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Jeff Bullas

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  • Jeff Bullas
    Keymaster

    Repurposing your podcast episodes is one of the most efficient ways to maximise the reach and value of your content. You should view each episode not as a final product, but as a pillar asset from which numerous other pieces of content can be created.

    There are several highly effective ways to do this. First, you can create a full blog post or article. You can start by using an AI-powered transcription service to get a written version of your episode. This transcript can then be edited, restructured with headings and subheadings, and published as a comprehensive article on your website. This is excellent for Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and for catering to the portion of your audience that prefers to read.

    Second, you should extract short-form video clips for social media. Go through your episode and identify several of the most interesting, impactful, or surprising moments (typically 30 to 90 seconds long). You can then use a video editor to create vertical clips of these highlights, adding animated captions for better engagement on platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts.

    Third, you can create audiograms. An audiogram combines a static image, such as your podcast cover art or a photo of your guest, with a snippet of your audio and a moving waveform graphic. These are highly shareable on visual platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn and serve as an excellent promotional tool for the full episode.

    Fourth, you should pull out key quotes and insights to use for static image or text posts. Take the most powerful sentences or data points from your episode and turn them into visually appealing graphics using a tool like Canva. These are perfect for sharing across all social media platforms.

    Fifth, you can write a LinkedIn post or a thread for Twitter/X. Take the main arguments or a key story from your podcast and write it out as a native text post for these platforms. You can summarise the value and then, in the comments or at the end, provide a link to the full podcast episode.

    Sixth, use the episode’s content for your email newsletter. Your regular newsletter can feature a summary of your latest episode, perhaps expand on one of the topics that was discussed, and include a direct link for your subscribers to listen.

    And seventh, if you already record video for your podcast, you can create multiple YouTube videos. In addition to uploading the full interview, you can edit it down into several shorter, standalone videos, each focused on a specific sub-topic that was discussed.

    Tools like Descript can be very efficient for this process, as they provide transcription and allow you to edit video and audio by editing the text. The key is to see each podcast episode as a central piece of a much larger content strategy. This approach drastically increases your reach and the return on the initial effort you put into creating the episode.

    Cheers,

    Jeff

    Jeff Bullas
    Keymaster

    The type of content that performs best on a LinkedIn Company Page versus a personal profile differs significantly because their fundamental purposes, and how the LinkedIn algorithm tends to treat them, are not the same.

    First, let us look at a personal profile. Content here performs best when it is authentic and builds a direct connection with your network. People on LinkedIn are primarily there to connect with other people. Therefore, effective content from a personal profile often includes personal stories that relate to a professional lesson, strong, unique opinions on industry trends, and posts that showcase your individual expertise and personality. The tone can and should be more conversational. It is a well-observed trend that posts from personal profiles generally receive far greater organic reach and engagement than posts from Company Pages because the algorithm tends to prioritise person-to-person interaction.

    Second, for a Company Page, the content strategy should be focused on building the brand’s authority, showcasing its culture, and providing value to its broader target audience, which includes potential customers, partners, and future employees. The best performing content here often includes official company news and major milestones, employee spotlights that highlight your company culture, valuable industry resources such as white papers, case studies, or data reports, and high-quality video content that showcases your products, services, or company values. The tone is generally more official and aligned with the brand’s voice, but it should always aim to be helpful and informative rather than purely promotional.

    A key distinction in performance is that it is much more challenging to get high organic reach directly from a Company Page. This is why a successful strategy requires leveraging the reach of personal profiles.

    The most effective approach involves using both in tandem. The Company Page should act as the central hub for the brand’s official content and announcements. Then, key people within the company, such as leaders, subject matter experts, and other employees, should be encouraged to share that content from their personal profiles, adding their own individual commentary. This strategy combines the authority of the company brand with the significantly greater reach and authenticity of the personal network.

    In summary, for your personal profile, focus on authentic, opinion-driven, and story-based content that builds your individual thought leadership. For your Company Page, focus on content that establishes the brand’s authority and showcases its culture, and then actively encourage employee advocacy to amplify that message.

    Cheers,

    Jeff

    Jeff Bullas
    Keymaster

    Choosing between publishing a LinkedIn Article or a standard Post depends entirely on the depth of your content, your primary goal for that piece of content, and how you want your network to engage with it. They serve very different strategic purposes.

