ProloguePrologue

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by all the advice coming at you from… well, all the people who use the internet to get your attention?

I do.

Especially when the advice is mediocre.

Or a diluted summary of advice that I could be getting from a more credible source, except the person delivering it is acting as if they thought it up because they heard if they provide informative content they can try to sell me something.

Publishing is so easy these days.

Winning my recognition and loyalty is tough.

Last week, I wrote about being undeletable.

This week—and this could easily be based on the fact that I’m processing all the emails I restrained from opening during the Thanksgiving break—I’m overwhelmed by how many senders use a flawed bait and switch approach.

As I open, swipe, delete (and occasionally unsubscribe) on repeat, I’m reminded that only a handful have EARNED the right to sell me something.

What do I mean?

Only a small segment of people (who use the internet to get my attention) have made so many “undeletable” deposits with me via email that when they launch a sales sequence or squeeze a product plug into their newsletter, it doesn’t sting.

It actually feels like something I might want to invest in.

Or a next step in our relationship.

So I’m going to stick to applying my own standards for newsletters and sales emails (which, when done right don’t even read as sales emails) to my own newsletter and encourage you to do the same.

Earn the right to sell your reader something.

Or show them a sponsored ad.

Or mention your product.

Or charge them for your premium content.

Earn it with content they rely on and really want to read.

In today’s issue, I’ve curated some very solid advice and ponderings from experts to help us strategize and improve our newsletters.

Many of them have extensive experience with figuring out what people really want and how to give it to them.

Newsflash: it’s not always what we want it to be.

Ashley Guttuso  

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Newsletter Tips


Marketing



Writing

Curation

Publishing

Money Matters

Curated News Curated News

Speaking of Formatting, Did You Know You Can Create Headers?

Hey, Curated users. I accidentally figured this out one day and it was a little thrilling.

You can use hashtags to create headers in your Markdown body copy.

1 Hashtag equals a bold H1

# 1 Hashtag equals a bold H1

2 Hashtags equal a regular H2

## 2 Hashtags equal a regular H2

3 Hashtags equal a bold H3

### 3 Hashtags equal a bold H3

4 Hashtags equal a regular H4

#### 4 Hashtags equal a regular H4

5 Hashtags equal a bold H5

##### 5 Hashtags equal a bold H5

6 Hashtags equal a regular H6

###### 6 Hashtags equal a regular H6

It’s important to note that you should use smaller headers (we recommend H4 - H6) if you want Google to read them as intended for SEO.

We’ll get this added to our Markdown Support, but now YOU know.

 

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Like this newsletter?

Let me know. Reply, email me at Ashley[at]optinweekly.com, or find me on LinkedIn to hit me with some feedback. I’d love to know what you think.

Also, I’d appreciate it if you shared it with fellow email newsletter creators. All archived issues will be available on OptInWeekly.com, so you can send them the link to check it out.

Have a great week sending, y’all.

Thanks for reading,

Ashley