Prologue

My daughters both bridge to the next level of Girl Scouts next week.

It’s a big deal.

We all get a great sense of pride at these ceremonies.

Mainly because the week before bridging I hustle and get all their badges on their uniforms.

Just kidding. Kind of.

It’s more about what they’ve done in the past two years as a Daisy, Brownie, or Junior.

The task of making sure all the badges and pins are on before that final moment is pretty monumental, too. Especially in a pandemic year when I’ve been operating in mission critical mode and procrastinating things that require extra energy I don’t seem to have.

As I worked on one vest the other night, making sure the different types of badges and pins were all in the correct spots and reflecting on how they were earned, I thought about copywriting.

I know. I’m a nerd. We’re all aware.

What struck me is that to an outsider (say, someone who has no clue what anything on the vest means), it’s just a mix of fabric bits and pins. But to a Girl Scout, the placement and number of pins is everything.

For example, the girl’s left side of the vest is reserved for Journey Badges. These are multi-week journeys that require the girls to really dive into a certain topic (this year they did Think Like a Programmer) and then complete a Take Action Project (not a community service, a sustainable project that has lasting impact).

On the right side she boasts “Try It” badges. Each has 5 requirements she must meet to earn the badge. They add up as she learns a variety of skills such as Simple Meals, Horseback Riding, Eco Camping, ect.

And there are pins that represent how many years she’s been a Girl Scout, how many years she has sold cookies, and if she’s completed 3 journeys during her time at any level (it’s called a Journey Summit Award).

This is a simplified explanation, of course. But what you end up with is a visual display that seems foreign to some but immediately communicates how accomplished she is to those who understand the Girl Scout world.

A few weeks ago, I shared a video clip from Newsletter Fest of Liz Willits explaining the importance of writing for skimmers and for those who read every word. It’s like the Girl Scout vest. There will be bold statements that communicate the main points, but more meaning waiting in the text below.

There are people who just want a surface-level explanation, and people who understand that there’s a story behind that subhead: people who read and click.

Write for both skimmers and divers.

Fill your vest (newsletter) with the stories you want to tell.

And, issue after issue, build a world they can choose to explore at the level they enjoy.

Today’s Prologue hints at a topic I hope you’ll find as interesting as I do: worldbuilding. There’s a wonderful article in the Marketing section about how you can use fiction writing tactics to build a world for your real life audience.

There are also some pieces about the creator economy and exciting announcements about private newsletters and a special event we have coming up in Curated News.

Now, let’s spelunk into this newsletter world.

Screen Share

It’s Time To Simplify Your Newsletter Copy

Using passive voice when it should be active? Or long, complicated sentences instead of short, clear ones?

Liz Willits recommends using the Hemingway Editor (it’s free!).

In this extremely short clip from her Newsletter Fest session Copy is Everything, Liz explains how she uses this tool to make her copy more readable.

So, go forth and simplify.

Newsletter Tips

Are Content Creators The New Startups?

A power shift from institution to independent creators is upon us. Are you part of the emerging creator economy?

According to Gabe Wiseart, it boils down to this: creators who are killing the game (aka have a following, recurring revenue via paid subscriptions or established ad streams, etc.) are being taken much more seriously these days. As in, they can actually get advances on future earnings.

What does this mean for you?

If you’re an indie newsletter creator with a dedicated audience, you may be part of a wave of free agents going solo. Just remember that the quality of your content has to be worthy of whichever monetization model you pursue.

Related: Listen as NPR’s 1A asks successful creators, “Why Is Everyone Talking About Newsletters?”

A (Scientific) Guide To Better Open Rates

According to Steven Macdonald (and anyone who’s ever created a newsletter), before you can get people to click through your email, you’ve got to get them to open it. This guide offers some concrete data behind open rate success.

A few highlights:

• In 2020, the average open rate across all industries is 21.3%
• More than 20% of marketing emails never make it to a subscriber’s inbox.
• Today, 81% of all emails are now opened and read on mobile devices.

Related: Watch this discussion about the power of open and click reach rates.

Also Related: Learn how to avoid automatic clicks and opens.

Marketing

Tired of Marketing Best Practices? Try Worldbuilding Instead

Could you be the next J.R.R. Tolkien or J.K. Rowling, but in marketing? Maybe you should be worldbuilding (sounds exciting, I know).

Worldbuilding is just what it sounds like: building a new world and inviting people to become “insiders.”

“Instead of using aggressive direct response or media production approach, we build ‘worlds’ for our audiences to inhabit. Worlds that acknowledge their implicit and explicit motivations, show them better ways to solve their problems, meet their needs, fulfill their desires, and position ourselves as trusted, caring fiduciaries.”

In this article, Andre Chaperon and Shawn Twing break down just how and why it works, and then give you a framework to get started. They challenge us to create science, politics, and culture for the world we build.

Basically, we get to be storytellers and become the fiction writer we’ve always dreamed of becoming (except, stick to truth).

I have to admit this concept delights me because I completed an honors project studying the genre of creative nonfiction in undergrad.

What world will you build?

Related: Still sticking with the latest best practices? Check out these 7 Takeaways from the 2021 Ad World Conference.

