Starting a Newsletter: Building Connections and Driving Change
A Guide to Low-Risk Experimentation and High-Impact Results for Wellness Impacts
Dear Enthereal Community Member and Newsletter Subscriber,
Recently, I spoke with a nurse—one of our newest subscribers—who mentioned she had no idea how to start a newsletter. Between her day job and night job, I anticipate she may understandably feel that adding more to her plate might not be worth it. I get it. The last thing anyone needs is to create more pressure when that might not even seem valuable at first glance.
But here’s my hypothesis: if you’re someone who wants to effect positive change for wellbeing, navigating stakeholder groups and building community is essential.
A newsletter can be one of the most effective—and surprisingly low-risk—ways to do just that.
And you’ll be exercising and developing the skills and mindsets to work with diverse audiences, whether you benefit from that in the short-term, say to build leads for your services, or long-term, to build life-long connections, potential collaborators, and even advisors and partners.
Why Start a Newsletter?
A newsletter can be a lot of things, and it’s an opportunity that’s more than just writing updates; it’s a tool for connection, a space for experimentation, and a platform to amplify your vision—maybe even foster community.
Whether you’re seeking to grow an active community or generate income, a newsletter allows you to:
Share Your Voice: Articulate your ideas and create a space where your perspective can flourish.
Build Stakeholder Groups: Engage with like-minded individuals and professionals who can help bring your vision to life.
Experiment Safely: Test out ideas, refine your audience, and develop your approach with minimal risk.
Getting Started: Editorial Approaches and Tools
Don’t overthink the process at first. Start with these simple steps:
Choose a Focus: Identify one or two key themes you’re passionate about. This will help you stay consistent while resonating with your audience.
At Enthereal, you may have noticed that we’ve pivoted several times, and we’ve learned a lot about what people engage with, and what they don’t.
Pick a Tool: Platforms like Substack, Beehiiv, or Mailchimp make it easy to design and send newsletters without technical expertise.
At Enthereal, we’ve been using both Substack and Beehiiv, though Mailchimp has been around forever.
Set Realistic Goals: Start small—a monthly update or short thoughts—to avoid overwhelm. Even if you do it, once a season, you’re starting on a path that you’ll be able to look back for years and appreciate the low-risk chance you took to have a place where people can find what you have to say.
Experimenting and Refining Your Audience
Your first subscribers might be friends, colleagues, or people in your immediate network. That’s okay. Over time, you’ll learn what resonates most by paying attention to:
Engagement: Which topics spark replies or shares?
Feedback: What questions or comments are you receiving?
Demographics: Who is signing up and sticking around?
From here, you can tailor your content to better serve your growing audience.
Embracing Cycles of Improvement
A successful newsletter evolves over time. Here’s how to keep improving:
Content: Experiment with formats—personal stories, curated resources, or calls to action.
You can even use your past posts as its own record of what you were interested in and sharing with others over time.
Design: Make it visually appealing and easy to read.
Don’t worry about this too much, unless you’re going to have fun with it. The default appearance and templates are more than enough to get started.
Metrics: Track open rates, click-throughs, and responses to understand what works.
This may seem daunting at first, but it’s easier than ever to get into the analytics behind-the-scenes with your newsletter platform. And you can get deep into it, or simply glance at the numbers, at your leisure. It’s there for you.
Consistency: Find a rhythm that balances quality with sustainability.
Here, it can be great to have a friend or peer that you’re keeping in mind or even checking in with, to remind yourself that real people are out there reading your work. There are ways you can organize your ideas and work, so that you can maintain a rhythm while also creating pieces that resonate and stand out in your own way.
Turning a Newsletter into an Active Group or Income Stream
As your newsletter grows, so will its potential. Whether your goal is to create a vibrant community, summon resources, or both, remember that every step forward builds momentum.
The most important part? Simply getting started.
If you’ve been considering writing a newsletter or are curious about how it could fit into your work, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Let’s explore how you can create something meaningful—and have fun doing it.
And Happy New Year for 2025!
Warm regards,
Kiya Kersh
Founder, Enthereal
Where Else to Find Enthereal and Kiya in 2025:
We post news that sometimes we don’t publish to the newsletter at
Occasionally
Enthereal Discord Server (NEW!)
https://discord.gg/JuEfdhW7
EntherealPharm@Bluesky (Follow us on Bluesky!) https://bsky.app/profile/entherealpharm.bsky.social
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