Here’s a bit of some Email Guidance I wrote someone recently, about launching a newsletter. They were wondering if they should plan out what to write, and I started riffing on stories:

But think of three stories you like telling people. Or even three stories that involve the wonderful people in your orbit. It all comes back to you, right?

The people you’ve worked with. Recorded with. Performed with. So many people!

BECAUSE then you can send that newsletter to those people! Re-connect, catch up, laugh together about it.

Maybe follow that energy. Instead of thinking about what you’ll write, think about who. Who lights you up? Who made you happy? Who’d you make memories with?

Because if you’re writing from a place of joy and good memories, it’ll probably be easier for your audience to connect with, you know? I mean, you gotta write the music for yourself first, right? Same could be said for a newsletter – write around the good energy of the people you’ve met, and the stories you’ve created with those people.

For artists of all types, it’s very easy to get stuck in this broadcast mode of talking the things we do, and who we are. We are interesting people, of course, but writing about ourselves is HARD. It never feels good, right?

Which is why I suggest writing about other folks in your creative orbit. Weave that into your newsletter, and see what unfolds.