Is there a place for evergreen content in newsletters?

What do I mean?

There is this idea in content creation that some stories are timely:

Breaking news

Trending topics

Of-the-moment commentary

And then there’s evergreen content:

Topics that aren’t timely, but are important, and likely to be found helpful

Media editors tend to assign a mix, asking both “What’s new this week/month/year that we should cover?” and “What will our readers ALWAYS care about?”

Typically, evergreen content is on hand at any given time to be used as valuable filler.

I remember writing evergreen stories for Parents Magazine about topics pregnant mothers cared about: creating birth plans, a guide to prenatal classes, etc.

And I also remember the residual revisions they required when new editors were hired and looked to update the repository of evergreen articles waiting to be published.

Because even evergreen content needs to be refreshed to reflect new information to be published.

But how should this be adapted for newsletters?

Confession: I have 500+ collected links that haven’t made it into the 60 published issues of Opt In Weekly.

I should probably go through and delete the ones that are outdated or now seem irrelevant, but even then I’ll probably have 100 or so that I’m not ready to let go of just yet in the case that I truly need content and can justify sharing it.

And I’m assuming you have an idea file of some sort you could turn to if needed.

But I think that many of us value the timeliness of newsletters and attempt to publish content that captures the events, thoughts, and narratives of the here and now.

It’s part of building rapport and intimacy with our readerships.

We experience things together.

And, oftentimes, what we learn today changes what we believed yesterday.

So, as I begin 2022 and consider ways I can improve my newsletter and the process behind it, especially the idea that I probably should have something evergreen waiting to save me in a moment of creative panic, I’m going to test out creating backup content.

While some might be able to create an entire backup issue, I think I’d prefer to have backup bits (an evergreen Prologue or 2, some evergreen Newsletter Tips, etc.), so that, if needed, I could toss together these bits, finesse, and have a less-effort-required issue.

But the challenge will be in deciding what can be evergreen, and what will lose its luster the longer I wait to publish.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

Now, let’s get to the curated newsletter goodness…

Ashley Guttuso  

Dan Oshinsky Looks Back (And Forward)

If you missed Dan Oshinsky’s December edition of Not a Newsletter, here’s your sign to go back and catch up. He includes:

• 2022 predictions (that I think are spot-on)
• 10 lessons he learned in 10 years of email starting with “In the inbox, trust is hard to win and easy to lose”
• Can’t-miss case studies from local news
• And as always, so much more

google.com  

Insights From A Newsletter Expert

Josh Spector, creator of For the Interested, is sharing newsletter tips, strategies, and more in the latest Unleashed podcast episode (transcript is included if you’re more of a reader than listener).

umbrex.com  

What Did 2021 Bring For Newsletters?

But how did newsletters really do in 2021? InboxReads put out the surveys, gathered the data, and analyzed the results in their report, The State of Newsletters.

Discovered via InboxReads.

inboxreads.co  

Twitter Threads To Help Propel Your Newsletter Forward

Ready to grow (and/or start) your newsletter this year? These 20+ Twitter threads compiled by Ethan Brooks (you might want to follow him) are a good place to start.

twitter.com  

Are Open Rates Really Dead?

2021 brought a lot of talk about open rates. But, what about 2022? Will Harris takes a look in this Campaign Monitor article.

Discovered via Really Good Emails.

campaignmonitor.com  

Is It Time To Reshape The Way You Think About Email?

Do you think of your email list as strictly transactional, i.e. an avenue to revenue? Dennis Shiao says it’s time to invest in email as a relationship-builder and “make email a thing” in this CMS Wire article.

cmswire.com  

Start Planning For Content Distribution

Ashley Amber Sava’s advice? “Don’t wait until your content is produced to plan distribution.” Here’s what she thinks you should do instead.

ashleyambersava.com  

Maybe You Should Create A Video For That

Are you using short-form videos? HubSpot’s CMO Kipp Bodnar thinks it’s time. Discover why in this Morning Brew article by Phoebe Bain.

