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How To Create A Weekly Email Newsletter (Step-By-Step)
Ready to Launch Your Own Newsletter? Don’t Skip These 5 Steps.
Brandon Storey
March 21st, 2023
In 2022, over 300 billion emails were sent out worldwide—not in the year—but every single day.
That works out to an annual number I won’t even try to calculate.
So, why are so many emails being sent out? Because the world still loves email. It’s the best way to communicate digitally with a group of people that share a common interest, whether for personal or commercial reasons.
Starting an email newsletter is one of the best ways to reach your people. But, the thought of launching your own newsletter can be intimidating. If you’re like most people, you don’t even know where to start.
That is, until now.
In this quick guide, I’ll show you how to create a weekly email newsletter in a simple step-by-step process. Whether you own a brand and want to increase your engagement and revenue, or you’re looking for a way to earn a living as a digital creator, you’ll want to keep reading! By the end of this quick guide, you’ll be ready to launch.
Let’s dive in!
How To Create A Weekly Email Newsletter (Key Components)
Creating a weekly email newsletter is one of the best ways to engage with your audience, provide value, and generate income online.
In 2023, an email newsletter is a staple in every high-performing business.
So, what should a weekly email newsletter include?
Well, when you first start an email newsletter, there’s a lot to learn. You’ll be juggling a lot of balls in the air all at once. Some of the key components include:
Content strategy
Growing your list
Working within email software
Creating a content calendar
Writing copy
Proofreading and editing
Graphic design
Understanding deliverability best practices
Complying with the legal side of email
Monetizing your newsletter
And more!
Oh… and one last thing: if you mess up your email (like a spelling error), there’s no “undo” button. Once it’s sent, it’s sent.
The truth is, even though there are a ton of different hats you’ll have to wear to be successful, it really comes down to two key components not mentioned above: consistency in action and the willingness to keep learning.
If you’re committed to constantly working on your newsletter and you stay humble enough to keep learning, you’ll win in the long run.
If you’re still committed to starting an email newsletter, then let’s get down to the nitty-gritty.
You’re probably wondering… How do you write a weekly newsletter?
Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
While your writing skills are one of the key components of a successful newsletter, there are a few steps you’ll have to take before we get there.
Here are five simple steps to creating a weekly email newsletter:
Step 1: Set Your Goals
Before you get into the technical side of things with your email newsletter, you’ve got to take some time to look at the big picture.
You need to ask yourself why you’re starting a newsletter in the first place.
Is it to:
Build a brand?
Increase your established company’s revenue.
Grow an audience to monetize?
Earn extra income as a side hustle?
Be your boss by making a full-time income?
Launch a writing career?
Once you’ve got your primary goal locked down, it’s time to start working backward. For instance, if your goal is to create a newsletter that earns you a full-time income so you can quit your job… then you need to figure out how you’ll make money.
With an email newsletter platform like beehiiv, you can turn on subscription-based monetization. This means you can transform your newsletter into a recurring revenue stream by offering paid email subscriptions to your audience for a small fee each month.
Now, let’s turn this into a tangible example: If your goal is to earn a full-time income working from home as a digital creator, and you need $4,000 per month to make that happen, here’s how you could break it down:
If you charge $5 for paid subscriptions, you need 800 paid subscribers to make $4,000 per month. If you charge $10 for paid subscriptions, you need 400 paid subscribers.
If you decide to go with the $10 fee, and 5% of your regular subscribers convert into paid subscribers, that means you need to grow your regular subscriber list to 8,000 people.
8,000 x 5% = 400 paid subscribers
400 paid subscribers x $10 per month = $4,000 per month.
While earning a full-time income from an email newsletter is a common goal among newsletter creators, it’s not the only goal out there.
You might already have a brand but want to diversify your revenue channels by launching email. Maybe you plan to split your revenue so that 20% comes from email rather than channels like paid ads, SEO, etc. Email newsletters are a great way to do that.
Or, maybe you want to cash out with a big payday. Starting a newsletter to be acquired for 6-8 figures is becoming more common. This is because it’s easier than ever to launch and scale a newsletter on an intuitive platform like beehiiv. Learn how Milk Road used beehiiv to get acquired only 10 months after launching!
Step 2: Pick the Right Email Newsletter Platform
Once you’ve determined your goals, it’s time to choose the right tool to launch your newsletter.
A newsletter platform is also known as an email service provider (ESP). The basic functions of these tools are to help you create, send, and track email campaigns.
Some of the most popular ESPs for newsletters include beehiiv, Mailchimp, ConvertKit, Substack, and MailerLite.
