Creating Newsletters Your Subscribers Want To Read
"What content should I focus on in my newsletter to justify disturbing my subscribers' peace?"
I recently came across this question from a small business owner who was struggling with exactly what they should put in their newsletter to make it so good their subscribers genuinely want to read it.
Now, I think this is a wonderful question because the majority of newsletters we receive are bad. More people should think twice before they push that publish button on their newsletters.
A lot of people raised an eyebrow at the term "disturbing the peace," but let's be real - a newsletter popping up in your inbox can definitely interrupt your flow.
If that phrase made you bristle a bit, I get it. But instead of feeling defensive or assuming that the person who originally asked this has a confidence problem (they don’t), I invite you to examine why that wording struck a chord before you do anything else.
Understanding Your Subscriber's Wants
When people sign up for your newsletter, they're basically saying, "I want and expect more of what caught my eye in the first place!" This is why it is crucial to figure out what that was.
By keeping a close eye on where your subscribers come from, and what content made them sign up for your email list in the first place, you’re in a great position to understand what content your subscribers want in the first place.
Still confused?
Let's break it down with a simple example from one of our clients:
Freebie: they have a freebie on the topic of burnout that people want.
Sign up: as part of getting the freebie delivered to their inbox, the end user chooses to opt-in to receive the newsletter.
It’s that simple. So what does this tell us? Their new subscribers are interested in (avoiding or recovering from) burnout, and they want free resources on the topic.
It’s specific enough to attract a specific audience and give you a good starting point for what content your newsletter can include, but it’s vague enough to leave a lot of the decisions up to you.
I’m talking about decisions like the format, what type of free resources, how you want to deliver a mix of free and paid content or offers, the style, the tone of voice, the length, and whatever else that will have a big impact on how much you as the newsletter creator will enjoy the process of writing newsletters.
Navigating the Unknown: Finding What Subscribers Really Want
When you’re trying to decide what content you want in your newsletter, it’s important to remember that your newsletter, as any other piece of content, should start with your ideal customer’s wants and needs.
You have to be customer-centric to write engaging newsletters that your subscribers actually want to open and read.
It’s not about what you want to tell them, but what they want to hear.
When you analyze where your subscribers are coming from and what kind of content triggered them to sign up you ensure that your starting point is customer-centric. It’s centered around what you know your subscribers are interested in.
By consistently delivering content that aligns with what subscribers signed up for, you are already ahead of the game compared to those who just spam out generic sales pitches or regurgitate social media content.
Flexibility is Key: Tailoring Your Approach
Keep in mind, there's no one-size-fits-all formula here. The approach we’ve laid out above is just one of many paths available to you.
At the end of the day, a successful newsletter finds that sweet spot between delivering value and respecting your subscriber’s digital behavior. This is why it’s so important to have clarity around your target audience, ideal customer, and your offerings.
If you found this post valuable, I invite you to sign up for our newsletter where - you guessed it - you’ll get more of this type of content delivered to your inbox, but only when we feel like we have something truly valuable to share with you.
