe … and many did. At the time of writing this, my numbers hover a little over 1,600. And I will probably lose some people with this one.
But the people who are here are more engaged—and even those of you who are more readers than writers have stuck around because you seem to enjoy learning “how the sausage gets made,” as it were.
So if that’s you, then you’re going to love where the newsletter is headed next. And if it’s not you, that’s okay too. Peace be upon you and thanks for riding along for part of the journey!
Know Your Delivery
Now you know your Topic, your Audience, how do you deliver your content?
I started out using MailerLite because it integrated well with the ebook platform I was using (BookFunnel) and it was pretty user-friendly.
But during the hiatus, I moved my website to Squarespace and started building my blog there. Resurrecting the newsletter was the next step and since Squarespace had tools for emailing a newsletter (at a price), it was the most efficient solution.
But to be honest, it wasn’t really doing much. I’m sure it works for some people but it was a bit cumbersome and it wasn’t helping me bring in any new readers.
Then came the transition to Substack.
Part of it was a financial decision because I wanted a way to cut expenses and Substack is mostly free to me. But I also like that they help bring the right readers to you and have more tools available like Notes and even podcast linking.
For now, I’m committed to keeping Substack here. I like that people can still get it in their email and don’t need a Substack to engage … but I also kind of like the people I see around here.
Know Where You’re Headed
Last—but certainly not least—you’ve got to know where you’re headed with a newsletter when you both start it and evolve it.
In the beginning, I was hoping it would help be sell ebooks. But now, I’d rather it be a resource hub for people.
Which brings us to the next evolution of this Newsletter.
My business has continued to shift more into the realm of Storytelling and helping people find their Inner Storytellers. In fact, that’s the focus of my new book Start With Story which is coming out later this year (currently in final revisions).
The most successful posts here have largely been focused on resources.
So I’ve taken note and want to make a more resource-rich experience.
In the near future, you’ll see a shift with the content here. I’ll be recommending various resources, including content from other creators.
As part of that endeavor, I’ll also be starting up a podcast about the business of storytelling which will parallel the content here. Not only will it have my own thoughts, but I’ll be featuring guests who can share their insights on various aspects of storytelling so we can learn together.
Once I’ve got that going, paid subscribers will be able to get access to those episodes early OR there may be some extended episodes only available for subscribers. If you have an opinion on which sounds better to you, then let me know.
Until next time, keep moving forward!
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