While there are a wide variety of tools available to launch your email newsletter on, they’re not all created equal. The tool you should use depends entirely on your needs and your goals as mentioned above. Here are a few features that the top platforms typically have:
Simple drag-and-drop editor to easily create newsletters
Email segmentation features for creating targeting campaigns
Structured contact management to help you manage your lists
Analytics so you can track your campaign performance
Integrations with other apps like WordPress, Shopify, Zapier, Privy, etc.
The ability to monetize (i.e. subscriptions, ad network, etc.)
Customer support to answer any questions you have
While most of the top newsletter tools will have these features, not all of them do. The best way to figure out which one is right for you is to test them out yourself. With beehiiv, you can get started today for free to see if the platform is right for you.
Step 3: Build Your Email Subscriber List
Once you’re set up on an email newsletter platform, you’re almost set.
While you’re probably excited to write your first email newsletter, you first need to find some people to send it to!
To grow an email list, you need to create a way for people to add themselves to your email list. You’ll do this by creating email signup forms and placing them on your site. Most ESPs will have a form creator or landing page creator you can use to start collecting emails.
Here are the most common types of email signup forms:
Embed an email signup form onto your website
Add a pop-up form to one of your web pages
Create a dedicated landing page for visitors to sign up to your list
Once you have your forms on your site, people will start signing up, right? Not quite! Now, you need to drive traffic to your website (and ultimately your signup forms).
There are a ton of different ways to drive traffic to your site:
Engage on social media (Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube)
Blog Content (SEO)
Paid ads (Facebook Ads, Google Ads)
Paying for a sponsored ad in someone else’s newsletter
Referral programs
Leveraging influencers
And more
If you have money to invest in your newsletter right away to grow your list, then you’ll want to consider running paid ads, paying for a spot in someone’s newsletter, or leveraging influencers.
However, if you’re like most new creators, you can get the word out using free options like social media, blog content, referral programs, and the Recommendation Network. And, of course, there’s always good ole fashion word of mouth!
Finally, the step you were waiting for!
Now that you’ve got your newsletter platform and you’re growing your list, it’s time to get to the juicy part: writing your newsletters.
If you do a mediocre job at the other steps, but you master your ability to write quality email newsletters, chances are—you’ll succeed.
Before you begin tapping away at your keyboard and hitting send, step back a moment.
Who are you writing to?
When you’re creating newsletter content, you need to have a firm grasp of your target audience. The better you understand them–their problems, their desires, their pain points, and their goals–the better you’ll write, and the more they’ll enjoy your content (so they keep coming back).
Once you have your audience in mind, it’s time to create content that will keep them engaged.
Here are the keys to writing a successful email newsletter:
Create compelling email copywriting
Include a strong call to action (CTA)
Integrate storytelling
Encourage your readers to engage with you
Use an email template for consistency in design
Once you’ve got your email content down, you must publish your newsletter regularly. Tell your subscribers how often they’ll receive your newsletter, then stick to it. You don’t have to do a daily email newsletter. One of the best formats is the weekly email newsletter. However, you could even do one once per month.
Just remember to keep your word with whatever you tell your subscribers. This will help you meet subscribers' expectations. Plus, it will help keep you accountable for publishing content (even if you don’t feel like it) so you reach your goals.
Step 5: Optimize by Tracking Your Performance
You’re not done just yet. Now that you’re regularly publishing good newsletter content, it’s time to make it great.
Your final step in creating a weekly email newsletter is to track your progress. This means analyzing your newsletter campaigns in your email service provider for different metrics, like:
Open rates
Click-through rates
Unsubscribe rates
Spam rates
Revenue
By tracking key performance indicators (KPIs), you’ll better understand how your audience responds to different components of your newsletter, which can help you improve:
Email content
Subject lines
Newsletter segments
Engagement
Referrals
Revenue
By taking notes on how your subscribers interact with your newsletters, you’ll be able to improve your newsletter bit by bit until you reach the goals you’ve set in step 1.
How To Create A Professional Email Newsletter (Closing Thoughts)
Now that you know the key steps in creating a weekly email newsletter, it’s time to get started.
If you want to take an email newsletter beyond a hobby so that it becomes a real business, then you need to ensure you’re set up on the right platform.
No matter what your goals are, there’s a tool that can help you. But, with so many choices out there, it can be tough to know which one is best.
If you’re looking for a powerful newsletter creation platform built by creators, then beehiiv is one of the best solutions available. With a robust list of built-in features, like an intuitive email creator, landing page builder, comprehensive A/B testing, and a variety of monetization avenues, beehiiv can help you transform your idea into an established, revenue-generating newsletter.
Try beehiiv for free today and see why it’s the best platform to launch and grow your email newsletter.
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