This Week’s Fix: Solve a Problem for Your Reader
One of the biggest mistakes people make with their newsletters is that they position themselves or their organization as the hero of the story.
Your subscriber is the real hero. You are the guide who helps the hero achieve their goals, vision, and transformation.
At Future Forest, we also like to think about it this way: Your newsletter is a product that should solve a clear problem for your audience.
In doing so, you honor the implicit exchange of value that happens when someone signs up for your newsletter—they give you their email address (something that’s valuable to you) in the hope that you’ll give them something valuable in return.
When people buy email lists or make their newsletters about themselves, the exchange of value breaks down and performance slips.
How You Can Apply This Today
Look at your last three newsletters and ask yourself:
Who is the hero of this edition?
How much of my newsletter is serving my audience? (see the 90/10 rule)
If this quick diagnostic reveals you’re not focused on your subscribers and their problems, here are a few prompts to help shift your newsletter’s positioning:
What are your subscribers trying to accomplish in life and work?
How can you help them look better to coworkers, friends, and family?
What can you share that would be so useful that people want to forward your note to others?
Orienting your newsletter around subscribers and their problems should also alleviate some pressure; overcoming the blank page problem is easier when the newsletter is less a reflection of your writing skill and wit and more a service you’re delivering to your audience.
Who Does This Well?
A great resource for other newsletter operators from the former director of newsletters at The New Yorker.
Milly Tamati’s newsletter and community built for career “generalists” who are struggling to find their professional path.
If you have a great example, reply and let me know. I’m always on the lookout for excellent newsletters, and I’ll send the following postcard to the first person who replies (in the mail, of course).
This Week’s Postcard
The Colosseum in Rome
Something from IRL
Our fire pit is the most underutilized space at our home. With the cooler weather settling in here in Colorado, I’m on a mission to change that this year.
See You Next Week
That’s it for this edition of Priority Mail. Next up, one simple fix under the Writing & Research category.
Until then, feel free to grab 30 minutes with me here to talk through your biggest newsletter pain point.
I’m happy to review a recent edition and your ESP setup so that we can discuss ideas tailored to your audience and process.
Chris
GM at Future Forest