    First, a LinkedIn Post is designed for short-form, immediate content that appears directly in the feed. Posts have a character limit and are ideal for sharing quick insights, asking engaging questions, celebrating achievements, or sharing a link with a brief commentary. The primary advantage of a Post is that it is optimised for quick engagement and visibility within the LinkedIn feed. The algorithm tends to favour Posts for generating immediate reactions and, most importantly, starting conversations in the comments.

    Second, a LinkedIn Article is intended for long-form, evergreen content. It is created using LinkedIn’s dedicated publishing platform, which functions more like a traditional blogging tool. It allows for detailed formatting, including a main headline, a cover image, subheadings, embedded images and videos, and a much longer word count. The main advantages of an Article are that it is permanently showcased in a dedicated “Articles” section on your profile, which helps to signal your expertise, and its content is indexable by external search engines like Google. This makes Articles a much better format for long-term Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and for building a library of foundational thought leadership content.

    To summarise the key differences: Posts are generally better for generating immediate, broad reach and quick engagement within the LinkedIn feed. Articles typically have a slower initial burn but can have a much longer lifespan, as they are discoverable via search on and off LinkedIn over a long period of time. Posts are conversational and ephemeral; Articles are structured and permanent assets.

    A very effective strategy is to use both together. You can write a detailed, valuable Article on a key topic in your field. Then, you can create a separate, engaging Post that summarises one or two key insights from the Article and includes a link directing your followers to the full Article to read more. This approach uses the Post for immediate visibility in the feed and to drive traffic to your more authoritative, long-form Article.

    Use Posts for your daily or weekly engagement, conversations, and quick insights. Use Articles for your cornerstone, in-depth thought leadership content that you want to serve as a long-term resource.

    Cheers,

    Jeff

    Jeff Bullas
    Keymaster

    Writing a good LinkedIn Recommendation is a valuable professional courtesy, and a well-structured, specific recommendation can be a significant asset for the recipient’s profile.

    The most effective recommendations follow a clear and logical structure. First, you should start with a strong opening statement that immediately grabs the reader’s attention. This should be a concise, positive declaration of your recommendation and should also state your professional relationship to the person. For example, “I had the pleasure of managing David directly for three years at ABC Company, and he is without a doubt one of the most skilled project managers I have worked with.”

    Second, you need to provide specific context about your working relationship. Briefly explain how you know the person and in what capacity you worked together. This gives your recommendation credibility and a foundation for the points you are about to make.

    Third, and this is the most important part, you should highlight two or three specific skills or key strengths and provide a brief example for at least one of them. Do not just list generic qualities like “hard worker” or “team player.” Instead, show that quality in action. For instance, you could write, “Her ability to analyse complex data and present it clearly to stakeholders was instrumental in the success of our quarterly reporting. She has an exceptional eye for detail.” Using specific examples makes the recommendation far more powerful and believable.

    Fourth, if appropriate, you can add a brief comment on their positive personality traits or work ethic. Mentioning that they were a reliable team member, had a great attitude, or were excellent at mentoring junior staff can add a valuable human element to the professional endorsement.

    And fifth, you should conclude with a clear and confident closing statement. This should be a final, strong endorsement of the person. A good closing might be, “Any team would be lucky to have Sarah, and I would welcome the opportunity to work with her again,” or “I highly recommend Maria for any senior marketing role.”

    A few general tips are to keep the recommendation concise and focused, typically around three to five well-written sentences. Be honest and genuine in your praise; only write a recommendation if you can do so positively and authentically. And finally, always proofread your text for any spelling or grammatical errors before you submit it.

    In summary, a great recommendation has a clear opening, provides context, uses specific examples to highlight key strengths, and finishes with a strong, unambiguous endorsement.

    Cheers,

    Jeff

    Jeff Bullas
    Keymaster

    Growing followers on a LinkedIn Company Page requires a consistent and multi-pronged strategy that extends beyond just publishing content.

    First, and fundamentally, you must ensure your Company Page is complete and fully optimised. This is your foundation. Your logo, a professional cover image, a keyword-rich “About Us” section, and all other profile fields should be filled out comprehensively. This makes your Page look credible and helps it get discovered in searches.

    Second, one of the most powerful methods is to leverage your employees. This is often called employee advocacy. Encourage all of your employees to accurately list your company as their current place of work on their personal profiles. This automatically links them to your Page. Then, you should actively encourage your team to engage with and share your Page’s content. This exposes your Page and its content to their extensive professional networks.