Do You Create Email Briefs? Include These 4 Steps

Writing an impactful email is rarely as simple as it sounds in concept. Try creating email briefs and include these 4 tips from the Litmus blog to keep them simple and strategic.

1. Define email’s purpose

Be sure your email answers who, what, when, where, why, and how.

2. Define inbox strategy

Consider what your readers are going to see when they first open their inbox.

3. Define your body content strategy

You have about 11 seconds to get your message out when someone opens your email. Use that time to open a loop that gets their attention.

4. Sketch your content hierarchy

Map out what’s important to your readers.

Stop Treating Segmentation And Personalization Like They Aren’t Different Things

Do you really know the difference between personalization and segmentation?

This article breaks down the two, explains why the difference matters when it comes to strategy, and, most importantly, gives an example that makes it easy to understand (think: retail shopping).

Related: Gen Z email marketing needs segmentation and personalization, too. Check out these stats and strategies.

Writing

Quick Proofreading Tips That Have Massive Payoffs

Ever “proofread” only to discover a gazillion mistakes the next time you read it? Just me? These 5 quick tips might help.

One example:

Try reading aloud to identify loss of voice. Does the first part sound like it was written by a different person than the last?

Click through for more tips.

Curation

The Twitter Hashtag Curation Method

Sure, you have your go-to sources for curation, but are you using Twitter hashtags? According to Pankaj Narang, curation can up your game on Twitter, too (insert some analogy about feeding a worm to a little bluebird here).

Narang advocates curation on Twitter helps you demonstrate versatility, show industry awareness, and cut back on your own content creation. Sounds familiar.

Tips to get started

• Use analytics to discover the right hashtags for you, and then use them
• Know your audience, share content they want, and offer your take on the content
• Next, add (attractive) visuals, tag your audience, then include a call-to-action
• Finally, keep track of everything and keep doing what works

I’m (gasp) not super on top of my Twitter game, but I’m thinking of incorporating hashtags into my process of finding content to curate (there’s a preconfigured Curated zap to add liked Tweets to my collected links), then maybe trying to be better about posting on the platform.

Related: Um, have you read this? Facebook is testing a new prompt to stop users from sharing articles they haven’t read.

Publishing

Post Covid-19 Retention Solutions For Publishers

Covid-19 happened, and everyone and their dog subscribed to the news. But, now what?

In this article, William Turvill gives readers a look at the subscriber boom, the problem of “sleepers” and early cancellations, and provides solutions (read: persuade people to keep paying for news).

One of many strong ideas suggested:

“One [solution] is to encourage readers to pay for an annual subscription rather than a month-by-month deal.”

Daily Newsletters Were the Answer For This Print Magazine

In this piece, Simon Owens captures the story of how, when Covid-19 hit, a Hell’s Kitchen print magazine suspended printing and started sending a daily newsletter.

A year later, that newsletter has 4,000 subscribers and a 35% open rate.

Founder Phil O’Brien said this,

“Newsletters are really interesting, because the inbox is so intimate. When you see the open rates, you think, ‘wow, someone’s giving me their time.’”

Full story here.

Related: Check out how this newspaper transformed into a customer-centric subscription model.

Forecast: Newspaper Subscriptions to Exceed Print By 2027

The digital vs. print battle continues.

Rob Williams reports that by 2027 newspaper subscriptions will exceed print (mostly because digital costs less than print).

Related: Check out this survey that reveals local newspapers are preferred over Google in Australia.

Money Matters

Looking For Newsletter Sponsors?

Try one of the companies from this round up of sponsorship matching and management resources from Inbox Reads.

They’ve included a short summary of each tool listed here.

• Paved
• Hecto
• Letterwell
• Sponsorgap
• Swapstack

Curated News

Private Newsletter Settings Are Now Available

Curated’s new settings now allow users to create private newsletters!

This video provides a quick overview of how to

1. Disable the subscription form
2. Disable the publication website
3. Show only the latest issue on the publication site
4. Hide archives from visitors who aren’t logged in
5. Allow subscribers to log in when they click web view links in your private newsletter

Combine the settings you need to customize a private newsletter.

We’d love for you to help us test these settings and send feedback to support[at]curated.co. Seth will make a full tutorial video after everyone has kicked the tires.

Note: additional settings to support Paid Newsletters are coming soon.

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

Event Announcement: Newsletter Mastermind (Nail Your Content Strategy), June 18

We’re launching a series of Newsletter Mastermind live events, starting with the first one on June 18, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET.

Master Your Newsletter Content Strategy with Russ Henneberry, Founder of theCLIKK.

He’ll teach you to

• strategize newsletter content
• pick a strong name and domain
• soft launch your newsletter to test and get feedback on your strategy

Find more details (note: this is a paid event) here.

Opt In Challenge

Stop Procrastinating And Find Joy In Writing

Let’s send you off with an inspirational infographic intended to help you stop procrastinating and get into a joyful writing groove. Your Opt In Challenge this week is to get out of a funk (are you in one?) and “dance with your monsters.”

At the very least, try this

1. Break the writing process into chunks
2. Set a timer
3. Stop writing before you’re empty (so there’s more left in you tomorrow)

Who’s with me?

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 (and sharing?),