Mistake #8 (Re: Newsletters)

Newsletters are a great way to connect with people—

if done the right way.

Stage 1. I began with gracious friends and family, and still, in my anxiety, wrote super short newsletters. My angst grew when my website opened subscriptions to the public.

Stage 2. I researched “how to write a newsletter.” And quickly blundered into schtickland, i.e.: offering surveys or asking what people like to read. YAWN. And few people want an email that requires work. I know I don’t.

Stage 3. I studied actual newsletters in my industry. The best ones weren’t super short (or rambly) but did contain useful and/or interesting and/or funny and/or honest content. That was helpful. 

So I plugged along like the little-anxious-train-that-could and was rewarded with high open rates, few unsubscribes, and a little sleeplessness. 

Then the big shift happened: I stopped posturing as if I knew what I was doing. Phew. And I began to have fun. 

**I expected subscribers to drop like flies, but instead, they cared and engaged more. The right way for me is the fun way. Hallelujah! 

BONUS PITFALLS:

•  Avoid spammy words. For example, I used the subject line, “How to succ**d?” (Answer, “Beats me.”) And I try to limit the # of my images and use low-res so my emails don’t get clipped.
•  Learn the system of your newsletter provider. (No, I don’t know the best one.) For my first book launch, I sent a one-time mass email to everyone I knew and they all ended up on my permanent newsletter list. Signing someone up without their permission is illegal. What a mess. Speaking of illegal, public newsletters are required to have “unsubscribe” buttons.

Finally, as I grow in confidence—me, the shy woman at home in her pyjamas who suddenly has an audience—I risk swinging toward verbosity. Trust me, no reader cares that much, not even my mother. Shortish emails once a month are plenty between author events. Really.