How to Start a Newsletter for Free in Less Than 1 Hour [2022]

A step-by-step guide to creating and running your newsletter effectively

Photo by Mathyas Kurmann on Unsplash

I’ve heard it time and time again — ‘Build your email list. Start a newsletter! You need to as an independent writer.’

And every time, I thought to myself that I would do it, eventually — When I had more valuable things to say, when I could commit to spending time every week or whenever required to write a newsletter edition.

But honestly, I don’t think that time will ever come for me. I’ll probably always be busy, but the fact still stands that it’s crucial to build your email list ASAP.

Here’s why —

• You have full ownership of your email list, which is a must-have in today’s age. Publishing on third-party platforms and blogs is great, but what if they shut down tonight? It’s best not to build your whole empire on someone else’s land.
• Build a community of engaged readers, and connect with them personally, providing value with your newsletter.
• When you stay consistent, you’ll always have a well-nurtured audience to share news about your latest projects(info products, courses, service launches) and life updates(people get to know you better).

So, how do you start a newsletter for free, in less than 1 hour?

1. Write down your newsletter goals and themes

Chances are, you’ve already thought about what your newsletter should be about. But it’s time to document it, for all future references. Answer the following questions and note them down —

• What is the purpose of my newsletter? Who is this for? How will it help them?
• What exactly will I be offering my subscribers with every issue? How often will I send out newsletters?
• What kind of tone, style, and content guidelines do I want to maintain with my newsletter?

For example, if you’re a travel writer, this could be what your answer looks like:

My weekly newsletter, ‘The Weekend Explorer’ will be about my latest travel expeditions and will inspire my audience to travel more whenever they can. This is for people who love to travel but can’t find the time or quick resources to help them.

Each issue will be a 5-minute read — my weekly travel blog post, curated resources about this destination, a roundup of other travel news, and a CTA to check out my blog for more tips and guides. I want the tone to be friendly and conversational.

Time: 20 minutes

[Given that you’re reading this while already having an idea for a newsletter.]

If you want to spend more time:

• Research other such newsletters in your niche and read them so that you can decide your USP and draw inspiration on how to stand out.

2. Choose a newsletter platform and sign up

This is where many of us overthink and procrastinate making a decision because ‘What if this isn’t the right platform for me?’

Well, we’ll never know right away. But the good news is, that you can always move from one platform to another. Just choose the best one for your needs today. If it works, great! If it doesn’t, you can export your email list and migrate your newsletter.

• If you want a clutter-free, quick newsletter and maybe want to start a podcast, Substack is a wonderful platform to try.
• If you’re more focused on monetizing an existing audience and customizing emails, check out Revue.
• If you want full customization, branding, and flexibility with blogging and email newsletter management all in one, Ghost is the way to go. [Ghost costs $9/month].

Platforms where you can start a newsletter for free: Substack, Revue, Steady, Convertkit (free for 300 subscribers), Mailchimp

Sign up and follow the displayed steps to confirm your email address.

Time: 15 minutes

3. Set up your profile and landing pages

Add your newsletter title, your name, details, and profile picture. Every newsletter platform has its own setup process, which you’ll be led through automatically. And you can always explore on your own, by clicking and navigating to different features.

Your landing page is the page that people will see when they first view your newsletter and what it offers.

A Revue Newsletter ‘The Messy Desk’ | Screenshot by the author

You will have the option to write the title, the newsletter description, posts to feature, whether to display all issues or not, your sign-up CTA, and a welcome email all within the platform itself.

For example, here’s what the Revue email newsletter settings page looks like:

Screenshot by author

Time: 15 minutes.

That’s all it takes to start your newsletter today — documenting your ideas and goals, choosing a platform, and updating your profile[50 minutes].

What do you do now?

Here’s how you effectively run the newsletter that you just started —

◉ Import your email list

If you already have an existing email list, migrate it to this platform, or manually add the subscribers you’d like to [with their consent of course.]

◉ Keep building your email list and promote your newsletter

Come up with a simple CTA to add to all your blog posts and bylines.

For example,

If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to my weekly newsletter for more about food photography. Click here (← add your link) to sign up for free.

This is one great way to attract new email subscribers.

• Create a freebie — Give people an incentive to sign up for your newsletter. This could be a free checklist, a guide, an ebook, or templates. You’ll be collecting their emails in exchange for this digital product.
• Promote on all your social networks — Announce your newsletter on social media and to your friends, family, and professional connections.

◉ Create an editorial calendar

Use Notion or other management tools to easily set up an editorial calendar. This helps you manage your newsletter better, and track and plan your writing effectively.

Set aside a designated time for writing your newsletter issues. For example, if the issue goes out every Saturday, you can write it every Thursday and edit it on Friday.

◉ Write your first newsletter issue and publish

Since you’ve already documented your goals and what your rough template looks like, you can quickly turn it into the actual template for your posts.

For example, here’s what a link roundup newsletter could be —

Introduction: Hey there!
Catch-up on timely news: <Mention some trending events in general or in this niche>
Segue to the roundup
Link 1
Link 2
...
Link x
Summary: What's the biggest insight this issue gives readers?
<any other plug-ins or mentions>
Warm goodbye message

Keep your template documented so you can refer to it and fill it up in future writing sessions. Publish and send to your email subscribers.

Well, congrats! You’re now successfully running your newsletter.

◉ Points to remember:

• Pay attention to the technical side as well. Ask your readers to move the mail to their ‘Primary’ email inbox(some platforms do this for you).
• Always give as much value as you can to your readers with no spam or too much self-promotion.
• After publishing, analyze your stats like email open rates to see which topics and headlines perform well.
• Take constructive feedback and improvise as you go.

All this might seem like a *lot* and yes, it can be. But you don’t have to be perfect right away. You don’t have to overthink your decisions(been there, done that, not worth it), you just have to start now and keep building.

That said, running a newsletter is exciting and can be incredibly rewarding. Whether you’re just writing as a hobby or you want to run a subscription-based business, this is going to be a fruitful journey for you.

Keep learning, keep writing, and don’t forget to have lots of fun!

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My newsletter ‘Create with Bertilla’ is about the latest trends, resources, and insights into the creator economy. I share exclusive interviews and takeaways from my creative projects, so if you’d like a free front-row seat to watch my journey, you’re welcome to sign up here.