TOC #229: Are you writing about my leg...?
(May 13, 2025) How To Decide What To Write In Your Newsletter
Me: “I wish you could help me right now.”
Side Character: “how?”
Me: “I just wish you could tell me what the girlies want. Like, it's 11:05pm, I was planning on writing a whole ass different newsletter for today, but now I don't have the brain cells, and I refuse to not send my newsletter out on a Tuesday, so I wish you could tell me what to write about.”
Side Character: “I mean, I know what the girlies want…”
Me: “Oh yeah?”
Side Character: “they want leg tattoo content, obviously.”
Me: *eye roll*
Me: 🤔 actually… 🤔
Me: *transcribes the conversation happening while my boyfriend mixes our boxed mac n cheese instead of writing a real newsletter intro*
It will be a cold day in hell when you don't get the Tuesday Table of Contents on a Tuesday, and it will also be a cold day in hell when you get a subpar story.
There's something I want to tell you — I've been planning on telling you about this all day, actually — but I don't have enough hours left in my day or cells left in my brain to do that speech justice right now.
And, yeah, I'm being dramatic; I absolutely could send my newsletter late, or half-ass the thing I want to share with you, or skip it altogether.
But I don't want to do that.
I want to keep my streak of 229 consecutive Tuesdays, and I want to keep my reputation of being a great storyteller.
So, I hate to break it to you, but this man just put the bowl of mac n cheese is ready, and my brain is not, so you're gonna have to wait til next Tuesday for the actually important story about the actually important topic.
I'll still teach you something today, though — I wouldn't dare leave you with nothing! — but first:
Hit “reply” and tell me your favorite mac n cheese brand.
(There absolutely IS a wrong answer, by the way.)
How To Decide What To Write In Your Newsletter
Step #1: Decide what I’m hoping to promote / what I want my call-to-action to be
Unless I have a story I’m really dying to tell, I’ll start with what I want the story to tie into. Starting with the end result makes staying on track and deciding what to write about so much easier.
Example: if I know I’m planning on launching my website copywriting course soon, I’ll obviously want to educate my readers about the subject of website copy.
If I have nothing specific to promote / draw attention to / sell, then I’ll consider the main offerings I have or subjects I like to educate about, and write something about those: website copy, blogging, email marketing, SEO, or copywriting / marketing in general.
Step #2: Once my topic is chosen, I think of how my readers will feel about it
Example: in this newsletter, I wanted to talk about the reasons why your website might need a refresh (because I knew I wanted the CTA to be to either work with me to write your web copy, or hire me for a web copy audit).
One of the main reasons people don’t update their website when they know it isn’t working for them is because they feel like they’re wasting all the hard work (or hard-earned money) they put into it — especially if they invested in professional copy or custom design previously, or if they spent a lot of time on it.
So, I told a story about a time where I felt uncomfortable with wasting something, and how it ended up badly. Read it right here!
Step #3: Make sure the story actually works
Sometimes, ur gurl’s just talkin to talk. I mean, I AM the inventor of the Long Story Long. So.
I’ll often write something, and love the story, but then realize… it’s irrelevant. And this is one of the hardest things about being a writer—letting go of the good shit that just doesn’t work for what the goal of the piece is.
So, every time I tell a story, I make sure it actually flows into the call to action I’m trying to share.
Step #4: Write it!
And then proofread it. Multiple times. With lots of time in between. Preferably at least a day, but sometimes I don’t have that luxury.
Not proofreading emails makes for awkward situations, like broken links or should-have-known-better mistakes.
Step #5: Pick a funky subject line & schedule it to go out at the same time, same day, every week, baby
If you’ve been subscribed for a while, it’s safe to assume that you know I love sugar, but I hate sugar-coating, so I’m just gonna tell you:
Consistency is a HUGE part of sending a successful newsletter, and if you send your newsletter anything less frequently than biweekly or weekly, people are forgetting about you.
Sry! Don’t shoot the messenger! But people get thousands of emails on the regular, and if you’re not showing up often, you’re forgettable. 👀
I also feel like because people expect me every Tuesday, my subject lines have less weight to pull. This is an advantage that I’ve earned via consistency (and delivering on my promise of offering value, both educational and entertainment).
And it’s why I title my newsletters shit like “if you gave a mouse a lobster roll” and “not the vodka ice” and “these men can’t be serious” and “my brawl with Nestle Tollhouse” 😂
& that's that on that!
I have a whooole strategy for planning an entire year's worth of newsletter content in under an hour (the record is actually 19 minutes, shoutout Priscilla!) if you're thinking about getting serious about newslettering + want it to be WAYYY less overwhelming 👇
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SIDE NOTE…
y'all wanna keep learning?!
I have big fat plans to launch a workshop series, because you know ur gurl looovveesss a workshop, and I was thinking of setting it up similar to a membership:
I'll teach 10 workshops in a year. You get access to all of them for 1 price (which you'd have the option to pay for in full, or pay for monthly).
I was planning on launching it in January.
BUT… I'm low key thinking about launching it in July instead. 👀 Thoughts?!
Hit “reply” and share your opinions with me if you have them; I'm all ears! I'm also curious what you'd want to learn about.
Of course, I have some ideas up my sleeve — launch emails, About pages, building community offline, squirrel-friendly things, etc — but I'd love to know if there's anything specific you want to learn from me.
TYSM IYLSM!
xo,
—S
P.S. If you've been thinking about hiring me to write your website copy for you, note that I am now booking September for new projects! xo
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