Speaker 1: 0:00

Digital creator With Dylan Schmidt. This episode we're going to be talking about my email newsletter process. I've been sending out emails for well. I took a little break in the middle of what I'm about to say, but I started. I think it was 2012. I had a email exclusive way of publishing content. This is back in the day when I used to strictly do coaching, and I have the words stay on target tattooed on my forum. That was the name of my blog and coaching company, 2012. I don't even want to think about how long ago that was, because it still feels like just a few years ago to me and I strictly send out emails and a lot of my process really hasn't changed.

Speaker 1: 1:08

One of the things that most people are surprised to find out if they haven't written email newsletters regularly, is how hard it can be, even for someone who's done it a bunch like. There's still a drag to it and I'll share more about that and just to kind of like give you the ending now. Writing an email newsletter is similar to like creating other types of content, but when you really pack the value in an email which is what I do I don't do an email newsletter to write to get to have somebody like take the email and then go to something else. I put all the value, all of the meat, in the email, so it's just that standalone piece of content. It's not the only way you have to do it. There's people that use it strictly as a tool for getting them to go to the blog or the podcast or whatever. This is how I do it, this is my process, and a lot of times people will think like, oh, you must go into the email confident and you just write it and then maybe you feel like a little uneasy afterwards because you're like how is this going to be received? That's kind of like the normal flow. If you think about content, right, you're like I'm inspired. But that's not been the case for me all these years later. It's actually the opposite flow.

Speaker 1: 2:36

So I pick a date of when I want to publish my email newsletter, which for me just became Wednesdays. It was Tuesdays for a couple of years. Just change it to Wednesdays. But because I do it every week, naturally, like a lot of times, I'm not going into it inspired and confident and things like that. It's something I need to do, just like going to the gym. I'm not like a guy that would just go to the gym because I just love going to the gym. I go to the gym because I need to and it's good for me and I feel better afterwards. But when I pull up to the gym in the parking lot I'm not like, oh, I'm absolutely at my best every single time. I don't think that's normal to be like star athletes. Don't just show up to the game every time, just feeling, oh, I'm 100% right, we're human, we have our highs, we have our lows and so, even the same, with, like, a newsletter process, the feelings are, for me, are usually switched.

Speaker 1: 3:39

So there's four steps to my email newsletter process, which I'll break down each of them briefly. There's the brainstorm step, there's create, there's edit and then there's publish the brainstorm step. The first step is where I'm gathering all my ideas and this is where I'm asking myself questions like you know what topics have come up in the creator club that I could talk about? What are comments that I've gotten on social media that are interesting enough to me that I think I could expand on it in an email newsletter? What are some replies that I've gotten from the last email newsletter that could spark another discussion for this week's email newsletter. What's missing in the whole content space?

Speaker 1: 4:27

This stage, the brainstorming stage, for me is overwhelming because and we were just talking about this on yesterday's call in the creator club it's like you have a thousand options and it's too many options. You need less options, you need less options. You need to just choose from like three right, and it's really hard when you're trying to look at everything and be like what's the best one, but that's basically what you have to do. You have to start narrowing down your focus right so that you can really get crystal clear on what the best idea is to expand on in that day. And it's just uncomfortable. To me, the brainstorm phase is uncomfortable because that's when you start thinking what am I even talking about? Who am I even talking to? How much does this stuff even matter? Is it important talking to? How much does this stuff even matter? Is it important? And I don't find that brainstorming phase to be overwhelming for this podcast in particular, which is kind of funny if you think about it.

Speaker 1: 5:35

For me, this is just when it comes to writing, for some reason, and so, after I look at all that stuff, I've narrowed in on the topic that I think would make a good subject for the email newsletter. And then I create. I'll just write out a terrible first draft and I switched from overwhelm in the brainstorm phase to anxious in the create phase when I start writing, because I have this idea and I don't know if it's an ADD thing or what, but I just have to get the idea out Like I have it and I don't want to lose it. I don't want to lose the inspiration. So I just put the idea out as fast as possible. And it's hard because I want to make it as good as possible while I'm creating it. But I'll have to remind myself don't edit yet, you're not there. Just put it all out on the page and make it as long or short, or how long or short does it need to be, all those things. And that's why I say anxious, because I start wondering is this going to be any good? Am I doing it right? Should I make this more? Is the topic even interesting? Like you know, anxious with a little insecurity mixed in while I'm creating it and again, it's funny I think like, oh really, in a perfect world I'd be like I'm so confident. I'm going to go into this like the rock, I'm going to just type it all out and this is a hit send and just be good to go. Now that doesn't happen for me and most people creative people that I meet are a similar way, where they're like is it good, I don't know.

