100
It’s an intimidating number, right?
Substantial.
But also the start of something.
Your first 100 X.
Subscribers?
Listeners?
How about issues?
That’s what today marks for Opt In Weekly.
It’s… meaningful.
It’s a commitment.
It’s so much newslettering about newslettering (and more recently, content marketing).
To the publishers out there well past 100: I commend you.
You’ve done something few achieve: persevered.
And to the people who are just starting: I can’t wait to celebrate your 100th issue.
Consistently writing and publishing is a daunting endeavor. The very act of pushing yourself (or your team) to launch and stick with a publishing schedule is tough, but when there are people on the other side of that blank screen you write to—individuals with names and real reasons they read what you create each week, it tests your resolve to show up for them.
To deliver on your promise.
To earn their trust, word by word.
100
I sometimes ponder the double meaning of the title Opt In Weekly.
Yes, readers opt in (they actually double opt in—wah wah).
But we, the creators, have to opt in, too.
Weekly.
My encouragement to you in this strange moment, on the cusp of sending issue 100: opt in to delivering on your promise in your content.
Hold up your end of the bargain.
In 100 issues, you won’t be the same person.
Your thoughts will have evolved.
Your approach may shift.
You will discover, through the act of creating something worthy of sending, that you actually learn what you think as you force yourself to create content that serves others.
That you are more you than you were 100 issues ago.
I am.
And perhaps you are, too?
It feels like we’ve just begun this journey, right?
Let’s see where it goes.
P.S. I’m halfway through Ann Handley’s new edition of Everybody Writes and, obviously, rethinking my entire writing process, but in a good way. I’ll report more on its amazingness in an upcoming issue, but if you want to sort of book club / fan girl this read with me you’re more than welcome.
Download the Litmus Email Newsletter Toolkit
Grab the Litmus email newsletter toolkit (yes, you’ll have to provide your email address, but their email advice is top-notch so it’s a no-brainer) and dive into a bevy of expert advice. The best part? There are 2 videos in this bundle:
Newsletter Experts Look Forward
Recently, a group of newsletter editors for major publications sat down to discuss what’s next for newsletters during a news:rewired panel. Adam Tinworth liveblogged (is that really one word?) the discussion.
They discussed topics like strategy, open rates, community, and personality, and tossed out some solid tips, which he captured for us here. Here’s my favorite:
“Find someone with a personality and a following in your newsroom — and give them the newsletter,”—Sarah Ebner (head of newsletters at The Financial Times) who joined us for a Newsletter Fest panel last year.
The advice takes me back to Ann Handley’s suggestion that your newsletter needs an emcee. It’s a heck of a lot easier for an email newsletter to feel like a letter if it’s coming from a person, not an entity.
Discovered via The Media Roundup.
