The Right & Wrong Way to Promote Your Latest Blog Post within a Newsletter

“Can I copy and paste my blog post into a newsletter?”

If you’ve ever asked this question, you’re not alone. I hear it often, and though I wish I could say yes (because wouldn’t all our lives be a whole lot easier?), the answer is a big NO.

That said, it is still a good idea to use your newsletters to promote your blog. You just have to do it in the most strategic way.

This strategy starts with understanding the relationship between your blog and the newsletters you send to your mailing list. It’s also important to know what your newsletter absolutely needs to have… so that you don’t swap out the most important features of your newsletter for a promotional blurb about your blog.

I’ll be walking you through all of these and then giving you some examples at the end, but don’t skip to the bottom. You need ALL of this important info — info that could be the difference between booking your next consult or not!

Alright, are you ready for this loaded topic? Let’s dive in.

 

Understanding the Relationship between Your Blog and Newsletters

In another post, I talked about the role of your blog in your sales funnel, which is the process by which new clients discover you, learn to trust you, value you, and then finally want to work with you.

Here’s a simplified recap of that funnel:

1. Potential Clients Discover Your Content Online (Social Media, Google Search)

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2. They Click the Link to Read Your Blog Post on Your Website

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3. At the End of Your Blog Post, They Can Subscribe to Your Newsletter to Receive Your Free Lead Magnet

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4. They Receive the Free Lead Magnet by Email + Are Now on Your Monthly List

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5. They Begin to Know, Like & Trust You through Monthly (or Bi-Monthly) Newsletters

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6. Potential Clients are Eventually Ready to Book a Discovery Call with You

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7. Your Winning Charm Turns Potential Clients into CLIENTS

 

You can see (in bold) that your blog and newsletters are at different stages of your sales funnel. Your blog is part of discovery and gathering email addresses; your newsletter is where you have an intimate connection to someone you already know is interested in what you have to offer. 

HOWEVER — and this is important — you can also use your blog posts as part of that “know, like & trust” part of your newsletters… if done STRATEGICALLY. And you all know I love strategy!!

 

What Every Strategic, Successful Newsletter Needs

Are you ready for this? This is the good stuff… Because your newsletters are the final stage in your selling cycle, it is important you USE THEM TO SELL. (This is your call-to-action.)

I know “selling” feels icky, but you’re not pushing a used car on anybody. As an interior designer, stager, or workroom, you help people find peace and happiness in their current homes or in their next ones. Think of selling as your heartfelt invitation for people to change their homes and lives with you.

That said, you probably won’t see results if you’re sending out newsletters that are SOLELY selling every time. You have to give your readers something valuable, whether it’s fantastic advice, a link to your latest blog post(!), or a heartwarming/fun story they can relate to.

Whether you’re sharing a blog post or not, you should always invite your email recipients to book a consultation with you.

Note: If you use Socialite Vault’s newsletters, you’ll already have the right proportion of value-adding advice and a call-to-action to book with you. Love these!

 

How to Promote a Blog Post within a Newsletter

I know, we finally got here, but all the info above is super important, so I hope you didn’t skip it! 😉

So, that copy-paste situation I mentioned in the intro? That’s a no-go. If you do that, your mailing list has no incentive to go read the post on your website… where they could have discovered other content of yours, browsed your portfolio and services, and maybe even have contacted you.

That’s an opportunity lost!!

Instead, you’ll want to write a short snippet that serves as a “teaser” of your blog post:

• A short preview of the blog post that doesn’t give the important information away — leave a little mystery so people will go read the post. (Similar to a social media caption!)

• A button or obvious link that leads directly to your blog post

• THAT’S. IT.

Here are 3 examples that we’ve used ourselves and seen success with…

 

OPTION 1: Blog Post feature

 

In the example above, this newsletter is ALL about O&B’s latest blog post, so I’ve dedicated a few short paragraphs to the topic. If you choose this method, just remember to add an additional call to action at the end to contact you.

 

Option 2: The Short excerpt

If your newsletter has a different main focus and you’re simply adding in a quick section to promote your blog, here’s a simple and effective way to mention your blog post:

If you use Socialite Vault’s newsletters, you’ll already have value-driven, compelling copy at the beginning of the newsletter and the appropriate call-to-action. It’s good to go. If you want to put a link to your latest blog post in there, it’s probably easiest to add a text box and keep it short like the second example.

Disclaimer: This strategy has not been approved by Socialite Vault. This is solely my professional opinion.

 

Option 3: The Quick view method

Oh yes, it can get even simpler than that. We’ve recently started dedicating sections of our newsletter (look so much better now, doesn’t it?) to sharing helpful blog posts and resources with our subscribers. This is a nice way to give them a quick glance at what’s been going on.

You could do something similar: maybe add in your latest blog post, share a newly completed project (link to portfolio), and invitation to work with you.

 

Summary

There you go — three alternatives to that less-than-desirable copy and paste scenario I mentioned above. If you use any of these 3 options, just remember that your newsletter is the END of your sales funnel. Every few emails you send should be dedicated entirely to inviting your mailing list to work with you in some capacity.

Sending an email that invites your mailing list to book a consultation or work with you is not salesy. It’s polite to ask if they’re ready for your support!

Alright, I’m wrapping this topic up here, but blogging + newsletters are a loaded subject, so feel free to ask questions below if there’s anything I missed.

Lastly, if you haven’t yet tried one of our blog post templates, what the heck are you waiting for?! Go check out how easy blogging can be here! That is my heartfelt invitation to you. 🙂

Xoxo,

Jaquilyn