    Third, you should strategically use your invitation credits. As a Page administrator, LinkedIn typically provides you with a certain number of credits each month that you can use to directly invite your personal 1st-degree connections to follow your Company Page. Use these credits wisely each month by inviting contacts who are most relevant to your business.

    Fourth, you must post consistently and provide genuine value. Your content needs to be interesting to your target audience, not just promotional. This can include sharing industry insights, company news and milestones, case studies, behind-the-scenes looks at your company culture, and job postings. Video content and posts with high-quality, relevant images tend to perform well.

    Fifth, use relevant hashtags on all your posts. A strategic mix of three to five broad and niche hashtags will increase the discoverability of your content beyond your existing followers.

    Sixth, engage with others from your Page. Participate in relevant conversations where appropriate by commenting on posts from other industry pages or thought leaders. Tagging other companies or individuals in your posts (when relevant) can also increase your visibility.

    And seventh, promote your LinkedIn Page off the platform. You should include a prominent “Follow us on LinkedIn” icon or link on your company’s website, in all employee email signatures, and within your email newsletters. Cross-promoting on your other company social media channels is also a good practice.

    While all these tactics are effective, they work best when the content you are publishing on your Page is genuinely valuable and interesting to a professional audience. Growing a Company Page is a long-term effort, and success comes from combining consistent, quality content with proactive promotion and employee participation.

    Cheers,

    Jeff

    Jeff Bullas
    Keymaster

    LinkedIn Polls are a highly effective tool for driving engagement because they provide a very low-friction way for your network to interact with your content. To use them effectively, however, you need to have a clear purpose for each poll you create.

    There are several best practices to follow. First, you should ask relevant and thought-provoking questions. The question should be directly related to your industry, your audience’s professional interests, or a current trend. The goal is to spark curiosity and encourage people to weigh in with their opinion. Avoid questions that are overly simplistic or have an obvious answer.

    Second, provide balanced and clear poll options. Limit your options to a maximum of four, and ensure they are distinct and easy to understand. It can sometimes be a good tactic to include a neutral option like “Just here for the results” or “Other (comment below),” as this can increase overall participation from those who do not have a strong opinion on the other choices.

    Third, you must add your own context in the post’s text. Do not just post the poll question on its own. Use the text area of the post to provide a brief background for why you are asking the question. You can share your own perspective to kick off the discussion or state that you will share your detailed thoughts after the poll closes. This encourages comments beyond just a simple vote.

    Fourth, you need to actively engage in the comments section. As people vote and leave comments explaining their choice, you should reply to them and help foster a discussion. This shows that you are genuinely interested in the conversation, which will encourage more people to participate.

    Fifth, and this is a crucial step that many people miss, you must follow up after the poll concludes. You should create a new post, or at the very least a detailed comment on the original poll, to share and analyse the results. Offer your insights on why you think the results turned out the way they did, thank your network for participating, and pose a new question to continue the conversation. This closes the loop and demonstrates that their participation was valuable.

    And sixth, you can use the poll results to inform your future content strategy. The data you gather is valuable market research. You can use the results and the discussions in the comments to inspire the topic of your next article, video, or in-depth post, directly addressing the subject your audience has shown a clear interest in.

    The key to using LinkedIn Polls effectively is to treat them as conversation starters and a research tool, not just as a one-off gimmick.

    Cheers,

    Jeff

    Jeff Bullas
    Keymaster

    Your LinkedIn headline and “About” section are two of the most important parts of your professional profile. Avoiding a few common mistakes in these areas can significantly improve how you are perceived by recruiters, clients, and colleagues.

    First, let us look at the Headline. A very common mistake is to use only your current job title and company. For example, simply having “Marketing Manager at ABC Company.” This is a missed opportunity. Your headline should be a concise summary of your value proposition. It is far more effective to include keywords that describe your expertise, such as “Marketing Manager | B2B Content Strategy & Demand Generation | SaaS Technology.” This is more descriptive and makes you more discoverable in searches. Another error to avoid here is filling it with vague buzzwords like “visionary,” “guru,” or “ninja.” These terms are often meaningless to recruiters and can appear unprofessional. Focus on concrete skills and what you do.

    Next, for the “About” Section, which is your summary. A frequent mistake is writing it in the third person. Your “About” section should almost always be written in the first person, using “I” and “my,” to create a more personal and engaging connection with the reader.

