Capturing (let alone keeping) the attention of your followers on social media has become and increasingly difficult task, particularly if you're unable to shell out the necessary cash in order to boost your posts. Luckily, the newsletter remains as reliable standby. Here we look at five ways to create the most engaging newsletter possible.
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Guest post by Angela Mastrogiacomo from the Symphonic Blog
Tell me if you’ve heard this one before—your social media algorithms are against you and unless you’re paying to boost posts, a lot of your content is getting lost in the mix.
Of course you have.
For years now we’ve known that the content that gets shown to your audience is the content with the strongest engagement. But let’s be honest, sometimes even your strongest post isn’t going to attract the attention of all hundreds or thousands of your followers. But you know what you can always rely on? Your newsletter. That baby will get delivered to the inboxes of your subscribers every single time without fail.
If you don’t already have one in place, that’s step one. If you do, then check out our five tips for creating a newsletter that’s sure to catch the attention and interest of your audience.
Keep Your Subject Line Catchy
The first step in hooking them is to make them want to open it in the first place. You don’t want to sound too much like clickbait, but there’s also a lot of value in intriguing your audience with a question or something that’s simply too tempting to pass up. Subject lines like “You’ll Never Believe Who Is Featured In Our New Music Video” or “10 Tour Stops We’re Making (And Why You Won’t Want To Miss These Shows)” are just begging to be opened.
Show Them the Real You
I once worked with an artist who had been sending out her newsletter for at least a year with relatively low engagement. After a few coaching sessions together she decided to open up and be more vulnerable in her next one. She’d been going through a bit of a crisis as an artist (doubts, insecurities, fears) and while her initial reaction was to want to hold that in and not let anyone know (for fear of seeming unprofessional), she decided to just go for it. Into this newsletter, she poured all the things she was feeling, the emotions she was battling, and the chaos inside her mind.
Guess what happened?
Her engagement skyrocketed. In the first hour alone she received more replies than she ever had before and in the days that followed they continued pouring in.
People respond to honesty and vulnerability. They want something and someone to connect to, and the more real with them you are, the more opportunity you give them to do just that.
Have a Call to Action
Having a call to action means that you’re asking your audience to do something that bridges the gap between the two of you. It could be to share your new music video, follow you on Twitter, pick up tickets to the show, or simply reply and tell you what song you should cover next. Make sure your newsletter has one of these in it—ideally something that’s going to give you and your fans the best experience, and most value. Just remember, you don’t want to overwhelm your fans. One call to action per newsletter is plenty.
Send Consistently
As with everything else, for a newsletter to truly be as effective as possible, you want to send it consistently. Get on a schedule and then stick to it. Once a week might be a little much, but a lot of artists find comfort in sending once a month. Pick a date, and stick to it. For instance, the first Thursday of every month or the 15th of each month.
You may feel like you’re struggling to come up with content on a monthly basis, but this is part of where learning to convey your brand and be real with your audience comes through. Most people think of a newsletter as a chance to sell to their audience or tell them what the audience can do for them. That’s not what this is about. It’s an opportunity to connect with and grow closer to your fans. If you look at it that way, the possibilities open up.
Have a Goal With Each Newsletter
When you go into anything with a plan, you tend to have a better outcome. Your newsletter is no different. For each one, know what you’re trying to say when you begin crafting it. You might know that you want the main focus of this one to be the new music video you’re releasing, but what else are you going to actually say? Is there a way you can create a theme around the newsletter that’s related to your announcement?
For instance, if the announcement is about a tour, maybe you write an editor’s note on your personal trials and tribulations of being on the road and the highs as well as the lows of being away from family. Or maybe if your new music video is to raise awareness for mental health, you write your personal story related to that, and include links to organizations your fans can get involved with.
Have an idea of where you’re going, let it compliment your brand, and then just start writing.
Angela Mastrogiacomo is the founder and CEO of Muddy Paw PR, where her artists have seen placement on Alternative Press, Noisey, Substream, and more. She’s also the owner of music blog Infectious Magazine.. She loves baked goods, a good book, and hanging with her dog Sawyer.
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