Newsletter
service
A newsletter service for owners who have customers' addresses but never send anything. I plan the topics, write the copy, build the layout and send one or two issues a month, while you approve each one in a few minutes.
Free: a 30-minute call, an action plan and a price range in writing.
Five things that make
a newsletter worth opening
People don't unsubscribe because you email them. They unsubscribe because the email gave them nothing.
A content calendar
Topics planned around your seasons, launches and slow months, agreed with you a quarter ahead.
Copy in your voice
Short, friendly emails that sound like the owner, not like a brochure.
One clear action per issue
Book, order, reply or read. A newsletter that asks for five things usually gets none.
A layout that works on phones
Built from a tested template that reads well in Gmail, Outlook and Apple Mail, in light and dark mode.
Segments, not one blast
New customers, regulars and lapsed customers can get different versions of the same issue.
An email series
that works for you
After signing up, customers get the next messages at the right moment, and you see what they opened and clicked.
- Welcome and tips
- An offer on the right day
- Reminder about the next appointment
How each issue
gets made
Topic and goal
We agree what the issue should achieve: fill slow Tuesdays, announce a new service, bring back last year's clients.
Draft
I write the copy and pick images from your photos or a stock library you approve.
Your approval
You get a test email on your phone. One round of changes is usually enough.
Send and segment
Sent at a time that fits your customers' time zone, to the segment it was written for.
Read the results
Clicks, bookings and unsubscribes go into the monthly report, with one idea for the next issue.
Newsletter
pricing
Newsletters are quoted individually after a short call, based on how many issues, languages and segments you need. Prices in Canadian dollars.
Monthly subscription, no minimum term, one month's notice.
- Planning and copywriting
- Design from your template
- Sending and segmentation
- Monthly report
You write, I review structure, subject lines and results.
- Feedback on drafts
- Help with the platform
What a good newsletter service does differently
A newsletter service is not just someone pressing send. The hard part is deciding what to say every month so that people keep opening. Most owners start with enthusiasm, send three issues, then stop when the shop gets busy. The list goes cold, and the next email after a six-month gap lands in spam.
My job is to keep the rhythm. I plan topics a quarter ahead, write each issue, build it in your email platform and send it to the right people. You spend ten minutes approving a test email on your phone. The newsletter is part of your wider email marketing, so it uses the same list, the same consent records and the same reporting as your automated emails.
What to put in a small business newsletter
The best issues mix one useful thing with one reason to act. For example:
- A bakery: what's new this month, the holiday order deadline, a link to order online.
- A physiotherapy clinic: three stretches for people who shovel snow, plus a reminder that benefits often reset in January.
- A furnace and HVAC company: a checklist before the first cold snap and a button to book a tune-up.
- An online store: new arrivals, a short customer story you got permission to share and free shipping thresholds.
A newsletter that is only discounts becomes a flyer, and customers learn to wait for the next one. One that is only tips becomes a blog nobody visits. I aim for roughly one helpful part and one sales part per issue. More ideas by industry are in my article on newsletter ideas.
Subject lines, timing and length
The subject line decides whether anything else matters. I write two or three options for each issue and test them on part of the list when it's big enough. Timing depends on your customers: office workers often read email in the morning, parents in the evening, trades customers on weekends. With customers spread from Vancouver to Halifax, the platform can send by the recipient's time zone so nobody gets your email at 5 a.m.
Length is simpler than people think. Most issues should be readable in under a minute on a phone. If there's more to say, the email links to a page on your site, which also helps that page get visits.
Measuring a newsletter honestly
Open rates became unreliable when Apple Mail started loading images automatically, so I don't sell you on opens. The report focuses on clicks, replies, bookings or orders that came from the email, and how many people unsubscribed or complained. If an issue gets clicks but no bookings, the problem is usually on the landing page, not in the email, and I'll show you where.
Newsletters and the law
Every issue includes your business name, a mailing address, contact details and a one-click unsubscribe link, as CASL and the major inbox providers expect. The sign-up form never has a pre-ticked box. Subscribers in Quebec should generally be able to get French, which would come from your own team, since I write in English. These details sound dull, but they protect your sender reputation, which is what keeps future issues out of spam.
When a newsletter isn't the right start
If you have fewer than about a hundred contacts, building the list matters more than writing to it. In that case I'd usually start with a sign-up form, a welcome email and automated follow-ups after each sale, then add the newsletter once there's an audience. And if you want a branded layout first, the email templates page explains how I build one that you can reuse for years. Either way, the first step is a free consultation where we look at your list together.
Newsletters work better
with these
Newsletter
questions
How often should a small business send a newsletter?
For most local businesses, once or twice a month. Weekly works for shops with frequent new stock or restaurants with changing menus. Less than monthly and people forget who you are, which means more unsubscribes and spam complaints when you do write. I'd rather send a short, useful issue every month than a long one twice a year.
What if I have nothing to say?
You almost always do. Seasonal advice, a behind-the-scenes story, a new team member, a common customer question answered properly, a reminder that it's time for the annual service. I keep a list of topics from our calls and your sales calendar, so the blank page problem is mine, not yours.
Will you send to my whole customer list?
Only to people you can legally email. Under CASL, past customers usually count as implied consent for a set period, while subscribers who signed up count as express consent until they unsubscribe. Before the first issue I sort the list by consent type and leave out anyone who doesn't qualify.
Can the newsletter be bilingual?
Not with me: I write newsletters in English only. For customers in Quebec, French should be at least as available as English, so if a large part of your list is there, French issues would need to come from your own team or translator.
Do I need a new website to start?
No. A sign-up form can be added to most existing sites, or hosted by the email platform as a simple landing page. If your site makes adding a form painful, that's a sign to consider a rebuild later, but it shouldn't delay the first newsletter.
Send me your list size
and what you sell
I'll suggest three topics for your first newsletter on a free 30-minute call, whether or not we work together.