    Another significant pitfall is simply listing your job duties as you would on a formal resume. Instead, you should use this space to tell your professional story. Briefly explain who you help, what problems you solve, and what you are passionate about in your work. It is also highly effective to highlight one or two key achievements with quantifiable results where possible.

    A third mistake is making it a dense, unreadable block of text. You should always break up your summary into short paragraphs with white space in between to make it much easier to read and scan.

    Finally, a very common omission is failing to include a clear call to action at the end. Tell the reader what you want them to do next. This could be an invitation to connect, a link to your professional website or portfolio, or an invitation to send you a message regarding specific opportunities. You can also list your key areas of expertise at the end to reinforce keywords.

    The overarching mistake for both sections is not optimising for relevant keywords. Think about the terms a recruiter or a potential client would use to search for someone with your skill set, and ensure those terms are naturally integrated into both your headline and your “About” section.

    Cheers,

    Jeff

    Jeff Bullas
    Keymaster

    LinkedIn’s Creator Mode is a profile setting designed specifically for members who aim to build a following and establish their voice by regularly sharing content. Whether you should turn it on depends entirely on how you want to use the platform.

    There are several key benefits, or pros, to enabling Creator Mode. First, it changes the primary call-to-action button on your profile from “Connect” to “Follow.” This immediately signals to visitors that you are focused on building an audience for your content, rather than just collecting direct connections. Your follower count is also displayed prominently in your profile introduction.

    Second, it allows you to select and showcase up to five “Topics” you talk about, which appear as hashtags directly under your headline. This provides instant clarity to visitors about your areas of expertise.

    Third, it reorders your profile to place a greater emphasis on your content. Your “Featured” and “Activity” sections are moved higher up your profile, prioritising what you create and share over your past work experience.

    And fourth, it gives you access to enhanced creator analytics and tools. This includes more detailed insights into your content’s performance and your audience growth, which can help you refine your content strategy. It can also make you eligible for other creator-focused features like LinkedIn Live and Newsletters, once you meet the specific criteria for those.

    However, there are also some considerations, or cons. The main one is that by changing your primary button to “Follow,” it makes it slightly less direct for someone to send you a connection request. They must click the “More” button on your profile to find the “Connect” option. This might be a disadvantage if your primary goal on LinkedIn is one-to-one networking with a specific set of people, rather than broad content distribution. The profile layout change also de-emphasises your “About” section slightly, which might not be ideal if you use LinkedIn primarily as a static resume.

    Creator Mode is ideal for individuals who see themselves as thought leaders, industry experts, consultants, coaches, or any professional who regularly creates content like articles, videos, and posts with the goal of building a community and influence.

    If your primary use of LinkedIn is for direct, private networking, targeted sales prospecting where you need to connect first, or as a more traditional online resume, the standard profile mode might remain more suitable for your needs. You can turn Creator Mode on or off at any time in your profile settings if you wish to experiment with it.

    Cheers,

    Jeff

    Jeff Bullas
    Keymaster

    For achieving the best reach and engagement on the LinkedIn platform, it is almost always better to post your video directly to LinkedIn as a native upload rather than sharing a link to YouTube.

    There are a few key reasons for this. First, and most importantly, is the preference of the LinkedIn algorithm. Social media platforms, including LinkedIn, are businesses that want to keep users on their site for as long as possible. A native video plays directly within the LinkedIn feed, keeping the user on the platform. A link to YouTube, however, is explicitly designed to send a user away from LinkedIn to a competing video platform. As a result, the algorithm generally gives significantly more visibility and organic reach to natively uploaded videos compared to posts containing external links.

    Second, consider the user experience. Native LinkedIn videos are optimised for a seamless experience within the feed. They typically autoplay silently as a user scrolls, which is more effective at capturing attention. A post with a YouTube link usually just displays a static thumbnail image that requires a user to make an extra click to watch, and it often opens in a new tab, creating more friction and a less integrated experience.

    Third, when you upload a video natively, you get access to LinkedIn’s specific video features. This includes the ability to add your own SRT file for accurate, native captions, which is crucial for accessibility and for the large number of users who watch videos with the sound off. You also get access to LinkedIn’s own video analytics, allowing you to see metrics like views, watch time, and audience demographics directly on the platform.

