What are your experiences with growing a newsletter with multiple topics and/or a broad target group?
I see a lot of newsletters here that have a specific niche and target group. That makes sense, because it's just like building a business: you need to know exactly what value you're providing to whom.
But is it possible to also grow a newsletter if your niche and/or target group is less clear? Have you had any luck in this area?
I'm asking because some time ago I started a blog and newsletter myself. I like writing and enjoy it when other people read my work. However, since I'm interested in many things (what some people call the Shiny Object Syndrome), I also write about many things; from personal development to happiness to interesting tech tools I find.
This makes it more difficult to really target and market my newsletter. I've been trying to market it with sentences like "A newsletter for curious people" (see e.g. my signup page), but this is still a bit vague.
How do you handle this?
I'm experiencing something similar. I recently launched a sports newsletter for casual fans and busy professionals interested in professional sports on the West coast: westcoastsports.substack.com.
I've gotten the most positive feedback on the commentary parts. My opening address and the blurbs in the middle. They get the culture I'm sharing and the need for a sports community in the Pacific Time Zone. However, I usually try to start with a broader news story aka sports return and add a west coast perspective to that. I don't feel like I can have a sports newsletter without talking about what everyone else is talking about but at the same time it might be more engaging if I gave people the commentary since that also ages better.
Thanks for sharing pdc! I suppose asking your readers directly would help - to see what content they like most?
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I'd suggest to focus on one niche first and then, expand to adjacent ones and see if you have engagement.
I'm partially in the same situation: been writing for 1 month about insights from pre-internet companies for founders. But last 2 editions I went into my personal/professional career and the engagement was higher than the previous editions. Now, I'm on a dilemma: write more about my previous experiences or keep the pre-internet business?
I'll try to split 80/20 to the newsletter initial purpose.
Good point Leo. How did you decide on the 80/20 split? On the basis of what you think is right, or did you do some research as to what your readers like most (aside from checking the stats)?
Just to update: after talking to some subscribers, I decided to switch almost completely. Now, going to write more about my experience. Good engagement in my latest 2 editions (personal ones) also helped.
Cool, good stuff!
No, was just my gut feeling of what subscribers want to read. I need to jump in some calls with subs to make sure I'm on the right way
The best advice I have seen for building your personal brand is to be a "lighthouse for like-minded people". I am very much the same. I am interested in a wide variety of things and would probably enjoy a more "random" newsletter. I also agree with @Betilfan about getting feedback about what content your audience likes.
Sidenote: If you want to help create the future of newsletters and newsletter tools, your feedback would be greatly appreciated. You can submit your ideas here: https://getwavium.com/future.
I guess in that sense — being a light-house — I hope that with broad interests I attract similar people with broad interests. But there's a trade-off there; if your product/newsletter is too broad, you can't really market it. I'll think about this some more, thanks for the input and curious to see where you'll go with Wavium!
You're describing the dilemma associated with any new product. "How do I trim the fat on this idea to get to the real meat?" In short, your success rate with a broad newsletter is likely to be pretty low for the simple reason that it will be MUCH harder to capture the short attention span of most individuals, and even harder to KEEP it.
I suggest mapping out all the ideas you would consider writing about. Then, talk to 10 or so friends/colleagues and have them rank that list in an order based on their assumptions of your expertise in each area. In most cases, their answers will be the result of their perception of your passion around the idea. What they hear you talk about that excites them. From there, you'll probably find what you should actually be writing about.
Thanks Betilfan, that's a fair point you're making. I do think though that there is an angle that I could use to combine multiple topics together, but perhaps not to the extent that I'm doing currently.
Perhaps it's a decision I have to make — whether to continue a broad newsletter which I write for both myself and others, or to 'trim the fat' as you say and go for one topic, even though that means I can't write about other topics that interest me (in this particular newsletter).
If you start with your niche, you could always send out the occasional “bonus” issue on a related topic and gauge the response to determine how you proceed.
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Right, the Joe Rogan example is good — I think he captures attention with his personality and style.
And I've decided to narrow it down a bit more, and focus on sharing relevant insights for (curious) entrepreneurs specifically!