5 Lessons On Creating A Curation Newsletter
Have you ever wondered how curation works and how to apply it to your newsletter? Robert Cottrell, founder of the Browser, is sharing curation lessons worth checking out in this article.
Promotion alert: his 5th lesson is to use Ghost, which makes sense since the article is written for the Ghost website. I’m obviously biased and think Curated gets the job done really well, too 😉. Check out how Curated users collect links and this video of our process at Opt In Weekly.
Discovered via Ghost Newsletter.
Must Visit Destination: An Email Theme Park
Note: This is a place you go in your mind.
Check out Ann Handley’s recent issue of Total Annarchy, in which she mixes extended metaphor (what if working in email were a theme park called Email World?) with an actionable list of ideas to make it better (and “How do we make it a happier place?”).
I found myself responding as if I were attending a really, really motivational speech:
Ann: “Your From Line matters more than your Subject Line.”
Me: “YES!”
Ann: “One metric cannot possibly measure your success.”
Me: “Preach!”
.... and that pretty much sums up any Sunday morning she includes email or newsletters in an issue.
Read her suggestions, see if it also resonates with you, and let me know I’m not the only one.
And if you’re new to Opt In Weekly and just discovering Ann Handley, here’s a shortcut to all other moments of wisdom we’ve shared from her.
What if 100k+ people read your newsletter each issue? Jacob Greenfeld Tweeted an approach that’s worked to make that a reality. It helps him consistently create content that resonates and it’s pretty simple: “share your secrets.”
He Tweets:
“All of my most popular pieces of content have one thing in common: I was scared to publish them. There is almost a perfect correlation between my level of fear before a post goes live and how much it resonates with readers.”
When it comes to your newsletter, are you nervous to hit publish? If not, it might mean you need to evaluate if what you’re sending feels like a secret or a commodity (aka anybody could publish that content).
Check out the full thread for some categories of “secrets” that might help you become more vulnerable with your audience.
Discovered via Marketer Crew.
Treat Email Like It’s Snail Mail
In this Wired article, Nicole Kobie offers a science-based solution to inbox anxiety: stop treating email like Slack and instead treat it like old-fashioned snail mail.
As newsletter senders, we should think through ways we can make our emails feel more like snail mail, aka less like a to-do pileup and more like a letter from a dear friend.
Discovered via Really Good Emails.
New Not A Newsletter Released Earlier This Week
This month’s “Not a Newsletter” by Dan Oshinsky is packed full of newsletter links, tips, and best practices that are not only practical but helpful, too. Highlights include:
He also includes an article from Yanna-Torry Aspraki, an email deliverability expert, answering the question, “How do they know if I’m a good or bad sender?”
Set aside some time to read the full March edition (yes, it’s a Google Doc) here.
Is Your Newsletter Written And Formatted With These Reader Habits In Mind?
Scott Baradell explains how these 8 web browsing habits should be considered when creating content in this FastCompany article. While he applies them to web browsing, they apply to email, too.
Here’s one that stuck out to me: “People are impatient.”
Check out the other 7 habits in the article and audit your newsletter.
Discovered via theCLIKK.
Substack Chatter
Substack’s recent activity, including an app launch, has people talking, and opinions are strong. Here’s a roundup:
A Local Newsletter Company Made This Fast Company List
If you think newsletter fatigue is imminent, reconsider it.
Fast Company's The 10 most innovative media companies of 2022 includes 6AM City, a hyper-local newsletter publisher that’s quickly grown to 24 cities.
Why?
“Over the past year, 6AM’s revenue has doubled to $5.2 million, and its subscriber base has grown to 800,000 subscribers. It has more than 450 active advertisers with over 95% advertiser retention.”
What You Can Learn From Wartime Storytelling
In his recent issue of The Storytelling Edge, Joe Lazer (Lazauskas), former CMO at Contently and current Head of Content A.Team, focuses on the power of storytelling in the Russia / Ukraine conflict.
“Ukraine President Volodymr Zelensky was doing the impossible in the Facebook era: He was making the truth more compelling than disinformation.”
It feels almost insensitive to include this as a newsletter tip, but the reason I’ve included it is because as creators we should always aim to tell the truth in compelling ways. I feel like Joe hits on that in his newsletter and hope it can inspire your content in some way.
Pay Attention: These 35 Newsletter Lessons Are Gold
CJ Chilvers, author of this newsletter captured 35 lessons learned from 35 years of newslettering. They're deliciously succinct and powerful. Here are 4 that resonated with me:
“There is no competition for your personal voice.”
“Curation matters. There’s way too many creators and not enough editors. This scarcity creates value.”
“Meet your subscribers. When you meet readers in person, you get a better understanding of how what you do fits in their world. It shapes the way you publish, as well as what you publish.”
“Monetization is a byproduct. If you build an audience to serve that audience, monetization will present itself. You don’t need to chase it. You don’t even need to accept it if you don’t want the added responsibility...”
I encourage you read (and save!) the entire list for future reference.
Discovered via For the Interested.
