"I don't know what to write about"

Tips for generating newsletter ideas from Small business newsletter magic 💌

You might recognise this scenario: you’re sitting down to write your newsletter, look at the blank page and…nothing. The cursor on your screen keeps blinking. You start wondering why you ever even started a newsletter in the first place. You wonder if you’ll ever have inspiration or ideas of what to write about again.

I know this scenario well. I lived it in the early days of my business, and I hear it from my clients frequently. If that’s you too, this post is just the thing for you. And my new course Small business newsletter magic will be an even bigger help to you.

In this post, I share 3 tried and tested ways of coming up with topics for your newsletter. And I share what has made the biggest difference for me and the reason why I no longer struggle to come up with topics for my own small business newsletter.

In Small business newsletter magic, two of the seven modules are about writing. I support you to find your voice, write effectively for the screen and edit so that your newsletter is a joy to read. But the biggest chunk of those modules on writing is about generating topics. Because this is what my clients struggle with the most, and the thing that I experienced myself as well. As a taster of the course, these are my three favourite ways of coming up with newsletter ideas.

Make the specific general

We often think that our experiences aren’t interesting or useful for other people. But I can promise you, we humans are curious creatures and we love stories. Next time you’re brainstorming for topics, consider which of your experiences in your business have a bigger story underneath them.

I often use the example of the potter writing about throwing their very first pot. It might have been wonky, it might have collapsed, it might have exploded in the kiln. Even if, like me, you’ve never been near a pottery wheel, this story might resonate with you. Because even though I’ve never done pottery, I know very while what it’s like to try something out for the first time.

Sharing your experiences and making the specific general adds a layer of story to your business. And story is what we connect with as humans, and which is one of our great superpowers as small business owners. We all have stories to tell, and the connections that these create can lead to sales.

Start with your values

Back when I started my business I had ‘content buckets’: topics that formed an umbrella for what I’d write about in my content. I no longer think in terms of content buckets, nor do I still use the very detailed spreadsheet I once set up around them. But I still have guiding words in my business: my values.

I’ve written before having a clear vision for my business made everything in my business easier, from feeling clear and strong on how I spend my days, to deciding on what I do and don’t want to offer. My values are a part of this business vision, and the words ‘slow, gentle and profitable’ also serve as guiding lights for the topics I write about in my newsletter.

I’m now experienced enough that the topics I write about naturally fit into one of the three keywords—roughly at least. But writing down your values and what each of them means for you, like I did here, can be a great exercise for coming up with new topics to write about.

See your newsletter as part of your business

Finally, the one thing that has revolutionized coming up with newsletter topics for me is envisioning my newsletter as part of my business.

Many of us see our newsletter primarily as for our business—as a marketing tool. At the same time, we also see marketing, including our newsletter, as strangely separate from our businesses. It feels like an add-on, an extra thing you have to do, maybe even a necessary evil.

It surely felt like that for me when I started my business.

I know now that what was missing from my marketing in those early days was intentionality and a clear rootedness in my business.

Now my marketing feels intentional. It no longer feels like an additional, non-fun job I have to do next to mentoring, creating courses and programmes. Marketing feels intentional and organic, a part of my business. And that has changed everything—including knowing what to write about in my newsletters.

Making your newsletters part of your business is what we dive into in the first module of Small business newsletter magic. In this module on your newsletter foundations, I help you clarify the focus of your newsletter, get very clear on the role and purpose of your newsletter in your marketing and, finally, help you see your newsletter as part of your business.

What I mean by “part of” your business is envisioning your newsletter as more than just for your business, as more than just a marketing tool. Your newsletter can be a taster of what you sell in your business, but in a smaller form.

I see my newsletter as giving a taster of what I do in my paid products and services, in my courses, programmes and 1:1 mentoring. The topics I write about are the topics I create courses and programmes around, and the topics I talk to my clients about. This very post that you are reading right now is a great example of this: generating topics for newsletter is something that many of my clients struggle with, so what I share here comes from my work with them.

Throughout Small business newsletter magic I give many examples not just for service-based businesses like my own, but also product-based businesses. In the first module I describe a (fictional) nature-inspired stationary business and how the owner can make their newsletter part of their business by highlighting nature, seasons and things to look out for. Doing so shows the value of noticing nature, which leads quite naturally to wanting nature-inspired stationary.

More ways to come up with topics

These three examples are just three of my favourite ways of coming up with topics for small business newsletters. In Small business newsletter magic there are so many more, from lists of prompts to help you generate topics, to using the three different types of emails. I’ve even included a mini audio peptalk to help you with writer’s block.

I give you lots of ideas of what to write about in the course, and lots of space in the workbooks to brainstorm, but mostly I want you to be able to generate ideas by yourself once you’ve done the course. Like with everything I create and do, Small business newsletter magic offers structure and strategies, but is also gentle enough to allow you to do things your own way, at your own pace. That’s also why you get lifetime access to the course if you buy it by November 12th.

How do you come up with topics to write about in your newsletter? Do you have key words or content buckets that inspire you, or do you use a different approach?

Discover a gentle and effective approach to building and growing a newsletter that is all you.

Discover Small business newsletter magic.

In this self-paced course, I walk you through everything you need to make your newsletter work better for you and your business—whether you’re just starting out or are experienced.

“I’m currently doing your newsletter magic course and loving it :)” - Susannah

📌 Practicalities

modules | 7 modules, with a video each

workbooks | questions, templates and checklists to help you go deeper

bonus | 5 short audio peptalks to turn to whenever you feel stuck or disheartened with your newsletter

price | €220 (around $240 or £185), in full or in 4 instalments at no further cost

what | self-paced, with lifetime access to the course

when | limited time only: available to buy until November 12th 2024

If you have a newsletter, or would like to start one, I’d love to invite you to check out Small business newsletter magic because I made it for you. 💌 If you have any questions, reply to this email or pop me a message through my website.

Have a beautiful rest of your week, and I’ll be back in your inbox soon x

P.S. And don’t forget: while you get lifetime access to Small business newsletter magic, you can only buy the course until November 12th 2024.

Female Owned is more than a newsletter. If you are ready to do business differently, I’d love for you to become a paid subscriber and become part of our gentle community of small business owners, freelancers and creatives. You’ll get bonus resources (the accountability club! the mini-mastermind! the new mini podcast series!) and behind-the-scenes posts right in your inbox.