BONUS - Sending Newsletters

By now, after about a week of sharing the signup link, you should have a bunch of new subscribers who are ready for your first newsletter! The steps below show you how I send mine out every week with examples. Remember to send something to your subscribers weekly, it's how you get folks to keep coming back and spreading the word about you in the community (getting you even more subscribers).

Note: the first time you do this it will take longer, but after a few weekly sendouts you'll be whipping these newsletters up in 5 minutes.

Step 1 - Write Newsletter

Log into your ConvertKit account.

At the top menu select 'Send', then 'Broadcasts'.

On the Broadcasts page you'll be able to see reports from past sendouts, but for now select the big red button on right '+New Broadcast'.

Under your templates choose 'Text only/classic'.

Write a subject line for your broadcast email. You can be fun and creative here. I HIGHLY recommend including your city name in the subject line for every sendout because it helps increase open rates when folks see their city in the subject line. Here's an example of my latest subject line:

• Fairfield events - farmers market weekend

Next it's time to add your content below.

I usually start out with a customized greeting that includes their name, here's how to automatically add their name in the email:

After you write "Hey" or "Hi" or whatever, add a space then click the @ symbol in the editing tools to add a personalization. In the drop-down select 'Subscriber first name', then add a comma and hit enter to start a new paragraph.

Your intro should look like this:

• Hey {{ subscriber.first_name }},

Now it's time to write your quick newsletter in a new paragraph under the intro.

Here's where I typically mention/highlight a few upcoming events or make announcements. My goal is to always keep it short and sweet, then give the link to the full calendar. Sometimes I'll include a P.S. as well.

Here's my latest email for example:

• Hey {{ subscriber.first_name }},
  
  Lots happening this coming weekend. I counted over 33 events! We got Art Walk and multiple Cinco de Mayo celebrations on Friday, then the first Outdoor Farmer's Market is back on Saturday morning at Howard Park.
  
  Here's the full event list.
  
  Divertise,
  -Leon
  
  P.S. If you have a garage sale coming up just reply back with the deets and I'll put it on the event list to help spread the word.

When your email is ready to go, hit 'Continue' in bottom right corner.

Step 2 - Review

I recommend hitting the 'Preview' button on left, then choose 'Send Test Email' to yourself or your alternate email just to see how it will look for subscribers and double-check for any minor errors (like your calendar link not being clickable). Pull out your phone or open your inbox to see the test email. It usually arrives within 1 minute.

If something needs changed/edited, close the preview window then hit the back arrow in upper left to edit your email draft.

When everything looks good, follow below...

On the review page double check your 'From Address' is correct.

All subscribers should already be selected for you.

You can choose to 'Send now' or pick a date in the near future.

You can edit the 'Preview Text' if you want, or leave it blank.

You can also leave 'Internal note' blank.

Then finally I leave the 'public feed' option OFF.

When ready, hit the red 'Continue' button in bottom right.

Step 3 - Final Check

You'll see a popup box for a final review.

Assuming everything looks good hit 'Send Broadcast'.

Next it'll say congrats and it's being sent. Ignore the option for posting to public feed or leave it off. You can 'X' out of this popup window now.

You'll be taken back to the 'Broadcasts' page and will see your latest sendout processing. Later on you can hit refresh to see stats or 'View Report' on right-hand side. Since most people check their email at different times I recommend waiting a couple days before checking the report for more accurate data.

Wrap-Up

Moving forward just follow this same flow to send out your newsletter each week. Pretty soon you'll have this memorized and can get them sent out in 5 minutes.

Go ahead and start the next lesson.

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