How to Write a Newsletter or Blog — and Do it Your Own Way

I’ve been writing these emails consistently since 2016. My only regret with this newsletter is that I didn’t start sooner.

Today I’m sharing the story of how I got started, because you might relate to the same resistance and hesitance I had back then.

Here’s what happened. One day, likely in early 2016, my friend Nate suggested I start an email newsletter.

I resisted. I just… didn’t want to. I felt a ton of apathy around the idea. For two reasons:

The first was that I felt burdened by all the marketing things I was “supposed” to do. I’d been in business for a couple years and wasn’t totally clear yet on exactly where to focus my efforts. I felt a lot of external pressure from all the marketing noise out there. I had a stable client roster yet I felt like I should always be doing “more” to market and sell myself. The whole thing felt a bit overwhelming and icky.

The second reason was that, despite having previously worked in both content marketing and thought leadership in previous jobs, I had become so used to seeing email as a selling tactic, I didn’t see it as a thought leadership tactic. And I didn’t want to write just one more sales email.

Luckily, Nate challenged my resistance. He shared some magic words with me that always make my brain light up:

“You know,” he said. “You don’t have to do it the way everyone else does.”

Bingo. I’d been so busy thinking about what other people were doing and what I thought I “should” do that I forgot I could do it my own way.

So, I set a publishing cadence that I thought would challenge me yet be sustainable: one email every other week.

I put aside all the selling templates I’d seen flying around and concentrated on writing a genuine letter to my readers. I gave myself the freedom to not only share my knowledge, but also share myself — peppering it with stories and ideas from my own life.

At the same time, I didn’t obsess over growing my list or getting everyone to see my posts. I just concentrated on writing the best content I could, engaging with those who took the time to write me back, and learning more about my audience.

The result? My newsletter became not only a great business tool, but something I’ve come to genuinely love and appreciate. It’s led to new connections and rewarding conversations. And it pushes me regularly to keep writing and evolving my own thoughts and ideas.

By no means am I the only one to do this. I subscribe selectively to people doing the same thing. Authors, consultants, leaders — they’re out there, setting themselves apart from the pack because they write from a thoughtful and unique place; a place of genuinely sharing their value with the world. Not just asking for money all the time.

My point here is this:

Your email communications don’t have to be salesy. In fact, they SHOULDN’T be salesy, at least not most of the time.

A constant barrage of sales-based emails is a great way to train people to NOT open your email. (In fact, a constant barrage of emails of any kind is a great way to get people to unsubscribe. In general, a regular cadence of once-per-week or once-every-other-week is a good way to go, though monthly or quarterly can work too.)

Furthermore, your email format doesn’t have to be complicated. It can be as simple as telling a story. Expressing an idea. Sharing a few thoughtfully considered and well-expressed thoughts. Something that is worth opening and thinking about. That’s what your email should contain.

If this interests you, my best advice is to pick a cadence and style that works for you. Get started. And stick to it.

By the way, this is what I do with my thought leadership clients. I help them develop their own email newsletters. We create a simple and sustainable process that enables them to write and publish regularly, in a way that develops their personal brands and thought leadership.

So yes, even if you’re busy, and even if writing isn’t your strong suit, you can do this.

And the best part is, you can do it your way.