It comes out on Sundays and offers the week’s best articles.” It’s also helpful to link to your newsletter archives so people can read first before committing. The sign-up for the Brain Pickings newsletter by Maria Popova says, “Brain Pickings has a free weekly interestingness digest. You should create a newsletter sign-up form that tells people what they get if they subscribe. I send out my free newsletter Electric Speed every two weeks with a list of digital tools and resources I’ve recently discovered.īe specific and honest about what people are signing up for. Every newsletter Ann Friedman sends has links to what she’s recently published and what she’s been reading, plus an animated GIF of the week. It can also help to deliver the same structure every time. Hardly anyone will complain that your emails are too short the more frequently you send, the shorter your emails should probably be. It’s OK if your emails are short and sweet. However, the more familiar your name is to subscribers (or the bigger fans they are), the less likely you’ll encounter this problem. Warning: If you choose a low frequency (bimonthly or quarterly), you run the risk of people forgetting they signed up, which then leads to unsubscribes. Weekly is a common frequency, as is monthly, but the most important criterion is what you can commit to. For example, freelance journalist Ann Friedman (no relation) sends an email newsletter that reliably arrives on Friday afternoons. Your efforts will be doubly successful if you’re consistent. Developing an Email Newsletter Strategyĭecide on your frequency and stick with it (at least for a while). So let’s take a look at the big picture first, then the technical bits. And if you use people’s email addresses with respect (more on that in a minute), those addresses can become resources that grow more valuable over time. You truly own your email list, unlike Facebook or Twitter accounts. Emails can’t be missed like a social media post that disappears in readers’ feeds as more posts follow it. However, email has so far proven to be a more long-term and stable tool than social media, which is constantly shifting. When an opportunity arises-a book club needs a new book to read, a publication is searching for a freelancer to hire, a journalist is looking for a good interview subject, or a conference needs speakers-people are far more likely to think of you if they frequently see your name.īecause most people are overwhelmed with unwanted email, it may seem counterintuitive to categorize the email newsletter as one of the more effective, even intimate, forms of digital communication. Regular email contact with your readers creates a long string of impressions, so that your name stays at the forefront of their mind. While email lists have many uses (from selling your books to delivering paid subscription content), their most immediate use for freelance writers and authors is to keep readers and professional connections informed about what you’re doing. If Cranston’s career had begun in the Internet era, his communication tool of choice might have been the email newsletter rather than the postcard. False humility or even laziness could prevent that.” He said, “The whole idea is to put yourself in a position to be recognized for your work so opportunities increase. Later on, when he received three Emmy nominations for his role as the dad in Malcolm in the Middle, he took out “for your consideration” ads promoting his work. He told the New Yorker, “I knew 99 percent of them wouldn’t watch, but my face and name would get in front of them, and it would plant the subliminal message ‘He works a lot, this guy!’” Note from Jane: The following post, originally from 2015, has been updated and expanded.Įarly in actor Bryan Cranston’s career, when his gigs were primarily composed of guest-starring TV roles in Matlock and Murder, She Wrote, he sent postcards to casting directors about his upcoming appearances.
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