Generally, a “traditional” newsletter contains snippets of curated content and resources, often from the interwebs, and posts from your blog condensed into an email to your subscribers. What if you could save content creation time by using a WordPress newsletter that is easy to generate? That’d be a game-changer, right?
Ideally, a newsletter should aim to provide content and resources that benefit readers while positioning you as a great storyteller and industry thought leader, right? Well, that is true, but creating newsletters can be expensive and take a lot of time and creative energy.
I’ve spent hours creating “traditional” newsletters like a sucka! 🤬
First, I’d write several long-form blog posts with hi-res images. Next, I’d write a separate “intro” or personal bit to tie them together. Then I’d copy/paste some of the blog posts, post links, and images into my Flodesk newsletter template…
But there’s a better way to reach your audience with your blog posts than a “newsletter,” as we’ve come to know them.
The whole point of creating a newsletter is to get your content to your readers, either by getting your blog posts to their inbox or directing them to your blog.
Cons of a “traditional” newsletter:
- They are gated and SEO-unfriendly.
- They force you to rely on click-through action for traffic.
- They force you to send potential readers and clients AWAY from your blog.
- They are an unnecessary added expense.
- They take loads of time to copy/paste content. Ugh.
Pros of creating a WordPress newsletter:
- You get your blog posts directly to your readers’ inboxes.
- You control the delivery of your blog posts.
- You build trust with your fans and clients with a regular content cadence.
How To Save Time (and Money) by Launching a WordPress Newsletter
Your website and blog are your internet real estate under your domain, and unlike a third-party hosted newsletter, your blog content is search engine discoverable. Likely, your blog posts contain gobs of juicy content that your vibe tribe—fans and potential clients—want to read.
You can break free of old-fashioned thinking that you must have a third-party hosted newsletter to share your stories and biz expertise. There’s a better way to get your blog posts directly to your vibe tribe—no copying/pasting or expensive newsletter platform required.
You don’t have to waste valuable creative time or money driving traffic to a gated newsletter on a platform you don’t control. Instead, invest your time writing engaging and compelling blog posts, then drive traffic directly to your content on your website with direct-to-email-subscriber blog posts.
You will save time by simplifying your content creation and “newsletter” process. Make your blog work double-duty. Write once and trust that your content goes directly to your vibe tribes’ inbox.
Platforms like Gumroads, Substack, and Medium broke the newsletter mold with “blog-post-to-email-subscriber,” a feature that originated with WordPress. But unlike the others, you have total control of a self-hosted WordPress[dot]org blog.
💡Pro-tip: Here’s how to add the blog-post-to-email-subscriber feature to a Squarespace [here] or Wix [here] blog.
What’s the difference between an email “newsletter” and a blog post?
For a while, I stopped referring to my subscriber emails as a “newsletter” and instead called it a “(life)letter” because most of what I shared with my vibe tribe were links to my blog posts with a short personal update. But I primarily used Flodesk, which was time-consuming, as I already stated.
To save time, control my content, and focus my audience on my blog posts, I created a “newsletter” blog category.
If you intend to share aggregated resources with your vibe tribe on your blog along with your stories and content, how you classify it is a case of semantics.
You can treat your blog posts outreach emails like a “newsletter” or a direct-to-subscriber blog post “email.” You decide. You’re the boss.
Use the Jetpack WordPress newsletter plugin.
Next, I added the Jetpack plugin for folks to sign up to get an email notification every time I publish a new post!
To get your blog posts directly to your vibe tribe, you can add a subscription form to your WordPress blog posts or pages with the Jetpack shortcode (jetpack_subscription_form). Hint: You’ll need to replace the parentheses with brackets for the code to work properly.
You can see my Jetpack subscription form in action [here].
What format is best for a blog-to-email-subscriber post?
Should you use a particular format for a blog-post-to-email-subscriber post? Or is it better to have a different layout for “newsletter” posts?
Remember, you’re the boss. Some of your vibe tribe might appreciate getting an email with a list of links and resources, so perhaps you could do a monthly roundup of your latest blog posts with supporting industry news links.
However you share your blog posts, I recommend having a cohesive creative voice and style for all of your content. So, whatever layout or format you choose to share your blog posts with your vibe tribe, your content should reflect your overarching purpose—your compelling why.
For example, your Why or purpose for sharing your blog posts might be to:
- Educate
- Inform
- Inspire
- Encourage
- Entertain
Here’s a blog-post-to-email-subscriber WordPress newsletter format:
1. Title: Capture your main point + keywords or ask a provocative question to spark interest.
💡Pro-tip: Use a tool like the MonsterInsights free Headline Analyzer to see how your title ranks.
2. Intro: Present your main topic with a relatable personal experience.
3. Body: Problem(s) + Solution(s) + Benefit(s)
💡Pro-tip: Use subheadings + bold main points to break your content into digestible + scannable bits.
4. Summary: What’s the takeaway? Tie it all together in one sentence or short blurb.
5. CTA: What do you want your readers to do next?
💡Pro-tip: Your “newsletter” outline may differ if you share lifestyle or personal essay blog posts.
Yeah, buuut, Jae… I use my newsletter to segment readers and promote and stuff!
Of course, you can still use an excellent platform like Flodesk to send marketing emails separate from your blog. (Flodesk is woman-owned and has lovely templates + unlimited email sends 😍)
Just download your blog subscribers from your Jetpack WordPress plugin newsletter subscriber list as a .csv file, segment them to your heart’s content, then upload the file to your Flodesk account or another third-party newsletter provider.
Uhm, cool, but what about blog post stats? How will I know how my blog posts perform?
How do you track WordPress blog post performance?
Try using Google Analytics, Jetpack, or MonsterInsights to track your blog posts’ performance after your vibe tribe gets them.
You can streamline your content creation + email outreach by creating a “newsletter” category in your blog, and whenever you publish a new post, it will go directly to your subscribers. As a result, you’ll have more time to focus on driving traffic to your blog, which is a huge time-saving relief. 😁
What’s the bottom line of using WordPress newsletters to reach more clients?
Simplify your “newsletter” process, save creative time (and money), and drive traffic to your blog. Get your posts in your audiences’ inboxes with the WordPress blog-post-to-email-subscriber feature.
What to do next…
We’ll explore how to drive organic traffic to your blog in an upcoming post. Subscribe to get direct-to-you first-look access. Want help with setting up your WordPress blog with Jetpack? Learn more [here].
We proudly support Flodesk as an affiliate partner and will earn a small commission when you sign up. Use this link to save 50% OFF your subscription!