Discovered via Marketer Crew.

morningbrew.com  

A Twitter Strategy Worth Trying

If you’ve struggled with finding influential Twitter followers, Arvid Kahl has identified a strategy that is both “fast and effective.” Get the details here.

Discovered via For the Interested.

thebootstrappedfounder.com  

What B2B SaaS Marketers Should Promote (Beyond Features!)

What really matters when buying new software? Hila Segal, VP Product Marketing at Observe.ai, shares what’s on her list in this LinkedIn post.

linkedin.com  

The Cure For A Hard Day’s Write?

Jon Greenberg explains why you ought to “take it from the Beatles” and learn that “even great things began as a jumble.”

Discovered via American Press Institute.

poynter.org  

Fresh Writing Tips From Ann Handley

Ann Handley’s recent issue offers 10 writing tips you might want to add to your list of resolutions for 2022.

aweber.com  

Do Your Readers Have Trust Issues? These Publishing Insights Can Help

Who do readers trust (and how can we make sure they trust us)? This seems to be one of the emerging themes of 2022. Take a look at this week’s publishing insights for more.

• Behind Local News discovered that people are more likely to trust local news sources, but that doesn’t mean they’re willing to pay for it.
• As a publisher, what should you do about declining traffic? Ken Harding and Justin Eisenband offer 3 ways to respond.
• In this AAM article, Heather Williams offers insights on how to build trust with both readers and advertisers by sharing a cross-media story.
• What does 2022 hold for digital media? Axios’ Sara Fischer shares some predictions in this episode of The Rebooting.
• Both challenges and opportunities lie ahead for publishers according to Kayleigh Barber. Discover Digiday’s top 2022 trends and more here.
• The New York Times is launching an audio app. Sara Fischer with Axios shares why it matters for you.

Are Your Ads Priced Correctly?

How much should you charge for ad space in your newsletter? Esmé Ara'resa doesn’t have all the answers, but she does share possible models and insights in this recent Newsletter Crew article.

Discovered via InboxReads.

newslettercrew.com  

The Ultimate List of Newsletter Sponsors

Who Sponsors Stuff tracked down the top 100 newsletter sponsors of 2021 and is sharing who they are here.

whosponsorsstuff.com  

Are You Ready To Monetize?

What does it take to monetize your newsletter? Probably not what you think. This Marketing Dive article identifies non-negotiables like trust and transparency.

Discovered via Marketing Dive.

marketingdive.com  

New Year, New Newsletter?

Happy New Year! Seth from Curated Success here.

With a New Year comes new resolutions, new ideas, and new projects. Is one of your new projects a new newsletter?

REMINDER: You can have as many newsletters as you’d like under one Curated account.

Here’s how to create a new newsletter in Curated

1. Log in to your Curated account
2. Click the profile icon at the top right of the page
3. Click Account
4. Click New Publication
5. Set your new publication’s name and domain

Once you create a new publication, you can easily switch between your publications by clicking the Settings gear icon and selecting one of your publications under “Switch to.”

You can also invite unlimited users to your publications. Invited users can only see and work on publications you’ve invited them to, which is ideal for agencies and media groups.

Here’s how the different user roles work

• Contributor: Can do most things EXCEPT publish issues, see the list of subscribers, manage other users, and access the publication settings
• Publisher: Can do everything except manage other users
• Admin: Has all privileges and can perform any action

Learn how to invite users to publications here.

Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help your newsletter succeed in 2022!

Seth  

ICYMI: You can always check our Curated Public Product Roadmap to catch up on recent releases and find out what’s up next.

Don’t want to click through? Our recent bigger releases include Paid Subscriptions (0% commission!) and a Free Tier.

Subscribe To Greatness

Your first Opt In Challenge of 2022 is simple: subscribe to a new newsletter and let it inspire you. Here are 6 good options to get you started.

dshanecarpenter.com  

Like this newsletter?

Let me know. Reply, email me at Ashley[at]optinweekly.com, or find me on LinkedIn to hit me with some feedback. I’d love to know what you think.

Happy newslettering,

Ashley Guttuso