… received a question via email.
It was from someone who had just completed my (outstanding) email newsletter home study course.
She was excited about building a business in which she would create newsletters for other companies.
I asked her what her own newsletter was about.
She doesn’t have one.
Uh oh. If you don’t believe in what you’re doing, why would I hire you to do it for me?
Dear Michael,
I had to laugh when I read your “Today I …” segment about the woman who wrote to tell you she was taking your email newsletter course.
While I get the point you were trying to make, I’d like to come to the defense of that lady … and myself.
Why? Because I, too, am in the process of working through your email newsletter course, and I, too, do not have a newsletter. (My AWAI version of your course is titled, “Creating Email Newsletters for Professional Service Firms.”)
Here are two plausible reasons for not having our own newsletter:
1. We don’t know how to write an effective newsletter—that’s why we’re taking your course.
2. We don’t have our own service business to promote (yet) in a newsletter—that’s why we’re taking your course.
As you can see, we’re in a bit of a Catch 22 here. Until we establish our email newsletter writing service, we can’t have a newsletter promoting that service … right?
Perhaps your advice to us should be that if our goal is to create a business writing email newsletters for others, the first email newsletter we need to work on is our own.
That feedback aside, Michael, I’m a big fan of yours. I look forward to getting your newsletter and your “Today I …” emails, and I’m thoroughly enjoying the course materials.
My goal is to complete your email newsletter course before the end of the year and doing everything I need to do to start pursuing newsletter clients by end of the first quarter in 2016.
I’m about a third of the way through the course right now. I’m highlighting passages, taking notes, and writing down ideas and questions that come to mind.
If there is a preferred way of contacting you with questions about the course material, I’d be grateful to know it. (I promise not to bother you until I have completed the course.)
Thanks for listening and keep up the good work!
Warm regards,
Michael D. Rhoda
Hi Michael!
Thanks for writing; I’m glad you’re enjoying the course. I think in the situation you describe, it makes sense. For her, it was something that didn’t seem to have occurred to her! Either way, get it going as fast as you can. The more you can speak from experience and success in your newsletter as a marketing tool, the more convincing you’ll be.
All the best in getting things going,
Michael
Thanks, Michael.
I’ll let you know when my newsletter and business is launched!
Best,
Michael