Curated Crash Course Today At 4 PM Central

Curated Crash Course is today at 4 PM CT!

As usual, the first 30 minutes include a tutorial on getting started with Curated followed by a Q&A session that begins at 4:30.

This is built to be a come-and-go Zoom call, so feel free to hop in whenever you can and leave when you have to.

If you have any questions about Curated or newsletters, we created a Google Form where you can submit them.

Seth will answer them live at Curated Crash Course during the Q&A segment of the session, but if you can't make it, he’ll send you a recording so you can see your questions answered.

Issue 67 • Feb 24th 2022 •

Curated Crash Course Today At 4 PM Central

Curated Crash Course is today at 4 PM CT!

As usual, the first 30 minutes include a tutorial on getting started with Curated followed by a Q&A session that begins at 4:30.

This is built to be a come-and-go Zoom call, so feel free to hop in whenever you can and leave when you have to.

If you have any questions about Curated or newsletters, we created a Google Form where you can submit them.

Seth will answer them live at Curated Crash Course during the Q&A segment of the session, but if you can't make it, he’ll send you a recording so you can see your questions answered.

Issue 66 • Feb 17th 2022 •

In The Quest To Show, Not Tell

I often get questions about my newsletter-building process.

So, this week, I took some time to screen record a part of it. Then I realized watching it would make me yawn, so I asked Seth to speed it up, kind of like a time-elapsed sunset.

While this video isn’t as beautiful as watching nature do its thing, it does show a few of the steps that go into creating Opt In Weekly each week.

Here, I'll outline our weekly routine (the steps in bold are the ones captured in this 6-minute video).

1. Samantha and I collect links directly to Curated using the Chrome extension or emailing them to the OIW account. She goes through a list of Google Alerts we have set up to follow keywords, and subscriptions to resources we’ve found to deliver content that might be valuable to our subscribers. We categorize most as we go, but some sneak in unassigned.
2. On Tuesdays, I import the links that look interesting into that weeks issue. They are officially contenders for inclusion. I assign categories to those without them, assess the number of links in each category, check out the articles, reorder the links within each category highest value to lowest, and curate by deleting until I have it down to a reasonable amount of valuable content.
3. I add assignment notes right in the builder and let Samantha know they’re ready for her to draft copy. She comes up with headlines and writes copy intended to define why each piece of content we’re including could be valuable to a newsletter creator.
4. On Wednesdays, I edit Samantha’s copy and tweak some bits if I want to take a slightly different tone or add something personal. She gets it 90% there and I do the rest.
5. On Thursday mornings (or Wednesdays if I’m able to carve out the time), I write the final pieces. Yes, I wait that late to draft the Prologue. It’s always rough and of-the-moment. I try to let the topics in each issue and the events of my life inspire me. This is typically a 20- to 45-minute activity between 7 and 8 a.m. (after the girls are on their school buses). I also write the subject line and preheader text and bring in any bits we repeat each week (the signature, that day's Curated Crash Course announcement, etc.)
6. I send Seth a draft and we go through making final copy edits. He sends me Slack messages pointing out embarrassing typos that I clean up. I track what I've done by adding emoji reaction checkmarks in Slack. We feel very much like a news team racing toward a deadline at this moment. And then... we send.

Let me know what you think.

Issue 66 • Feb 17th 2022 •

New to Curated? Make a copy of this Getting Started with Curated Checklist to help launch your newsletter (public, private, or paid).

Issue 66 • Feb 17th 2022 •

New to Curated? Make a copy of this Getting Started with Curated Checklist to help launch your newsletter (public, private, or paid).

Issue 65 • Feb 10th 2022 •

What Curated Users Have To Say About Curated

Hey everyone, Seth with Curated Success here. This week, we’re going to switch things up and hear what someone else besides the Curated team has to say about Curated.

