If your newsletter feels cluttered or takes too long to get to the point, readers won’t stick around.
Here’s a simple way to fix one of the most common issues:
Don’t treat your newsletter readers like movie theater customers.
You know how when you go to a theater they make you sit through 30 minutes of ads, trailers, and concession promos?
Too many newsletters do their own version of that before getting to the “main feature.”
An example from my inbox:
A newsletter I got this week had multiple sections before getting to the article.
Here’s what it looked like:
Subject line
Headline (same as subject line)
Subheadline
Promo for their course
Promo for coaching
Read time (it was 3 minutes and half of that was probably the intro)
Subscribe button (even though I’m already subscribed)
Description of the content series (which was the same as the subheading)
“This week’s topic” (same as headline AND subject line)
Headline
And finally…
The article
When you do this, you’re making readers work to get to the value – and most won’t.
Don’t do this.
A few rules to keep your newsletter fluff-free:
1. Only say each thing once.
(The only exception may be a call to action.)
2. Get to the core of the article as quickly as possible.
3. Don’t ask people to subscribe before they’ve read the content – and definitely don’t ask if they’re already subscribed.
Want to improve your newsletter?
Send me one of your newsletter issues and I’ll point out one thing I’d fix.
Related:
• How To Write 5 Newsletter Issues In One Hour
• 10 Ways To Trim The Fat In Your Newsletter
• Email Templates That Turn Subscribers Into Buyers