Newsletters as Blog Posts… Should I or Shouldn’t I?

There has been a clear trend of more people publishing newsletters (good!) but I see a lot of questions about whether to publish that newsletter as a blog post also on your site.

For the record, what follows are general guidelines, not hard-and-fast rules that you have to abide by. Use these guidelines to serve as a framework for helping you decide what’s best for you.

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer but here’s how I’ve started thinking about newsletters vs. blog posts.

The Newsletter First

My emphasis is on my newsletter first. Newsletter subscribers (YOU!) are my most engaged audience, and I want you to have first access to my thoughts and ideas. I also want you to have access to content that doesn’t get published elsewhere.

In the beginning of Rogue Mogul, I was publishing every newsletter as an article. I stopped because I like having some exclusivity to the newsletter. But there was another reason for the change in direction as well.

Deciding What Becomes an Article/Blog Post

Some newsletters will get republished as articles on the site, but many will not. Whether it starts an an article, or a newsletter that gets modified and repurposed as an article, articles focus on content that is evergreen.

It is an understatement to say the following:

Newsletter = Ephemeral

Article/Blog Post = Evergreen

but it’s a simple frame work to use as a starting point.

I want the newsletter to provide a lot of value to subscribers, and in them I provide a combination of strategic and tactical advice.

The strategic stuff tends to be more evergreen (though nothing lasts forever), while the more tactical content less so. The tactical stuff is also valuable, but it’s more subject to change and has a shorter shelf-life. So it’s not quite ephemeral but you get the idea.

So if you’re trying to decide on whether to publish your newsletters on your site I hope this will help you think through that decision.

By the way, there’s nothing wrong with publishing every newsletter on your site if that’s what you choose to do. But be aware of why you are doing it and whether, in your specific case, that is the best choice.

Rogue Tip: If you choose to make your newsletters public I don’t recommend using your newsletter tool’s capability of publishing as a page on their site. If you want to make it public, publish it on your own site so you get the benefits of doing so. You’ll bring more visitors to your site and you’ll have a better opportunity for converting new visitors to subscribers.

Content Repurposing

Related to the above, I’m working on a more extensive write-up about content repurposing. So keep your eyes open and we’ll get into the strategy and tactics of that soon.

Other Stuff That Caught My Attention

The Single Biggest Reason Why Startups Succeed

I can’t say anything in here was surprising but when I see someone articulate what factors lead to small business success, and it’s backed with a lot of experience and data, I pay attention. This is well worth 6 minutes and 40 seconds of time in your busy day. I’d bet $$ that #1 isn’t waht you would think.

[Behind the scenes] How I set up my Welcome Sequence and Evergreen Newsletter

When it comes to rolling up your sleeves and getting into tactical advice on your newsletter it’s hard to be Brennan Dunn. I interviewed him a while back for Rogue Mogul but in this video he walks us through his newsletter welcome sequence. I’ve been through it and it’s fantastic. Get ready to take notes.

How To Get (And Retain) More Newsletter Subscribers

In keeping with the newsletter theme this week Josh Spector unloads proven strategies to gain new subscribers AND keep the ones you have.

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