Happy 2024, everyone! Donβt you just love the smell of the new year? Nothing feels better than hitting the reset button and leaving your bags behind. (Don’t pay attention to the failed 2023 resolutions behind the curtain.) In celebration of a fresh start, this week’s newsletter will help you measure your goals, warm up your writing muscles, and lay the groundwork for new goals. It’s about creating “newsletter resolutions” that will help you build your. A year of publishing success. Alright, let’s go!
In this week’s issueπ¨
- Evaluate newsletter success
- 8 writing exercises to help you grow
- Common mistakes new publishers make
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measure metrics
When it comes to metrics, what will newsletter success look like in 2024? Most publications only look at open rates and list size, but these are small changes on a larger radar . If you’re ready to make big waves this year, your metrics map should include everything from audience engagement and newsletter growth to monetization metrics and reader feedback.
Author Dan Osinski inbox collection Analyzing these measurable metrics helps you understand what’s working and what’s not.
engagement
- Most open rates hover around 38%, so don’t worry if your open rates aren’t higher. However, in your case, Open rate is consistently below 30%, so it may be time to reconsider how you grow and bring back inactive readers.
- your click rate Represents the percentage of readers who clicked at least one link within a newsletter. A good click-through rate is 2-5%.Not getting enough clicks? Which links should you focus on? teeth Click to take further action.
- Bounces occur when your newsletter can’t be delivered to your subscribers due to a temporary or permanent issue with their inbox.your bounce rate Must be less than 0.5%. If this is high, it means you need to clean up your reader list.
Open rates are changing
- On February 1st, Gmail and Yahoo! Mail will begin blocking marketers who use fraudulent or outdated practices. Build a better sending environment For publications like yours.
- this is Biggest deliverability update in years, newsletterscape is bound to cause some difficulties. In the short term, some emails may be temporarily placed in your spam folder.
- In the long run, for publications that already follow best practices, You’ll see better email metrics from now on. (By the way, if you’re using Ghost, don’t worry; we’re already prepared to get ahead of these changes.)
growth
- If your number of subscribers It doesn’t grow as fast as I expected, but that’s okay! Take time to re-evaluate your content and see what readers respond well to. In some cases, slowing down the pace of growth may be the right option.
- Please prepare a list of inactive reader The longer you are in the newsletter game, the more you will grow. Consider running a reactivation campaign to win back unsubscribed subscribers.
- Track using growth tools like Google Analytics conversion rate For new landing pages or signup modules. If your conversion rate is low, consider improving your form copy and design.
Monetization
- When selling ads, the higher your click-through rate, the more you can charge. Start tracking the percentage of readers who click on links within your newsletter. Set the right expectations for advertisers.
- If you sell products such as paid subscriptions, courses, or products, be sure to: Track new readers who convert into paying customers. If your conversion rate is low, you may be selling the wrong product.
- try it Track less obvious revenue streams Non-advertising and non-membership revenue, such as affiliate revenue. If you’re not sure how to get started with affiliate marketing, check out this guide by creator Ryan Robinson.
feedback
- Measure reader satisfaction with surveys Using Google Forms. Ask your readers about the most useful content, or what they would change if they had the freedom to add something to the newsletter.
- Don’t like open-ended questions? Please ask for something more numerical.. On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely are you to recommend your newsletter to a friend or family member?
- If you don’t like the form, Encourage subscribers to provide direct feedback Directly from your inbox. If you’re sending something worth investing in, you’ll get a higher percentage of replies.
Interesting stories and ideas π
practice writing sentences
Whether you’ve been writing for years or are starting a new blog, flexing your writing muscles should be one of your priorities in 2024. When it comes to honing your writing skills, practice makes (almost) perfect. So what can you do every day without wasting your time? Check out his 8 exercises to help you grow as a writer.
#1 Transcribe the work of other authors It’s one of the best ways to learn from expert writers. You can feel intimate with their style, word choice, and composition without losing your own voice in the process.
#2 Reactive writing Writing down your ideas, feelings, and arguments as a sudden reaction to something. It seems dangerous, but if you ever get stuck, this will get you going smoothly again and be ready for what’s next.
#3 Write from memory It’s a great way to capture the exact details that bring your items to life. What you write should take you back to that specific place and time and include important parts that the reader needs to know.
#4 Increase your vocabulary Make your writing accessible while offering your readers discovery along the way. Familiarize yourself with unusual words so you can reach them more comfortably.
#5 Freewriting Alternatively, “stream of consciousness” writing is a great way to empty your mind. This helps you stay focused on your tasks while increasing the speed at which you can get ideas from your head to the page.
#6 Headline Brainstorming It can help you drastically change the tone, content, and purpose of your writing. By being able to create headlines quickly, you can accelerate other parts of your writing, such as testing multiple testimonials.
#7 Edit Making someone else’s writing more accurate, concise, or complete requires creators to approach content with a more analytical lens. This will help you create your own cleaner first draft.
#8 Create Continuously It’s always the best way to improve your skills. Writing practice is helpful, but it can never compete with the act of doing. When you consistently set aside time to write, the magic happens naturally.
lay the foundation
If you’re just starting your newsletter in 2024 and are already feeling overwhelmed, don’t worry. You can’t do everything in one day, week, or month. So take a breath (take deep breaths through your nose and into your belly), make some tea, grab a blanket, and turn on the fake TV fireplace. It’s time to focus on building the right foundation.
Author Ruth Soukup Elite Blog Academy Here are some common mistakes to avoid as you chart your path to success.
β£ do things out of order This is one of the biggest mistakes new publishers make. Everything we do builds on what came before. You don’t want to drive traffic to your publication before you’ve written anything, and you don’t want to launch your product before you’ve built an email list.
β£ Jumping from strategy to strategy This is another sign that you are not focusing on the basics. Once you decide on a plan, give it time to marinate before trying anything else. Don’t get distracted by new, shiny strategies before establishing your current one. Success takes time.
β£ perfection Very little is available, especially in the early stages of publication. Your newsletter won’t be finished right away, and that’s okay. Focus on the balance between quality and quantity. You may not be 100% satisfied with the content you publish at first, but it won’t improve until you click Publish.
β£ Be too attached to one type of post That’s an unconscious mistake writers make. There is no single definition of what a “good” post or newsletter looks like. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different types of content and formats. You won’t know what will work unless you try.
“…the hard truth is that monetizing and building a business can sound much more exciting. But the truth is that you can’t do it all from day one. Because you want to be successful with your blog. If…we have to start with the basics.β β Ruth Soukup
Curator’s Recommendations βοΈ
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