what to write about?

First, decide who you are writing to. To be sure, you want folks who might be interested in your products and services. But who? This deserves some thought.

It's almost always better to be too specific than too general. "What?" I hear you saying, "I don't want to rule out any customers. Besides, my art is for everybody!"

It turns out that it's really hard to reach "everybody" at once. (Just like with "one-size fits all" clothing, one message fits nobody.) It's much easier to reach one group at a time, because you can reach them more economically, give a message that fits them specifically, and be perceived as more valuable. After all, would you rather invest in "marketing for everybody" or "marketing for self-employed artists?"

who?

So, who would you most like to reach? Sure, you might make some of your income performing in preschools. But, if you make twice as much from each performance for kindergartners, it may be better for you to reach out to kindergarten teachers.

On the other hand, suppose you make only a small amount selling your CD's or other products, but most of all want income that you don't have to leave home for. In that case, you may aim your newsletter at those who might love your CD's, because that kind of income is, in a sense, more valuable to you right now.

Consider narrowing your intended audience even more. Sure, you may want to reach kindergarten teachers, but which kindergarten teachers are most likely to want what you offer? Perhaps they are identifiable by a demographic factor: whether they teach in the city or the country, to a culturally mixed or homogeneous class. Or perhaps they are identifiable by an interest in subject matter: do they care about the arts for every child, or to expose their children to great artistry, or about literacy, or about making every child feel included.

from "who" to "what"

As soon as you identify "who" you're writing for, you're ready to think about the topics that might interest them.

Choose a topic that:

Would be irresistable to anyone likely to be interested in your products or services, OR that
Helps position you as an expert in your field, OR that
Explains or exemplifies the benefits of your work.

The best topics accomplish two—or even all three—of the above goals.

for example…

Suppose you help children create their own stories and use that interest to make them more interested in writing what they created. Your audience for your newsletter might be teachers (or parents, or school adminstrators) who care about helping every child learn to write. Your newsletter might then present tips for "Lighting a writing fire in your students' hearts." Can you see how this topic is likely to be of interest to the teachers, etc., who might want to hire you—and helps establish you as an expert on this subject?

Or suppose, instead, that you tell stories with the intention of causing your listeners to think about their own life stories. Your audience might be those who want to examine their life stories. So your newsletter might consist of anecdotes about your own listeners who found parallels between your stories and their own experiences, entitled perhaps, "Struck by Story Lightning: True Tales of Illumination." By offering real stories of people who were moved by your stories to understand their lives better, you both establish your experience in this field and help your intended audience understand the benefits of what you do.

One more example. Suppose you tell stories as part of your job as a consultant for large corporations. You help executives in complex, multicultural situations find story images that help unite diverse groups of constituents. Maybe in this case you offer a weekly email tidbit that you name "Ten Dangers of Using Storytelling in the Workplace—and how to avoid them." Visitors to your site sign up for a ten week series; every week, they receive the description of another "danger".

check out your topic

Once you've identified a likely newsletter topic (and a title, if you've thought of one), try it out on some folks in your intended audience. For example, you might ask some consultants you know, "Would you be interested in a series of tips on the "Ten Dangers of Using Storytelling in the Workplace—and how to avoid them"?

If you get a dozen enthusiastic responses, there's a good chance that your newsletter will touch a "hot spot" for the folks you'd like to interest.

put your mind at ease

At this point, you may be wondering if you can really come up with something every month (or week, or ...). Here's a simple way to put your mind at ease: create 6 issues right away. (Remember, brief is good!)

Before I started "eTips from the Storytelling Coach," I faced this same worry. But then I remembered I had written a report that could easily be chopped into 5 short articles. Knowing I had 5 "in the can" made it easier for me to take the plunge.

Now, 60 issues later, I can unequivocally say that I always have something new to write about! In fact, I only used two of those 5 articles - in 5 years of sending out a monthly newsletter!

But how do you actually send out your newsletter? Read a review of the types of newsletter software.