I'm not alone here, but keeping up with my blog sometimes feels like a chore.
And that's a mystery to me because I don't feel that way about keeping up with my weekly newsletter. In fact, I love writing my newsletter and it must show to some degree because folks write to me to tell me how much they enjoy it.
When I started the newsletter, Fresh from the Dye Pot, I decided that it was not just going to be about email marketing my stuff. I wanted it to be a forum to share ideas and inspiration with those people who had allowed me to make a weekly appearance in their inboxes.
So, while I do chat about new items in my store or my upcoming retail shows, I also have a quote of the week and discuss that quote. Additionally, I include links to websites, books, articles, and images that I find inspirational. And, by inspirational, I mean that, whatever it is, I want to try it. I've linked to books I've read, recipes I've made, and podcasts I've listened to. Writing this newsletter has forced me to be on the lookout for interesting stuff. I'll publish an issue and go right back to my search. Actually, I often don't include all my "points of interest", opting to save a few for a later date .
Working on my newsletter is just plain fun. I even craft a new banner image, always including my logo, for every issue.
Check out this week's:
The theme, yes, my newsletter has a weekly them, was process and I happened to take a series of in progress shots of a quilt top I was designing, so I created my banner from those images.
I'd love to say that I have every newsletter from today until the sun goes super nova planned, but oftentimes the theme is driven by what's new in my studio or what I'm reading or the inspirational bits I gather. In other words, it's completely true to the moment. How perfect is that?
I will say though, I give myself several days, crafting, gathering, editing to create the newsletter. That keeps me from feeling pressured and generally makes the process more of a discovery than anything else.
So, what's my point? You mean other than, hey you, on the other side of this screen, please subscribe and read my newsletter( here's the link)? Well, i guess the point is: a) you never know what you're going to enjoy until you try it and b) I'm so happy to have yet another creative outlet in my life and I wanted to share that with you.
Now, please subscribe to my newsletter. :)
Also, look for things here at the blog to reflect the set-up and style of the newsletter. I've found a writing format that I enjoy and I'd like to share it here as well.