I’m about to make creating a monthly newsletter – and planning the next YEAR’s worth of content – quick and easy for you!
But before we do that, you have to know why it’s even worth committing the effort towards sending regular newsletters for your email list.
From a marketing perspective, my favorite reason is to remind your subscribers that you’re still here.
Why? Well, look, they’re really busy and it’s not their job to think of you and remember you – it’s your job to be there for them when they’re ready.
Let me say that again…
It’s not your customer’s job to remember you. It’s your job to show up when they need you.
So, how do you do that? Well, the easiest way is to regularly show up in their inbox. Just like a great friend, a newsletter is a reminder that you’re here and ready to help when they need you.
The second reason you want to send regular newsletters is to bring value to their lives. This is also the key to getting your email opened! You will either train your subscribers to delete your emails -OR- eagerly open your emails. And it comes down to one single question, ‘do you make their life better?’
If you help them – and there are a myriad of ways to be helpful, then they’ll open your emails. If you don’t, they won’t. It really is that simple.
So now that we know why committing to sending regular email newsletters is so valuable for your brand, let’s make it easier to be consistent by creating a system for you!
Here are 3 steps to planning a year’s worth of newsletters today!
Step 1: Pick a SIMPLE email hosting service!
There are a LOT of options out there, and I’ve used several of them! Some of them have very impressive bells and whistles. But the truth is, you probably don’t need them all and in actuality, those bells and whistles can turn out to be the very reason you’re not being consistent. They’re too complicated! You need a SIMPLE solution that you can stick with until you can clearly identify why you need bigger and better (which you likely won’t need until you’ve built an email list of about 100K subscribers).
I personally recommend Flodesk. It’s my favorite because it allows me to create beautiful emails AND it’s simple to use. They have pre-made templates and enough features that you can make sure you’re sending certain emails only to specific groups or lists but not so many options that you get overwhelmed and quit. If you need a way to personalize your content without getting frazzled with tons of coding, check out FloDesk.
Click here to sign up for FLODESK and get 50% off!
Step 2: Plan for consistency
We already established that one of the main reasons email marketing is so valuable is because it can create a great relationship with your readers. Hearing from you on a regular basis establishes trust and keeps you front of mind. But while we get why consistency is important, most are anything but. That’s why you need a system! Planning for consistency far in advance will ensure you keep a smooth schedule even when things get really busy.
An annual plan is something that you can set up once, and then you just plug and play content into each month. As a busy working mom, this makes life so much easier!
Want to get the freebie (and access to my entire library of goodies?)
My top tip for using this freebie is to spend a day gathering ideas and writing them on the printable. Once you’re done, hang it up on your wall or place it in your planning folder so that you can work on your email newsletters and send them out on a consistent basis without trying to figure out what to say this time.
Step 3: Schedule it
The last thing that you need to do is determine when you’ll show up in their inbox. People always want to know, how often should I show up? How often is too often? What’s not enough?
Here are my answers:
You should show up as often as you can be consistent for. Once a month at minimum and weekly if you can manage it. Try to go for the same day and same time, every time. (Of course there will be times when you’re doing launches or sales or promotions and then you’ll send more emails – but those aren’t newsletters those are promotions and we look at those totally different.)
If your emails add value, there won’t be a too often threshold. If they don’t, they’ll feel like you’re a bad rash that won’t go away. So focus on making their day, week, or year better and you’ll never show up too much!
If you don’t have a consistent, regular schedule then you’re not showing up enough. If you have to start every newsletter with ‘I know it’s been a long time…’ probably not enough. Pick a schedule that honestly works for you and stick with it. And if that’s once a month, no worries! Just focus on making that monthly email amazing for them!
Now that you have a calendar and your ideas, who’s ready to create a year’s worth of email newsletters?
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