Speaker 1: Good morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the New Corner Office,
Speaker 1: the podcast where we share strategies for thriving in the
Speaker 1: new world of work or location and hours are more
Speaker 1: flexible than in the past. Today's tip is to start
Speaker 1: an email newsletter. This is one of the easiest ways
Speaker 1: to remind people on your terms that you exist. A
Speaker 1: newsletter can help establish your expertise on a topic and
Speaker 1: give you a way to reach people with your news
Speaker 1: or ways you can help or your needs. When I
Speaker 1: first began writing books many years ago, I had the
Speaker 1: usual naive author thoughts. If I wrote the book, I
Speaker 1: imagined an interested audience would magically appear. I later learned
Speaker 1: that being a thought leader is not just about great thoughts.
Speaker 1: You need a way to directly reach your audience, and
Speaker 1: so in late summer twenty ten, I began an email
Speaker 1: newsletter that I called a minute. Every month, since then,
Speaker 1: I've sent subscribers an essay on a productivity topic. I've
Speaker 1: also sent book reviews, links and so forth. People opt
Speaker 1: in and having this collection of email addresses means that
Speaker 1: every time I have a new project, like a new podcast,
Speaker 1: it becomes easier to share it with a bigger group
Speaker 1: of people. I work for myself, so I'm naturally in
Speaker 1: the business of trying to market my work, even if
Speaker 1: I didn't know that at the beginning. But the more
Speaker 1: I study modern careers, the more convinced I am that
Speaker 1: just about everyone needs a way to reach people who
Speaker 1: are interested in you and your ideas. Let's say you're
Speaker 1: in the finance industry. You start a newsletter devoted to
Speaker 1: reviewing books about economics or tangentially related ones on leadership,
Speaker 1: and curating links to the best financial journalism out there.
Speaker 1: People will slowly come to you over time, and you
Speaker 1: will become known for your expertise. People will start reaching
Speaker 1: out to you about jobs and projects because they know
Speaker 1: you are an expert. This is infinitely more efficient than
Speaker 1: you having to reach out to them. It's also an
Speaker 1: excellent form of career capital. If you are ever in
Speaker 1: the position of needing to find something, you can let
Speaker 1: a lot of people know about what you have to offer.
Speaker 1: Starting a newsletter is smart for many people, but I
Speaker 1: think it's especially smart for those of us who work
Speaker 1: from home. Working from home means that on the margin,
Speaker 1: you may be seeing fewer people in person. A newsletter
Speaker 1: is a great way to remind people that you exist
Speaker 1: on your own terms. You are reaching out, presenting yourself
Speaker 1: in the light in which you'd like to be seen.
Speaker 1: People will no doubt draw conclusions about you from a
Speaker 1: variety of sources, but at least you can present one
Speaker 1: of them. The mechanics. A number of companies can help
Speaker 1: you with this. Mail Chimp, Constant Contact. Everything needs to
Speaker 1: be opt in. Make sure you ask and if you
Speaker 1: have a website with a sign up form where people
Speaker 1: are downloading something like a white paper or in my case,
Speaker 1: a time makeover guide and giving you their address, this
Speaker 1: needs to be properly checked. Consistency also matters. It's nice
Speaker 1: to have people starting to look for your newsletter. That's
Speaker 1: why I started with monthly. I thought it would be sustainable.
Speaker 1: Eventually I realized it could make weekly work too. Make
Speaker 1: sure that you choose a frequency at which you can
Speaker 1: put out actually useful content. That's the best way to
Speaker 1: draw people in and keep them opening. Be sure to
Speaker 1: highlight other people's work too. Showing the best of what's
Speaker 1: out there and sharing it with others is a great
Speaker 1: way to network. Just forward your email to the people
Speaker 1: you mention. Almost everyone will be happy for the attention.
Speaker 1: As your newsletter grows, you can interview people to create content.
Speaker 1: This is a great excuse to reach out to people
Speaker 1: and can build your community. These things take time to
Speaker 1: grow growth compounds. I probably should have studied a newsletter
Speaker 1: twenty years ago, but ten years ago is better than never.
Speaker 1: I not start now, You'll be on your way to
Speaker 1: establishing yourself as an expert in whatever you choose. In
Speaker 1: the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's
Speaker 1: to succeeding in the New Corner Office. The New Corner
Speaker 1: Office is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts, visit
Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your
Speaker 1: favorite shows.