Getting Your Newsletter Reader To The Finish 🏁 ☘️

(1st Story) Nuggets of Wisdom or Fools Gold?

Basically, the only thing that matters is that the reader finds the content valuable.

It may be pretty, grammatically correct, and well-researched, but if your newsletter doesn’t do its primary job, oy! What a waste. I know.

On the other hand, if the reader finds the content valuable, everything will get easier for you (..and me:).

The newsletter delivers a message. The reader finds the value💰. We need to help them do that. That’s our job.

How do we help them find value? Stop stopping them (aka, remove the obstacles). We want them to get to the end, because much of the value and cool sh*t is way down there ⬇️.

Here are three ways to clear a path for your reader:

❶ Stay Concise 🍤 

This looks different depending on your newsletter format. If you're delivering a 12-minute story read, then do your thing. But if your newsletter is a collection of stories or a curation, consider telling a complete story without all the words. This is the style I love. Payload for example gets me up to speed without having to leave the email. This is concise but complete.

• Verses Short: Avoid teasing the main content. Make sure your thoughts have a beginning, middle, and end. Second-tier content & info can link away, but generally, your main content should be more Cliff’s notes than a movie trailer. Also, avoid linking away too soon. We’re trying to get them to the end.

❷ Segment & Ask Early 👩‍🎤👷‍♀️🥷

The key to the reader finding value is knowing your audience. Your info could be excellent, but your golden nuggets might hit like a lump of lead if the audience isn't segmented correctly or aligned. Don’t mistake what you feel is valuable with what individual readers find valuable.

 Back in 2016, I surveyed school teachers (over the phone) for an Airbnb course for teachers. The initial premise was that teachers have the summers off, so summer short-term rentals might be a good side gig. One unexpected piece of gold I found in those conversations was this:

Teachers hate it when other people assume they have the whole summer off. Really hate it! — This intel made building trust in the subsequent copy much easier.

Those conversations allowed me to truly segment all school teachers into sub-niches (young vs. old, public vs, private, etc.) The message got a lot more specific as a result.

A more scalable long-term solution to individual interviews: Use a platform that segments easily and sends hyper-targeted value. The result is a reader who keeps reading.

• Versus Assumptions: To be fair, this newsletter is “new”, so while we have a target audience, who actually finds value in the content has yet to be revealed. Please fill out the poll at the bottom to help us avoid assumptions and hit the target 🎯

❸ Get Organized 🍱 

One way to make it valuable is organization. It’s very easy for a writer to mistakenly think they have a clear hierarchy to follow.

I read a lot of newsletters. I’m surprised how many lack a clear structure. Unless a less-organized style is proven and your audience is on board, focus on making it easier for the reader to find the value.

One particularly frustrating ‘tactic’ is starting with a short menu at the top (like I have), but when you try to find those stories, you can’t. I click away. A simple ask is this: If you have a table of contents, be consistent when naming the actual content.

• Versus Free-Spirited: If the reader thinks, “What the f*ck is going on here!?”…they’re losing interest, quickly. Any value you intended dwindles.

As a writer who has missed the mark, I know how hard it is to get the message right. Hopefully, by “removing obstacles” both in words and design, your reader finds the value and makes it to the end.

On that note: ⬇ Hint, hint.

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(3rd Story) Tweet Funnel: Chenell Basilio

One of the focuses of my newsletter is following successful creator funnels to reveal the tools they use to grow and thrive. I was already aware of the Sparkloop program (via their youtube masterclasses), but I saw it operate in the wild for the first time while following Chenell Basilio’s funnel.

Until this morning, I had no idea who Chenell was…and she certainly doesn’t know who I am. We haven’t spoken, but she’s taught me quite a bit about how she operates by following her front-end funnel.

It started this morning when I found this tweet. Somewhere in this value-packed thread, I learned that Chenell uses Sparkloop for referrals. That was enough to start investigating…

(1) From the tweet, I moved on to her profile. Come on! This woman is good. Everything about her Twitter profile is perfect. She’s even used her location field as another way to convey value (stole that).

She has two calls to action: 1. Her domain link 2. Her free newsletter opt-in (a free Twitter product offer). Both links get you to her site. I clicked of course.

(2) Her landing page is ConvertKit. The copy is killer. The opt-in is well worth the value she’s offering. See below.

(3) Boom! There it is. The SparkLoop pop-up is what I’ve been waiting for. Each of these three creators has been chosen by Chenell from the Partner Program. Each has its own terms, commissions, and maximum payouts. Each agreement varies, but they’re all good.

Each person you refer will yield a multiple-dollar commission. In this instance, Chenell will yield three commissions from my opt-ins (if I stay a subscriber for the minimum time). Not bad, since I was free traffic.

(4) After you subscribe to one or more creators OR click ‘Maybe later’, Chenell meets you with a smile to make sure you get to that confirmation email, including troubleshooting Gmail with a link.

(5) The confirmation email is straightforward and lands you back on the page below. If all has gone well, her funnel has yielded a new subscriber and potentially a profit in a matter of just minutes. This was just her front end via Twitter. There’s a lot I missed here, but I have a feeling I’ll be following up on this funnel. Really impressive Chenell!

Did you get to the end? It’s lonely down here. Hey, fill out the poll below. That’ll give me a sense of how many of you arrived. Until next time…

Thanks for reading!