"I'm a wallpaper designer. What can I write about in my newsletter?"

If you run an education or service business, you'll likely never run out of things to talk about in your newsletters. There's just no shortage of topics when you work with people. But what if you sell products? What if all you have to say is… “Well, here's a design I made this week. Wanna buy it?” 😅

I can relate to this, having run an artist newsletter for years. 

My advice would be this: 

Start by asking yourself “Who are my customers?”, “Is a newsletter the best way for me to stay in touch with them and encourage them to buy from me?”, and ”Do I even need to stay in touch with my customers?"

An email newsletter is not a given for any and all creative businesses. There are many cases where it just wouldn't make that much sense, like for example if 90% of your customers find you via word-of-mouth, while browsing markets or stores, by reading magazines, or when hiring an interior designer. Or if most of them buy from you only once.

I'm sure you have much better insight into the buying behaviors of your customers than I have. It might be that your ideal customers would be better reached elsewhere. In that case, ditch the newsletter and aim to have your designs show up where your customers can find them.

You have no obligation to write a newsletter, just because. Especially if you don't really enjoy it.

If you do believe your customers (and your business) would benefit from a newsletter: remember that a newsletter doesn't have to be regular. It can be sent out whenever you have something to share.

It also doesn't have to contain a lot of text. If your customers just want to see photos of your latest designs and know where they can find them: just show them photos of your latest designs and tell them where they can find them. 

Always start with the customer, and work your way backwards from that. Put your marketing energy where it really makes a difference, and forget about the rest. No “shoulds” or “musts”. 😊