Prologue

So I was trying to teach a group of K-3rd graders about space science the other day and I had an idea.

Note: this is a Girl Scout volunteer thing. Not something I’m actually trained to do.

I just went with it.

“I’ll be Earth. I need volunteers for the moon and sun.”

I wanted to demonstrate two terms: orbit and rotate.

Looking back, I should have chosen to be the sun.

But there I was, all masked up and instructing one girl to slowly circle me while I spun in circles and orbited a stationary sun.

They loved it.

They got it.

And now they’re all charting the moon phases for a month, watching the gradual change in shadows and reflections.

Some people are jolted by change. They want a crisp vision of the future.

But I get a kick out of the evolution of ideas.

Trying things one way and then another and never really landing at perfect.

I like the imbalance of flux.

My CEO and I were chatting about this tweet storm the other day. It raises a (familiar) question of whether a bootstrapped underdog with a good product can compete with the VC funded SaaS companies of the world. It’s also a warning against entering an arena where you don’t decide on the rules.

Curated and the other Simple Focus Software brands are all bootstrapped solutions with inspiring founder stories and niche, sometimes cult-like user bases. We’re dedicated to those people and the unique ways we serve them, but not interested in getting caught up in category feature wars. We think a lot about how we adapt as the world changes.

How am I going to tie this back to your newsletter?

Simple.

Don’t let anyone tell you there’s one way to write it, send it, monetize it, or let it evolve.

Create your own success metrics.

Know what winning is to you. Heck, design the game you want to play and play it.

There are so many ways to be successful in life as we spin and round the sun.

Figure out how to be content with each phase of your newsletter as you observe and reflect.

Your newsletter is yours. Own it. Use it to manifest what you want instead of getting caught up in someone else’s unicorn dust.

The links gathered in this issue are intended to help you look at it through a variety of perspectives and keep improving it.

PS It’s great to be back from Spring Break. Can you tell I took some time to stop spinning so fast? Huge thanks to Sarah Colley for stepping in last week.

PPS I hope I’ll see you all at Newsletter Fest April 12 -16. Vote for the top newsletters of 2021 here.

Screen Share

Who Are You Really Writing For?

This 2-minute video clip from my interview with the ladies of #HAMYAW (Hilary and Margo Yell at Websites, which is an amazing YouTube resource for marketers) will prompt you to really think about who you are really writing your email newsletters for.

No matter how detailed your customer avatar is, it’s possible that you aren’t translating that into a newsletter that particular reader will enjoy.

Sometimes there’s another person we’re really writing for - a boss, competitor, or someone else.

Factoring them in makes it really tough to build real the relationships you want to with your newsletter.

Margo says it’s important to be clear about your goals for your newsletter and who it is really for.

She urges you to ruthlessly scrutinize your content and assess if you’re saying one thing but actually doing another.

She’s speaking at Newsletter Fest on April 13.

Her session: Why is no one reading my newsletter?

She’ll reveal the 3 secrets to writing effective newsletters and dispel common myths that are preventing you from writing better (like the definitive answer to “but how long should my newsletter be?”).

Register here.

I’m really excited about this one.

Margo is a newsletter whisperer.

Newsletter Tips

Nicholas Scalice Tweets Newsletter Launch Tips

Nicholas Scalice of Growth Marketer took to Twitter to provide a framework for starting a newsletter.

My advice? Don’t do any of the subsequent steps if you can’t nail step 1:

“1. Start with why

If it’s just because ‘everyone is doing it,’ that isn‘t good enough.

You need to have a specific reason for why you want to start a newsletter.

What is your ‘why?’”

Multi-million Dollar Newsletter Company Newsette Continues To Make Headlines

I first found out about Newsette on LinkedIn, where someone was belittling the approach. I immediately subscribed to see if the critic was right in claiming it was just a link collection or if there was editorial merit.

I think it’s actually impressive. Beyond trends and tips, there’s usually a Q&A with a successful woman. Plus, its success indicates the newsletter really resonates with its audience.

Learn more about how the founder Daniella Pierson launched it while in college 6 years ago and how she’s grown it to what it is.

Related: Read about how the fashion newsletter is taking over from Dazed.

Marketing

Does Your Brand Awareness Strategy Create Urgency And Demand?

Jay Baron thinks you’re doing brand awareness wrong if you’re not crafting a narrative that prompts an audience to rethink what they’re doing and why. I know, I know. Very meta.

In this article, he provides eight steps to what he calls buyer-led growth. It’s definitely worth a read.

“The most powerful marketing isn’t marketing that waits for pain and serves up content; it’s marketing that shows the buyer their pain before they’re even aware of it.

The secret to building real interest in your offers is to meet people where they’re at with their current beliefs and habits, begin to shift their beliefs and habits so that you develop a need, and cultivate tangible growth.”

Y’all know I love it when narrative design comes into the discussion.

Writing

Facebook Writing Groups You Might Like

Carson Kohler and Kelly Gurnett have put together a list of 22 Facebook writing groups for the writers out there looking for help and support. Check them out to see if you want to join any.

Publishing

1. Small Kansas City Paper Runs A Blank Front Page To Dramatize Its Fight To Stay Alive
2. Future of journalism: study explains why some news stories get more clicks from social media than others
3. “The glue that keeps customers engaged”: How publishers are using data to fuel subscription growth
4. Google Expands News Showcase, Inks Deals With Over 600 Publications for Content
5. Female journalists reporting more online harassment than male counterparts
6. Medium is yet another example of why tech companies won’t save journalism

Curated News

Check Out Our New Embeddable Subscription Form

This week we launched an updated version of our embeddable subscription form that will let you put a subscribe field on your personal website, your blog, or anywhere that you can embed a piece of code.

This new version is more secure and more customizable so you’ll have more control over the look and feel of your subscription form.

Watch this short tutorial video to see how to embed your publication’s subscription form, plus a little behind-the-scenes of how we built the Newsletter Fest website.

ICYMI: We now have a Curated Public Product Roadmap! Check out our recent releases and what’s up next.

Paved’s List Of Top Newsletter ESPs

Thanks, Paved, for the shout out in this list of newsletter ESPs to consider.

Some of the features they included:

• Quick link collection (Chrome extension) you can turn into a newsletter
• Email template is engineered to look great on every screen and avoid clipping
• Comes with a website with fully searchable back issue archives for each publication
• Built-in sponsorship calendar
• Beautiful newsletter template
• Secret email (a way to send links to your account) is a brilliant feature

Newsletter Fest Is April 12 - 16

Newsletter Fest, the FREE online conference that will ignite your newsletter strategy, is approaching fast.

Here's a quick reference of important links:

• The Newsletter Fest website
• The Newsletter Fest newsletter
• Enter to win a free year of Curated
• Vote for your favorite newsletters for the Top Newsletters of the Year 2021
• Help us spread the word!

Opt In Challenge

List Your Newsletter On Webletters

This new newsletter directory came onto my radar recently. It’s pretty easy to suggest newsletters (including your own) that should be included. Your challenge this week is to take the two minutes it takes to submit yours to be listed (free).

You can also spend another half hour on the directories I mentioned here if you haven’t already. They’ll help people find you, so it’s a win-win.

Signature

Let me know. Reply, email me at Ashley[at]optinweekly.com, or find me on LinkedIn to hit me with some feedback. I’d love to know what you think.

Also, I’d appreciate it if you shared it with fellow email newsletter creators. All archived issues will be available on OptInWeekly.com, so you can send them the link to check it out.

Have a great week sending, y’all.

Thanks for reading,