Where does blogging fit in your newsletter strategy?

I got this question from a reader recently:

“Have you written about how a blog and a newsletter could interact together? Two problems: 1. We’ve monetized each newsletter. Can I monetize the blog? 2. Can I train my audience to visit a ... blog (?) ... every day?”

I moved my blog over to Ghost specifically so there could be tighter integration between my blog and newsletter. I still haven’t taken full advantage of all the features, but when you’re offered a Porsche at the same price as your 10-year-old Camry, you don’t turn it down.

I’d say your audience is already trained. If you want to monetize in the short-term, it’s about delivering the information in the way they already prefer (even if that involves audio/video/in-person). 

That doesn’t mean you have to monetize for the short term, of course.

Blogging is more of a long-term strategy. If I had blogged freely since I started my site in the 90s, with no pay walls or barriers to my books, I would have experienced 100x the return and established countless new relationships.

For example, my 1998 book on Van Halen would have made WAY more money in affiliate sales alone as a free and open series of blog posts than it ever has or will in book royalties. And that’s just one of several potential streams of income.

Here’s the hard truth: We’ve just experienced two lost decades for indie publishers who followed the rules of growth marketing and we’re heading full speed into a third.

I’m lucky. I only half-heartedly followed some of the rules and continued to blog like it was 1996. I missed out on that 100x profit, but I gained trust by just continuing to show up.

The lessons I’ve learned: First, publish freely on your own site. When stuck, employ constraints. Follow-up anywhere else you want. This keeps you healthy, curious, and prolific.

Remember, anything can be a blog post. Not everything can be YouTube video, a podcast, or pithy quote for social media.

As for email’s role, I find that attention spans keep shrinking across all media and email is no exception. Contrary to the advice of the new gurus of email marketing, I’d say design your email for the attention span of a goldfish. Let the reader decide when to go in-depth on your blog, podcast, or YouTube channel.

So, I’d say yes to 1, depending on your audience, and no to 2 (usually). But I regret not focusing on the longer-term benefits of posting in easier, healthier, and more consistent ways. 

P.S. After responding to this question and using author Derek Sivers as an example of best practices, the reader contacted Derek Sivers. Derek then contacted me, asking me to update my Now page so he could promote it. I did. Now, I’m in Derek Sivers’ Now page index. Long-term, just-showing-up publishing wins again. Big thanks to you, dear reader!