    The main situation where sharing a YouTube link directly would make sense is if your only goal is to drive traffic and views specifically to your YouTube channel, perhaps to increase watch hours or subscribers there. However, you must accept that the reach of that post on LinkedIn will likely be much lower.

    A common and effective hybrid strategy is to upload a short, engaging clip or a trailer of your full YouTube video as a native LinkedIn video. This gets the algorithmic benefits of native content. Then, in the text of your post or in the first comment, you can mention that the full video is available on your YouTube channel and provide the link for those who are interested in watching the entire piece.

    In summary, for maximum reach and engagement on LinkedIn itself, always choose to upload your video natively. If driving traffic to your YouTube channel is the primary objective, share the link, but be prepared for lower visibility within the LinkedIn feed. The native teaser clip is often the best compromise.

    Cheers,

    Jeff

    Jeff Bullas
    Keymaster

    The approach to using hashtags on LinkedIn is quite different from other social media platforms. On LinkedIn, the consensus and widely accepted best practice lean heavily towards using a smaller number of highly relevant hashtags.

    The general recommendation from both LinkedIn itself and from marketing experts is to use between three and five hashtags per post. This range is considered the sweet spot. Using more than five can start to look cluttered or spammy to a professional audience and may not provide any significant additional benefit in terms of reach. In some cases, using too many irrelevant tags could even dilute the focus of your post for the algorithm.

    The strategy for choosing these few hashtags is also important. First, you should aim for a mix of broader and more niche tags. For instance, you might use one or two broad, high-volume hashtags that are relevant to your overall industry (such as #leadership or #digitalmarketing) to expose your post to a wider audience.

    Second, you should then use another two or three specific, niche hashtags that are directly related to the exact topic of your post (such as #contentstrategy or #b2bprospecting). These help you connect with a more targeted and often more engaged audience that is actively following or searching for that specific subject matter.

    Third, you might also consider consistently including one branded hashtag for your personal brand or company (for example, #YourCompanyNameUpdates) to categorise your own content and make it easily searchable.

    To assist with this process of selecting the right mix of hashtags, my team has put together a free ‘LinkedIn Hashtag Checklist’ you can use. You can find it at https://www.jeffbullas.com/docs/linkedin-hashtag-checklist/.

    These hashtags can be placed at the end of your post for a clean look, or they can be woven naturally into the sentences of your post itself if it makes sense and reads well.

    The reason fewer hashtags are more effective on LinkedIn is that the platform’s professional audience generally responds better to clean, focused, and uncluttered content. A long list of hashtags can appear unprofessional and detract from the core message of your post. The algorithm is designed to prioritise the quality of the content and the relevance of the discussion, with hashtags serving as a supporting tool for categorisation and discovery, not the primary driver of reach.

    In summary, the best practice for LinkedIn is to use between three and five highly relevant hashtags per post. Focus on a strategic mix of broad and niche tags, and avoid the “more is better” approach that is common on other platforms.

    Cheers,

    Jeff

    Jeff Bullas
    Keymaster

    Instagram Broadcast Channels are an effective tool for creators to communicate directly with their most engaged followers in a one-to-many format. Using them well involves understanding their unique purpose and following some key best practices.

    First, you must understand the format’s primary function. It is a one-way communication channel where only the creator (and any invited collaborators) can send messages, such as text, photos, videos, and voice notes. Your members who join the channel can react to your messages with emojis and vote in polls you create, but they cannot send their own messages. This makes it different from a group chat.

    Second, the most important best practice is to provide exclusive value. You need to give your followers a compelling reason to join and stay in your channel. Do not simply repurpose the same content you post to your public feed or Stories. Use the channel to share exclusive information, such as behind-the-scenes content, early announcements, personal thoughts or updates, special Q&A sessions, or “ask me anything” prompts.

    Third, you should be interactive using the available tools. Even though it is a one-way messaging channel, you can foster a sense of community and gather feedback. Use the poll feature frequently to ask for your audience’s opinions. You can also use question prompts to collect questions that you might answer in a later Story, Reel, or even in the channel itself. Encouraging emoji reactions to your updates also helps to make the channel feel more interactive.

    Fourth, it is good practice to use a mix of media formats. You can share text updates, short video clips, personal voice notes, and photos. Varying the format can keep the channel more dynamic. Voice notes, in particular, can create a very personal and direct connection with your audience.

