6 Easy Steps To Start Your Maker Newsletter This Weekend
Every online business should have a value-based newsletter.
We all know we should, even if newsletters have left a bad taste in our mouths over the years for constant product pitches and requests to watch YouTube videos. However, value-based newsletters give their target audience a reason to open the email every week without buying or watching anything. In 2026, these are the newsletters that will succeed and leave the others behind.
Instead of waiting, you can take action on these 6 easy steps to start your newsletter this weekend.
Step 1: Choose Who It's For
As with all content, understanding your target audience is critical.
For a newsletter, we want to go even more narrow so that the newsletter is for a subset of your audience. Don't start from the beginning again, just go one layer deeper than you already have for social content.
Step 2: List 3-5 Topic Categories
We need a solid foundation and system to be consistent later, so pick a few general topics your newsletter audience would be interested in.
Don't overcomplicate this step and try to pick the perfect topics. It's not a marriage and these can change and be refined later, but it's a good idea to have a few initial ones to start with.
Step 3: Decide On Email Platform
Unfortunately, we can't send emails from gmail, so we'll need to pick an email platform.
If you're not sure where to start, Substack is a great place to start with good features or Kit (formerly ConvertKit) if you want to expand later into more complex features like automated sequencing. Either way, pick the platform and stick to it.
Bonus tip for the serious: get a Google business account so you can have a custom email address like "newsletter@yourwebsite.com" to send the emails from.
Step 4: Research Winning Formats
Formatting makes or breaks writing, but especially newsletters people often read on their phones.
Don't worry about headers, fancy images, or branding yet unless you already have all the assets. Focus more on how the writing flows (search for Nicolas Cole Formatting on YouTube for a crash course).
Step 5: Write Newsletter 1
Finally time for the hardest step of all: writing the first newsletter.
Pick one of your topics and decide on why it matters most to you and put the words on the page. Other than formatting and basic grammar, don't overthink it.
Step 6: Send It (Even Just To Yourself)
Last step: send it, even if it's just to your mom and yourself to make sure it sends correctly.
Remember, everyone starts with 0 subscribers. Just mention you have a newsletter and point people to a place to sign up in your next social video or post to Twitter/X and Threads/
