Every year for Valentine’s Day, my husband writes me a poem.

I say “every year”…

He probably missed a few here and there.

But it seems like every year.

And this has been going on since before we got married, so, roughly 18 years.

Having typed those 5 sentences I now feel bad about any time I’ve complained that he’s not romantic.

He makes it a performance:

Me listening as he reads rhyming couplets in a sing-song voice.

Him delivering inside jokes with a sneaky grin to see if I get them.

I usually simultaneously laugh and cry.

And I imagine as he drafts each one he is doing so in anticipation of the moment when I experience his creation.

There is a bit of “Thank God you remembered I love this” mixed with an appreciation for him setting aside time to make me feel something.

Additionally, there is a more holistic emotional response.

The compounding result of a tradition lived out over and over again.

Nostalgia mixed with something new.

It’s sappy and lovely and I’m proud it is ours.

It reminds me of an elderly couple we befriended years ago who seemed still so very in love.

The wife told me that part of what held them together was that despite any frustrations they might be feeling, he took time each day to sing “You Are My Sunshine” directly to her.

It had come to mean, “Remember, I still love you.”

And so, as all the balloons, chocolate hearts, and commercialized festivities begin to crowd our lives this weekend, perhaps it’s a good time to think of your newsletter as a love letter to your reader.

One written with the intention of helping them feel

Loved

Valued

Appreciated

One created for the moment when you deliver the inside joke and they get it, hit both by the dopamine of the moment and the compounding emotion of feeling it on repeat.

I often curate email list growth stories, and some of the tactics they promote can feel a little hacky compared to this simple approach:

Show readers you love them through what you send…

So much so that they share the way it makes them feel with others.

Not because of some big “Share this” CTA you make prominent in the content, but because what you’ve sent prompts the action without begging for it.

And, if you fancy it, maybe try a poem or an unusually sappy introduction.

Ashley Guttuso  

Should You Plan To Fail?

Real question: is there ever a time you should fail on purpose? Robert Rose makes a compelling case for the value of deliberate mistakes in this CMI article. He explains these intentional mistakes might make sense when:

1. There’s less to lose
2. Rigid, institutional rules are in place
3. You are the newbie

As a newsletter creator, it’s possible that maybe your deliberate mistake becomes an outlying avenue for success. My takeaway?

“If you only fail when we’re trying not to, you may just miss out on proof you should trust your initial instincts.”

Discovered via Smart Brief on Social Business.

contentmarketinginstitute.com  

Improve Your Welcome Email

Is your welcome email setting the expectations it should? This App Sumo article by Ernest breaks down the components of a good welcome email and offers examples.

Discovered via Really Good Emails.

appsumo.com  

One Newsletter Creator’s Success Story

In 2021, Ellen Donnelly set a goal of reaching 1,000 email subscribers for her newsletter The Ask. She’s sharing the strategies, tools, and tactics she used to make it happen here.

Discovered via For the Interested.

substack.com  

It’s Time To Find Your Niche

Have you found your niche? Nicolas Cole writes about 7 ways to “niche down” on his Twitter feed.

Discovered via Marketer Crew.

twitter.com  

Lead Gen VS Demand Gen

Sam Kuehnle served up a helpful breakdown (and illustration) to explain the difference in this LinkedIn post .

linkedin.com  

TikTok Mascots

Does your brand have a TikTok strategy? According to Phoebe Bain with the Morning Brew you might want to consider creating or using a brand mascot to engage on the platform.

morningbrew.com  

More Than PDFs: Why Marketers Should Pay Attention To NFTs

In this Smart Brief article, Isabel Kunkle looks at how brands are releasing NFTs that are more than digital assets. Some are tied to actual physical products while others offer exclusive membership perks. Will your company be releasing NFTs?

Discovered via Smart Brief on Social Business.

smartbrief.com  

Newsletter Advice For Independent Authors

“A focused author newsletter will help you turn your readers into loyal fans.”

Hannah Lee Kidder shares what to include in an author newsletter here.

Discovered via The Write Life.

selfpublishing.com  

Big Tech Vs Media Outlets (Or Are Those The Same Thing, Now?)

Check out these recent headlines from the ongoing battle for attention and revenue.

• A new law is in the works that would require Google and Facebook to pay publishers for their content. David Sharman shares the details here.
• In this Tech Crunch article, Aisha Malik explains why Apple’s jumping on board the localized news train and launching a daily newsletter for the Bay Area.
• Google has launched a new “page experience” metric to measure how users interact with a web page. Joseph Cummins shares what this means for publishers here.
• The Seattle Times hit 81,000 digital subscribers. William Turvill takes a look in this Press Gazette article.
• In this Tool Kits article, Jack Marshall answers this question: Is revenue or subscriber volume more important?

A New Approach To Making Money Online

In this 37-minute video, Ali Abdaal and David Perell discuss how they successfully monetized writing and YouTube. Don’t miss how to use your unfair advantages around the 15-minute mark.

Discovered via For the Interested.

Related: David Perell also breaks down 7 components to accelerate your career by writing online here.

youtube.com  

What Curated Users Have To Say About Curated

Hey everyone, Seth with Curated Success here. This week, we’re going to switch things up and hear what someone else besides the Curated team has to say about Curated.

Igor Pereira, creator of the newsletter Direito Novo, published this video detailing how Curated allows you to easily build a newsletter that brings value to your audience. Igor covers

• Why he uses Curated
• How Curated makes building a newsletter easy
• The benefits of a Paid newsletter
• How he uses the API to keep his subscriber lists synced between Curated and other tools
• How to collect links using the Curated Chrome Extension
• How to build and send an issue

Thanks to Igor for creating this awesome overview of Curated. Be sure to check it out here.

Psst! Igor also sets a great example for how to use the Curated affiliate program. When someone signs up for Curated using his affiliate link, Igor will receive 30% recurring revenue. Check out this tutorial video to see the full walkthrough of how to become a Curated affiliate.

If you have any questions, let me know.

youtube.com  

Curated Crash Course Today At 4 PM Central

Curated Crash Course is today at 4 PM CT!

As usual, the first 30 minutes include a tutorial on getting started with Curated followed by a Q&A session that begins at 4:30.

This is built to be a come-and-go Zoom call, so feel free to hop in whenever you can and leave when you have to.

If you have any questions about Curated or newsletters, we created a Google Form where you can submit them.

Seth will answer them live at Curated Crash Course during the Q&A segment of the session, but if you can't make it, he’ll send you a recording so you can see your questions answered.

zoom.us  

New to Curated? Make a copy of this Getting Started with Curated Checklist to help launch your newsletter (public, private, or paid).

Avoid Spam Filters

Your challenge this week is to stay out of the spam folder. Folderly’s Vladislav Podolyako shares some high-level tips to improve your newsletter’s deliverability here. Check it out and make sure you’re taking the proper precautions.

Discovered via Really Good Emails.

folderly.com  

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