How to sell by writing

For a solopreneur, a newsletter is a great way to move your followers from social media over to a list that you control.

And with a direct line to your audience, you can build deeper trust and rapport, and promote your products or services. But promoting your offerings in your newsletter is a delicate dance.

If you’re too aggressive, you risk turning off your subscribers. And if you're too subtle, you’ll miss out on sales opportunities.

This is the problem we’re tackling today.

Let’s dive in.

The Problem with Traditional Newsletter Promotion

I subscribe to several newsletters to keep a pulse on the solopreneur space. And most of them struggle to find the right balance when it comes to promoting their products in their newsletters.

Some of them bombard their subscribers with constant sales pitches. I can see them coming from a mile away, and I imagine it leads to unsubscribes and decreased engagement.

Or they avoid mentioning their products at all, so they miss out on potential revenue and an opportunity to serve their ideal clients. What a shame.

And there’s another flawed approach - the newsletter writer tries to be somewhere in the middle. They’ll use tactics like:

• Including a small, generic "P.S." at the end of every newsletter, briefly mentioning their product or service.

• Dedicating an entire newsletter to a sales pitch once in a while, which can feel totally awkward and out of place. (I’ve made this mistake)

These approaches will certainly lead to more sales than never mentioning your offerings, but they can feel inauthentic.

My Counterintuitive (but Effective) Approach

So what's my solution?

It's a counterintuitive approach that I've sharpened over the last two years of writing this newsletter. And it’s pretty simple.

1. Focus on Providing Value First

Instead of leading with a sales pitch, just focus on delivering valuable, actionable content that helps your subscribers solve a problem or achieve a goal.

Every single issue of my newsletters aims to solve one problem or challenge that I’ve learned about from my audience. Based on feedback, I’d say most of the time I get it right.

Bottom line: Always lead with problem-solving value.

2. Use a Combo Approach to Weave Your Products in Naturally

Find ways to incorporate my offerings into my newsletter organically. Meaning, if your products can’t help solve the problem you’re writing about, don’t cram in a mention just to sell.

This keeps readers from feeling a “hard sell” every week.

3. Use a ‘Recommendation Selling’ Approach

Lastly, use what’s called a “recommendation selling” approach.

This approach simply means giving people recommended options based on where they are in their journey.

Keep it soft and helpful.

Remember: You want the right person buying the right product at the right time.

That’s all for today.