Often times I hear many service providers and service based business owners say, "I really need to start sending email newsletters, but I just don't have the time and never know what to say!" And first I just want to validate you in that feeling because I started there, too and thought the same damn thing!
I've gone down the email newsletter rabbit hole when I first decided on starting a one. I've probably listened to HUNDREDS of hours of podcast episodes, YouTube videos on strategies when writing a newsletter, and even PAID for a course specifically on this topic.
Do you want to know what I found after all of this? Well, maybe three things.
Number one: don't overcomplicate it.
Number two: just get started.
And number three: the size of your list doesn't matter. It's about quality over quantity.
I don't want you to get bogged down in the research of it all and thinking it has to be perfect because you even start. So, in honor of staying on brand with The Efficiency Boutique, I am going to make this as simple as possible for you, and share with you the 3 most important elements you need when crafting an email newsletter for your subscribers (well, the most important in my opinion anyway).
1. Tell A Story
The first thing I want you to think about when crafting an email is telling a story. You can use something you've heard from a podcast, a client you've worked with, read from a book, or even saw from an Instagram Reel or YouTube video/short.
Think of something that you can tell a story about, and then relate it back to your business, or your readers, and then, if you can as a bonus, offer supporting content or tips that go along with that story.
Here's an example of what I did:
I wrote an email to my own email list telling a story about how I felt "catfished" by a pretty big organizing company. The subjust line of the email said, "How to tackle the laundry piles". I opened the email only disappointed to find that it had no "how-to's" at all, only promotions of their organizing products.
So, after telling this story, I then wrote ACTUAL tips on how we can actually tackle laundry piles.
Because of the things I said in this email, I got replies from readers saying things like, "I hate this!" or "Thanks for the actual tips!". Telling storeis sparks emotions and feelings in readers so it is another way to connect with them and have them feel like they know more of you also.
2. Break It Up
The second thing to keep in mind when drafting your email newsletters is to make it easy to read by breaking up text with images or GIFs. Something else to mention here is that email newsltters should not be that long. I've found that 300-500 words is the sweet spot.
So when writing your email, try to keep your text in short, easy to digest blocks with pictures or GIFs in between to break it up.
Seriously, that's it. It's something so simple but often times we feel the need to fill the emails with all of this information and text and then we lose our readers because they are already overwhelmed by looking at all of the text in the email.
3. Create A Compelling Subject Line
The last and final thing you need to worry about is creating a subject line that will capture your audiences' attention and make them WANT to open up your email. Here's what the email subject line was for that same newsletter example I gave you in part 1:
"THIS annoyed me so much!"
Now, just like in my newsletter that I sent venting about that other company, PLEASE DON'T do what they did. You want to make sure that you make it interesting enough for someone to open, but not so crazy that it has nothing to do with what you're writing about in the first place. This will be the opposite of what you want to accomplish when emailing your list. You want to build trust with your list, so if you make your subject lines "click baity" then you will lose their trust and maybe even unsubscribe.
Need More Inspo?
Although I have mixed feelings about ChatGPT, sometimes, it can be useful to have as a tool in your back pocket to stir up some inspiration and get the juices flowing.
I have crafted the EXACT ChatGPT prompt you need in order to create a weekly email newsletter topic cadence, as well as photos to include to break up your text, and even a way to have these topics written out for you. Of course, when I have it write out these emails, I use them for inspiration and don’t just copy word for word (but that is your choice).
Following these three elements and implementing this ChatGPT prompt, this will ensure that you never run out of topic ideas, always have something to write to connect with your subscribers, and ultimately, in the end, help you receive more revenue by getting more sales through your email list!
Click the button below to snag your free ChatGPT prompt!
Talk soon, girlfriend!
Amy
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