    Fifth, you need to maintain a consistent but not overwhelming posting cadence. You do not want to bombard your members with too many notifications and cause them to mute or leave the channel. The right frequency will depend on your niche and audience, but a few valuable updates per week is often a good starting point. The goal is for the channel to feel active and special, not spammy.

    And sixth, as with all content on the platform, you must adhere to Instagram’s Community Guidelines. All content shared in your Broadcast Channel must be compliant. Any violations can lead to your channel being shut down and could impact your account’s standing.

    To grow your channel’s membership, you can use the shareable link or the dedicated sticker in your Instagram Stories to invite your followers to join. The key to a successful channel is to make it a destination for exclusive content and a place where your most loyal followers feel they get a closer connection to you and your work.

    Cheers,

    Jeff

    in reply to: Why are my marketing emails going to the spam folder? #109902
    Jeff Bullas
    Keymaster

    Having your emails land in the spam folder is a common and very frustrating problem. It is usually caused by a combination of factors related to your sender reputation, your technical setup, and the way your recipients engage with your content.

    First, and most importantly, it could be due to a poor sender reputation. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and inbox providers like Gmail and Outlook assign a reputation score to your sending domain and IP address. This score is damaged by things like having a high number of your emails marked as spam by recipients, high bounce rates from invalid email addresses, and low subscriber engagement. A poor reputation is a major red flag for spam filters.

    Second, a very common technical reason is a lack of proper email authentication. You must have your SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records correctly set up for your domain. These are essentially your email’s digital passport. They prove to receiving mail servers that your emails are legitimate and that you are who you say you are, which helps to prevent spoofing and phishing. Many spam folders are filled with emails that have failed these authentication checks.

    Third, low subscriber engagement is a powerful signal to inbox providers. If a large portion of your list never opens or clicks on your emails, it indicates that your content is not wanted. This is why it is so critical to regularly clean your email list and run re-engagement campaigns to remove inactive subscribers.

    Fourth, you might be sending to a non-permission-based list. If you are emailing people who did not explicitly opt-in to receive your communications, such as from a purchased or scraped list, they are far more likely to mark your emails as spam. This is one of the quickest ways to destroy your sender reputation.

    Fifth, while modern spam filters are very sophisticated, the content and formatting of your email can still be a factor. Using misleading subject lines, excessive capital letters or exclamation marks, including suspicious links or attachments, or using poorly formatted HTML code can all contribute to your email being flagged as spam.

    And sixth, if you have recently started sending from a new domain, a sudden large increase in sending volume can appear as spammer behaviour. This is why it is essential to properly “warm up” a new sending domain by gradually increasing the volume of emails you send over time.

    To begin troubleshooting, you should first use free online tools to check that your SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records are correctly set up. Then, analyse your list for engagement and be ruthless about cleaning out unengaged subscribers. These two areas often provide the solution.

    Cheers,

    Jeff

    Jeff Bullas
    Keymaster

    Promoting your email newsletter effectively on social media requires a consistent and multi-faceted approach. You need to give your social audience a compelling reason to move from being a passive follower to becoming an active subscriber in their inbox.

    There are several effective strategies you should employ. First, and most fundamentally, you must optimise your profile bios. Your bio on every social media platform, whether it is Instagram, Twitter/X, or LinkedIn, should include a clear call to action that encourages people to subscribe, along with a direct link to your newsletter sign-up page. Using a “link-in-bio” service is advisable if you need to feature multiple important links.

    Second, you need to regularly tease your newsletter content. Instead of simply posting “sign up for my newsletter,” you should create posts that share a valuable snippet, a key takeaway, or a compelling question from your most recent or an upcoming newsletter issue. You then conclude the post with a call to action such as, “Get the full breakdown in this week’s newsletter. Subscribe via the link in my bio.”

    Third, create content that visually showcases your newsletter. This could be a short Reel or a graphic that shows a stylised preview of the newsletter’s format or highlights a testimonial from a current happy subscriber. This helps to make your newsletter feel like a tangible, desirable product.

    Fourth, use the unique features of each platform. On Instagram, for example, use the “Link” sticker in your Stories to link directly to your sign-up page when you are talking about your newsletter. On Twitter/X, you can create a valuable thread and have the final tweet in that thread be an invitation to subscribe for more in-depth content. On LinkedIn, you could write a short article that expands on a recent newsletter topic and include a sign-up link within it.

