A couple of readers were interested in knowing my process for writing these emails, so here you go.
Ideas are collected throughout the day and recorded in my note taking app. Sometimes the idea is based on a situation with a client, a reader request, or something I find interesting.
I tend to write each email the day before it’s sent. Nothing is done by batch nor is scheduled beyond one day.
The daily writing process is like a muscle; the more you do it, the easier it becomes. I subscribe to some email lists that send out 7 emails a week. In my case, I enjoy having free weekends.
It takes about 15 minutes to write each email. I write them first in Gmail, which has a decent spelling, grammar correction, as well as an autocomplete feature for some sentences.
Each email has a single focus and is about 300 words or less. The goal is for you to be able to read them in 2 minutes. If a larger topic needs more attention, it’s broken up into multiple emails.
Once composed, I copy and paste the contents into a WordPress post. This provides readers with a full archive of all these emails, and it’s good for SEO.
WordPress has a Kit plugin (previously called ConvertKit). When the post is published, the plugin automatically creates a draft email in Kit. Then I go to Kit, set the audience, and schedule the email for the next day at 7am EST.
The takeaway
Having a simple and streamlined process for writing emails is important. The more steps to perform, the more frustrated you can become.