Does my business need a newsletter?
We’ve been living in an era where short-form content reigns supreme. Whilst that works for some, there are many brains out there craving something more substantial.
Enter newsletters.
What is a newsletter?
It’s important to recognise that newsletters are different to your marketing emails. Whereas marketing emails exist to drive something transactional (a sale, sign up etc), newsletters exist to inspire, inform and update.
Your website is a piece of digital real estate that you own entirely - it’s not something anyone can take from you. Newsletters are similar. They both offer a certainty that social media channels cannot. Neither are governed by fickle algorithms or owned by largely corrupt corporations. And when it comes to content, newsletters offer more thoughtful curation than the fast-paced, trend-grabbing nature of social posts.
And that’s not to knock social media - social media continues to serve a significant purpose in marketing and community-building. But there’s an increasing audience of consumers wanting more and newsletters are a great way to deepen the connection with your social media community. Social media is like meeting new people at a party or networking event. Newsletters are like inviting them around for a cosy dinner party.
What is Substack?
Whilst there are many platforms to launch a newsletter through, Substack has fast established itself as one of the more interesting. As well as providing simple publishing tools allowing for even the least tech-savvy folks to upload their musing, it also makes monetising from subscriptions easy. An increased interest in paying subscribers demonstrates just how many people crave a content consistency that they’re not getting from other platforms.
How do you make a newsletter successful?
Newsletters succeed as long as the content is strong enough. The format of a newsletter emulates the same sort of discovery that a physical magazine once achieved. Your content needs to pack some punch. Completely unbeholden to algorithms allow for critical, meaningful words need to go way beyond day-in-the-life style content. Your words need to deepen the connection you have with your audience. With any subscriber, and particularly paying ones, they’ve demonstrated a level of trust in you and your voice that deserves to be respected in return. Before diving in, you’ll want a clear strategy in place - what do you want your newsletter to achieve for you? What do you have to say that will add value to others? Being crystal clear on these things will hold you in good stead for achieving consistency.
20 Best Newsletters and Substack subscriptions
Don’t just take our word for it. Here are some of our favourite newsletters and Substack subscriptions from an assortment of genres (spoiler alert: leans heavily on food):
What are your favourite newsletters?