Igor Pereira, creator of the newsletter Direito Novo, published this video detailing how Curated allows you to easily build a newsletter that brings value to your audience. Igor covers

• Why he uses Curated
• How Curated makes building a newsletter easy
• The benefits of a Paid newsletter
• How he uses the API to keep his subscriber lists synced between Curated and other tools
• How to collect links using the Curated Chrome Extension
• How to build and send an issue

Thanks to Igor for creating this awesome overview of Curated. Be sure to check it out here.

Psst! Igor also sets a great example for how to use the Curated affiliate program. When someone signs up for Curated using his affiliate link, Igor will receive 30% recurring revenue. Check out this tutorial video to see the full walkthrough of how to become a Curated affiliate.

If you have any questions, let me know.

Issue 65 • Feb 10th 2022 •

Curated Crash Course Today At 4 PM Central

Curated Crash Course is today at 4 PM CT!

As usual, the first 30 minutes include a tutorial on getting started with Curated followed by a Q&A session that begins at 4:30.

This is built to be a come-and-go Zoom call, so feel free to hop in whenever you can and leave when you have to.

If you have any questions about Curated or newsletters, we created a Google Form where you can submit them.

Seth will answer them live at Curated Crash Course during the Q&A segment of the session, but if you can't make it, he’ll send you a recording so you can see your questions answered.

Issue 65 • Feb 10th 2022 •

Curated Crash Course Is Today At 4 PM Central

Curated Crash Course is today at 4 PM CT!

As usual, the first 30 minutes include a tutorial on getting started with Curated followed by a Q&A session that begins at 4:30.

This is built to be a come-and-go Zoom call, so feel free to hop in whenever you can and leave when you have to.

If you have any questions about Curated or newsletters, we created a Google Form where you can submit them.

Seth will answer them live at Curated Crash Course during the Q&A segment of the session, but if you can't make it, he’ll send you a recording so you can see your questions answered.

Note: There's an ice storm here in Memphis, TN and the news is reporting a lot of power outages in the area. So if you show up to CCC and it's not started, I've more than likely lost power. If that happens, then I'll be back and better than ever next week!

Issue 64 • Feb 3rd 2022 •

How To Hide Category Headers In Curated

Hey everyone, Seth with Curated Success here.

In Curated, categories help you structure your newsletter and present your curated content to your readers in an easy-to-read format. As you collect content, you can categorize it.

Then, as you build a new issue, the links you import will automatically be sorted into the category order you’ve established, creating sections of your newsletter. If you don’t have any links for a category, the category header will not appear in the issue.

Bonus: you get category-level metrics that help you understand which categories in your newsletter get the most engagement (clicks).

But did you know you can hide category headers in the published issue while still using them to build your newsletter?

Reasons you might hide category headers:

• You don’t like headers (maybe you just want a list of links with commentary and the categories aren’t necessarily public-facing)
• You want some categories / sections that aren't content categories to feel different
• You have one category and would prefer not to use a header for it

How to hide ALL category headers

In Curated, you can set the default category header style to “Hidden”.

1. Click the gear icon to the top right of any page and click Settings
2. Scroll down to the Issue Content section and click Look and Feel
3. Set the Header Style to “Hidden”

Now any new category you create will default to the “Hidden” header style. You'll still need to change the header style for any existing categories you had before you made this change.

Partner Update is a Curated newsletter that’s set their default category header style to “Hidden.” In their published issue, there are no category headers, but they're still able to use categories as they are building out an issue to keep the building process easy.

How to hide INDIVIDUAL categories

You can hide some category headers while keeping others visible.

1. Click the gear icon to the top right of any page and click Settings
2. Scroll down to the Issue Content section and click Categories
3. If no categories exist, create a new category by clicking New Category
4. Click Look and Feel to the right of the category you want to hide
5. Set the Header Style to “Hidden”

For an example of this, all you need to do is scroll to the bottom of Opt In Weekly. The signature section is its own hidden category.

Have questions about this? Let me know at support [at] curated.co.

Issue 64 • Feb 3rd 2022 •

New to Curated? Make a copy of this Getting Started with Curated Checklist to help launch your newsletter (public, private, or paid).

Issue 64 • Feb 3rd 2022 •