    Fifth, run interactive content that relates to your newsletter. You could use a poll or a question sticker on Instagram Stories to ask your audience what topic they would like you to cover in the next issue, then direct them to subscribe to ensure they receive it.

    And sixth, pin a promotional post to the top of your profile on platforms that allow it, such as Twitter/X and Facebook. This ensures that a post about the value of your newsletter is the first thing that new visitors to your profile see.

    Across all these tactics, the key is to clearly communicate the unique value of being a subscriber. You must answer the question: “What does someone get by subscribing that they do not already get by just following me on social media?” Whether it is exclusive content, deeper insights, free resources, or early access, that value proposition must be clear.

    Cheers,

    Jeff

    Jeff Bullas
    Keymaster

    The very first welcome email is arguably the most important email you will send to a new subscriber. It typically receives the highest open rates of any email in your sequence, so it needs to be clear, valuable, and set the correct tone for the relationship moving forward.

    There are several essential components to include. First, it must have a clear and welcoming subject line. Something direct and simple such as “Welcome! Here is your free guide” or “You’re in! Welcome to the [Your Brand] Newsletter” works very well.

    Second, the email must immediately confirm the subscription and deliver what you promised. If a subscriber signed up to receive a lead magnet, like a checklist or an e-book, you must provide a clear and prominent link or button to download it right at the beginning of the email. Fulfilling your promise instantly is fundamental to building trust.

    Third, you should include a brief and genuine welcome message. Thank them for subscribing and concisely remind them what your brand or newsletter is about. This reassures them that they have made a good decision.

    Fourth, you need to set clear expectations. Let your new subscriber know what kind of content you will be sending them in the future and how often they can expect to hear from you. For example, you might say, “You can expect an email from me every Tuesday morning with my latest tips.”

    Fifth, it is good practice to ask them to “whitelist” or add your email address to their contacts. A simple instruction like, “To ensure you receive our future emails, please add this address to your contacts list,” can help improve your long-term deliverability to their inbox.

    Sixth, while the primary focus is on welcoming and delivering value, you can include a subtle secondary call to action. This should not be a hard sales pitch. Instead, you could invite them to follow you on your primary social media platform or direct them to one of your most popular or foundational pieces of content, like a key blog post or video.

    You should avoid overwhelming the subscriber in this first email. Do not include too many different links, do not push a product for sale, and avoid a long, rambling story. Keep it focused and valuable. The main goals are to deliver on your promise, confirm their action, and set clear expectations for your new relationship.

    Cheers,

    Jeff

    Jeff Bullas
    Keymaster

    Understanding the difference between email delivery and email deliverability is crucial for any serious email marketer, as the two terms describe very different stages of an email’s journey and measure different kinds of success.

    First, email delivery is a technical measure. It simply means that your email was successfully sent and accepted by the recipient’s mail server. When your email marketing platform reports a 99% delivery rate, it is telling you that 99% of your emails did not “bounce” or result in a permanent delivery failure due to an invalid or non-existent email address. It confirms the email has arrived at the front door, but it says nothing about what happens next.

    Second, email deliverability, sometimes called inbox placement, is the much more important marketing measure. Deliverability refers to where your email lands after it has been delivered. Does it get placed in the subscriber’s primary inbox where it is likely to be seen? Or does it get filtered into the promotions tab, or worse, sent directly to the spam or junk folder?

    A simple way to think about it is like posting a letter. Delivery is when the postal worker successfully puts the letter into the recipient’s letterbox. Deliverability is whether the homeowner brings that letter inside to read, or if they immediately identify it as junk mail and throw it directly into the recycling bin without opening it.

    You can have a near-perfect delivery rate, but if your deliverability is poor, a large portion of those “delivered” emails could be going straight to the spam folder, meaning they will almost never be seen by your subscribers.

    Your deliverability is influenced by a range of factors that inbox providers like Gmail and Outlook analyse. These include your sender reputation, whether you have proper email authentication set up (SPF, DKIM, and DMARC), your subscriber engagement levels, and the quality and relevance of your email content. These signals are what the inbox provider uses to decide if you are a trustworthy sender who belongs in the primary inbox.

    In summary, delivery is the technical success of the server accepting your email. Deliverability is the marketing success of that email landing in the inbox where it has a chance to be read. Your primary goal should always be to improve your deliverability.

    Cheers,

    Jeff

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