⚡ Get off the newsletter hamster wheel with this.


[Read the browser version right here]

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It can take a lot of time—or money—or both.

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One of the most common pieces of advice for success in this whole online game is “Be consistent!”

That goes for newsletter advice, too.

But what if you suck at consistency?

Or...

What if you don’t want to dedicate hours of your life each week to consistently writing new newsletter content?

A weekly newsletter is a commitment. A daily one is 7x more. That’s one helluva hamster wheel.

But you can’t afford not to publish a newsletter: it's a critical component of a successful content strategy.

No newsletter ≠ an option.

What are you to do then?
Suffer through?
Pay someone to write one for you?

Maybe...

But there’s a better way: an Evergreen Newsletter (EN).

What’s an Evergreen Newsletter?

An EN is a newsletter (also referred to as a Shadow Newsletter by Brennan Dunn of Create&Sell.co) that gets written and scheduled with a bunch of editions written in advance.

How does it work? (Example 👇)

An Evergreen Newsletter about DIY Woodworking might go like this:

  • Email #1 - Subscribers receive your first edition with the fundamentals of getting started with woodworking.
  • Email #2 - might discuss the essential tools needed to build popular pieces.
  • Email #3 - features 3 popular builds with minimal tools & time.
  • Email #4 - The fourth edition features…

The point is everything is written in advance and it's ALL automated in a continuous sequence — and every new subscriber starts at the same Email #1.

The best part?

You don’t have to be consistent. You just have to batch a bunch of content in the beginning. Then, instead of writing new content every week, you can do it intermittently — at your preferred pace.

*wipes sweat from brow with a sense of relief*


I want to take a quick break in the action to tell you about my friend Adriana's awesome, no-BS marketing newsletter...

Ideas to Power Your Future

You'll learn real, sustainable marketing and growth strategy without the hacks and the bro marketing.

Join Ideas to Power Your Future, one of my favorite marketing newsletters. You'll even get a personalized surprise gift instantly 👀

Ok back to our regularly scheduled programming

👇👇


How To Start An Evergreen Newsletter

The hardest part about an EN strategy is the beginning. You have to plan out & create the content if you don’t already have it.

How I recommend starting:

  1. Plan out the content. Think about your ideal subscriber’s journey. What problems will you solve for them — and in what order? Increase personalization by segmenting users into different content paths based on their preferences.
  2. Plan out the offers. Consider how your product or service offers can be weaved in throughout the journey. Not every edition needs a pitch, but weave them in when applicable.
  3. Write the content (if needed). You might already have the content — great! Just tweak it for newsletter format. If no content exists, this is where the bulk of your energy will be spent. BONUS: leave cliffhangers (open loops) at the end of each edition that makes the next one a must-read. Make it binge-worthy.
  4. Create the email sequence. Set your cadence (daily, weekly, bi-weekly, etc) and drop your content into a drip sequence. Some newsletter platforms let you do this. Other platforms *cough*Substack*cough* do not. I've used all the popular ESPs, and ConvertKit (affiliate) is by far the best at this. They make email sequences SO easy and wildly customizable.
  5. Launch it!

With several editions queued, you can take time to write your next edition. You’ve solved the hamster wheel of constant content creation.

Who should consider an Evergreen Newsletter?

Anyone writing content that’s relatively “evergreen” in nature.

Types of content that work best include: lessons, courses, how-to’s, entertainment, educational, and informative could all work well. Others use an Evergreen Newsletter as a constant drip & nurture campaign with the goal of converting subscribers to customers.

  • Jeremy Enns created his Scrappy Podcasting newsletter by joining Ship 30 For 30 with the intention of creating the first 30 editions of his newsletter. Brilliant. Scrappy Podcasting is a funnel to warm subscribers up to his bigger ticket product: Podcast Marketing Academy.
  • Justin Moore (of Creator Wizard) has a 12-email onboarding sequence which acts as a short evergreen newsletter. Each subscriber starts there and eventually makes their way to his weekly newsletter. This is also an effective strategy to weed out “passive” subscribers who aren’t invested in your content.|
  • Daren Smith had a year-long email sequence he turned into a book. Another advantage to creating a library of content.

Who *shouldn’t* write an Evergreen Newsletter?

This strategy won’t work for every type of newsletter.

A daily news-style newsletter doesn’t work.
You can’t queue 25 editions of a newsletter focused on current events.

Obviously.

If the information you’re sharing is timely, avoid the EN.

Avoid an Evergreen Newsletter if…

If your goal is to monetize with ads & sponsors, it could be challenging to get sponsors on board. Typically, advertisers are used to the massive one-off email broadcasts — and driving clicks for specific campaigns.

You could still sell sponsorships spots in your EN using content snippets, for example. The challenge would be figuring out a pricing model.

A safer bet is monetizing your EN by selling your own products & services.

Is an Evergreen Newsletter right for you?

An EN is the perfect solution for those who don’t have time to write new content on a regular basis, or for businesses whose content isn’t timely.

If that’s you — and you’re sick of the constant content hamster wheel — try an Evergreen Newsletter.

But maybe I'm crazy and you all LOVE writing a new edition of your newsletter every single week.

I would LOVE to hear your thoughts — light me up in this Twitter thread:


Work With Me

I'm also opening the door for more newsletter consulting clients.

My "live" newsletter consultation is booked solid over the next few months, but I'm happy to do one-off newsletter consulting sessions 👇

30-min newsletter consult →
60-min newsletter consult →

And/Or...

I'm considering an "Almost" Async Newsletter Coaching & Mentorship program.

Instead of booking just a one-off consult (like above), you'd get ongoing newsletter strategy support, feedback, and audits—all asynchronously—PLUS you'd get a monthly "live" 1:1 with me (hence the "almost" async).

I'd only be taking on a handful of clients, so space will be limited.

Does that sound useful and like something you'd be interested in?


More isn't always better. But it is in this case.

These are a few of my favorite newsletters right now 👇

Growth In Reverse
by Chenell Basilio

Get the playbooks top creators use to grow their audience.

Each week, Chenell reverse engineers how a top creator grew from 0 to 50k+ subscribers. Get the roadmap to replicate their growth and save 40+ hours of research.

Subscribe >>

Stacked Marketer
Become a better, smarter marketer every week.

Delivered fresh every weekday, Stacked Marketer's carefully curated digital marketing news, tech, and actionable advice can be consumed in 7 minutes or less.

Subscribe (with one click)* >>

Why We Buy
by Katelyn Bourgoin

Discover why people buy so you can get more customers.

Why We Buy 🧠 is the free buyer psychology newsletter. Become a smarter marketer (and look like a genius to your boss or clients).

Subscribe (with one click)* >>


Other resources to help you:

The 1KS Roadmap: A Free Course To Your First 1,000 Subscribers
Start a newsletter for FREE with Kit (formerly ConvertKit)
Advertise in this newsletter

Peace and platonic love,

Dylan

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