Prep and Encouragement to write Newsletters

[MudFire_Dex]

💌✨🌟NEWSLETTER ENCOURAGMENT - dovetailing off of @Lovewell was saying about Newsletters being a route a lot of us who don't want to be so connected to social media to stay engaged and connected with our customers without feeling like we are just creating content for Instagram and Facebook. For the class instructor the newsletter is the pinnacle of content and that content gets shared across other platforms. A lot of people think about creating content for Insta or other platforms but the instructor approaches the newsletter as the end all and be all of content generation - with bits and pieces of that content going to those other platforms. 

Daphne, my partner, recently took a class with Sarah Faith Gottesdiener about newsletters - she had an upcoming one on ethical marketing (for those of us who struggle with selling and ethics in particular which isn't all of us I know - I was once told I was a born salesman so I don't think it applies to me) @DinaLRosenberg I think you might like some of her offerings or they may relate to your own - Courses Listing – The Moon Studio 

Some tips from the workshop:
 A lot of the workshop was about giving encouragement to write and share. I keep thinking about @CareyJo and all of the recent conversations bringing to light that what a lot of people want is connection and to be in community. There has been a lot of Square discussion lately about third spaces - what if newsletters are a form of a virtual third space? A haven for your customers to share in and with your offerings and possibly each other as a community? The discussion was about what you like about the media/newsletters you consume - what drives you to read them? What are they offering you?

 Sit down and write and decide what you want to be sharing (BEFORE!!!!!!) you need to send a newsletter announcing something or offering a perk, or coupon code, or the night before an event. A lot of people put off the work to do for a late-night cram session the night before needing to send something out. It was recommended to keep some folders of images, writings, things to share that can be pulled upon as needed for upcoming newsletters instead of meeting new content demands when you are stressed and overtaxed.

 Decide what you want to say - what do you want to talk about? Do you want to give tips for feeding your pets, washing your car at home, DIY repairs between service appointments, things to share for a community? I am getting a lot of newsletters about the trans and LGBTQ+ community and businesses that have customers who need a little extra care - we also are down the street from a coffee shop that caters to those here as refugees and asylum seekers and they inform their audience about their non-profit and are talking about immigration tips in their newsletters. 

 One thing that was really great about the class was they had group accountability - and practices around working on the content. As a non-writer myself - I thought this was a great idea - where people could ask questions to each other about where they wanted their content to go and how to explore that with others figuring out the same thing and I loved seeing @Lovewell 's post about ideas like coupon codes or offering a perk. We are lucky to have our Square home for that.

Something we just did - We just sent out a newsletter with a free holiday making calendar guide for artists to use to plan kiln firing time and glazing time for holiday festivals and shows and how to make sure the clock isn't running out before the work can dry and be fired and glazed. We are tossing around ideas to host the newsletters with the Square blog/stories situation so they are living resources for our members and followers. 

There are also so many services to consider - Square Marketing obviously being one of them but depending on how you want to monetize content / what features you might need there are a lot out there. Kit and Brevo were two I didn't know and others mentioned as well as the usual suspects - Constant Contact, Mailchimp, Substack, Patreon. 

Of course there are tons of template ideas - writing tips - etc - anybody else have favorite resources to share?

[CareyJo]

I have no resources to share, as of yet, but I am going to be working on this for our new venture.  Thanks for the tag and sharing your thoughts and the info from the class!  Sounds like it was of good benefit.

I think instead of doing a flyer for each event that I'm going to have at the new shop, doing a newsletter will be much more appreciated by the customers.  In our little town, the paper version will work best and even if I do create a website someday, then they can be on there for reference.  I'm not sure yet that I want a website because we will not be offering online ordering, so it would just be another thing that will cost to maintain, when my free Google listing will do it all.... Also, since we will be keeping Arctic Heat open for the foreseeable future, I can continue to make seasonal newsletters for it and have them available in the store.  Two birds, one stone!