Speaker 1: 7:10

So, after the create phase, moving to the edit phase, which I tried to give some space in between these stages the create phase and the edit phase because I need a little bit of a fresh mind. So I'll usually just take a break. I'll go do something else, eat anything. That's a different task because going from brainstorming to creating, I don't have a gap in between there. Usually I just want to like have the idea and then run with it. Then I'll create a gap in between creating and editing with it. Then I'll create a gap in between creating and editing, where I just do anything else, and then I come back to it and I go is this good now that I have a fresh set of eyes? Like, is this what I thought it could be when I first had the idea and created it, or do I need to start completely over? And if I have to start completely over, that's fine, but if I have to, but I want to be honest with myself too. Most of the time I don't start over, but I have before, and the cool thing about being in the editing phase is that's when I start to feel optimistic. I think there's no energy left to feel overwhelmed or anxious at that point, so I just feel optimistic about what it can be, who it can help, and it starts me feeling better about the whole thing and like why I even decided to create the email newsletter in the first place After I edit, which I have my own sort of style guide right of about how long I want it to be maybe 150, 250 words.

Speaker 1: 8:40

I always try to make it as short as possible without losing any essence, because I know for myself there's just too much text out there these days and people just get really wordy. So I don't want my email newsletter to be this wordy thing. I want it to be like concise, pack, a punch. Every sentence, every word has a job and it's tight. So that's what I'm doing when I'm editing. After editing, we're going to publishing height. So that's what I'm doing when I'm editing. After editing, we're going to publishing. When I'm publishing, I'm feeling confident. That's the time where I'm not overwhelmed, I'm not anxious. I'm feeling optimistic, I'm going into this confidently and I put the email newsletter as an article on my website and then I schedule it to go out to readers. I make an image for it, I add in any links, I test the links, I test the email, I make sure the formatting looks good and I just hit schedule. I feel good after that.

Speaker 1: 9:41

The tools I'm currently using I just switched back to using Beehive. I kind of like the scheduler a little bit. I follow ConvertKit, which is changing their name to Kit and I don't know. I just was like something has felt a little weird, clunky, design-wise with ConvertKit and they're going through this change. And then Beehive is shipping new products regularly and I think they got their email sequences dialed in a little bit more. So it got me interested. I'm like you know what. It's easy enough for me to switch. I'm good at it now. So I just switched back to Beehive. That's the tool I'm using and, yeah, that's my email newsletter process. I send it out every week regardless of what's going on, unless there's a really major holiday, but for the most part send it out every week. Something I am toying around with in the future is I have it going out every week.

Speaker 1: 10:35

But I'm thinking about segmenting or adding the available option where I send more frequent emails and you have to opt into that. So the base opt in would be a regular weekly email newsletter. The next level, if you want it, is more regular emails and those more regular. I say that, like, more frequent emails would be the more correct term If you wanted those more frequent emails. Then there's another police siren coming by. I think they waited for me to record this podcast episode. That's funny. That's funny. I haven't heard one all morning. And then they just come out for this podcast recording.

Speaker 1: 11:21

You'd have to click a link so that I know that you want more frequent ones. Those wouldn't be as in-depth on side as far as the planning goes. They would be a little bit more loose, a little bit more spur of the moment, but I think it would be a good practice for me. I want to do that just also because create more touch points through email if people want them, but not. You know, some people are like once a week is too much, but for me I think if I could lessen, you know, the overwhelm and anxiety, it's a good thing and I can usually do that through volume. So if I have to like do a bunch, well then I don't feel as overwhelmed, as anxious, strangely, because I just have to go Right, I have to do it.

Speaker 1: 12:10

Volume of this kind of second segment of email newsletter, email newsletter outputs that it would be doing. Then it would just be shorter again, less refined, less stylistically interesting maybe, but that's subjective and that's more so of me, of what I think. I put that emphasis on the main newsletter and then the secondary would be more spur of the moment. Curious to hear your email newsletter process, if you have one, or if this was new to you because you're interested in starting an email newsletter. If you have an emailing like, I'm curious if any of this resonates with you and you can relate with it. I'll catch you in the next one.