May I ask you something sort of personal? Does your newsletter seem like too much work sometimes? If it does, you’ll definitely want to check out today’s feature article which is all about where your newsletter can get out of alignment and why it’s so crucial to keep things *in* alignment. (And, of course, I can’t possibly leave you without a practical, easy-to-apply solution–or without revealing my least favorite childhood rainy-day activity…)

Struggling to come up with the right stories for your newsletter? You’re not alone.

You know it’s important to share personal stories, but may not be quite sure what that should look like. You know it’s not enough to simply relay the story of the super cute thing Toby did this weekend, and think you should try to link it into your main story somehow… But, how?

We’re having a gorgeous spring day here and I’m working outside on the back patio. I must admit, I continue to be amazed by wireless internet access!

Izzy’s lounging in his giant kiddie pool (just a moment ago, he was trying to “drown” his tennis ball…), and I’m bursting at the seams with things that are *almost* ready to share with you. (It’s so hard to be patient about some of them!)

Is this your approach to your own newsletter–to write only what you want, to think only of your own tastes? If you’re like a lot of publishers today, your first, and only, consideration is whether or not you’re interested in a topic. To me, this is akin to thinking your best niche is people just like you. (Like life coaches who only work with women between 45 and 50 who have recently been divorced, have no kids, and like to play the ukulele.)

It’s not inherently wrong, but it is limiting, and probably not in the best interests of your readers (and, thereby, you).

Apparently, most TV shows these days don’t do well as reruns in the US (or, at least, that’s what the network executives say). Because reruns don’t get very high ratings, most networks try to avoid them, preferring to produce cheap reality TV shows to fill the gaps left by scripted shows.

It might seem like the same would be true with your newsletter–that your readers won’t be interested in re-reading an article you published previously. But, that’s absolutely not the case!