by Melissa H | Sep 22, 2022 | Newsletter Ideas
October is just the start of the busy holiday season. Work ahead with these October email newsletter ideas for food bloggers and food content creators.
October is where things in the food blogging world really start to get busy! Yes, Halloween is a big celebration and people start planning early for that. Now is the time to be sharing that Halloween content in your newsletters.
But… don’t forget some other really important dates.
Canadian Thanksgiving
If you have a sizable Canadian audience, don’t forget, Canadian Thanksgiving is actually one of the first major food holidays on the fall calendar. It’s always the second Monday of October.
Diwali
Diwali – or the festival of lights – is another holiday to look out for – it changes from year to year (while it is a multi-day festival, the main date this year October 24th) but it’s one of the biggest holidays in Indian culture and many people of Indian descent in North America will be celebrating!
Sports!
October is a big month for spectator sports. It’s the start of the NHL and NBA seasons, the NFL and college football are underway and it’s the run up to the World Series. That leads up to tailgate season, entertaining around televised sports and… snacks!
Halloween
And of course, that leads us to the big one: Halloween. Every year it seems to be bigger than the last! People are planning parties, sending treats to school and trying to figure out what to eat for dinner (and when to eat it) on the big day… how can you make their lives easier?
Focus On Your Email Audience
How you proceed with your emails for October will depend on your audience. You know them better than anyone else. Remember that your email audience may be different from the audience that finds you through search.
Focus on what your newsletter subscribers respond to. If you have the data available in your newsletter marketing platform, look at which content they responded to last fall. Then create newsletter content that’s a good fit. If your audience doesn’t care about sports, skip the sports content!
October Email Newsletter Ideas for Food Content Creators
- Canadian Thanksgiving
- Diwali
- Sports themed appetizers and party food
- Tailgating ideas
- Comfort Food
- casseroles
- roast dinners
- hearty soups
- pastas
- fast and easy weeknight comfort food
- Seasonal October produce:
- cranberries
- pears
- root veggies
- squash and pumpkin
- apples
- Pies
Now’s the time to get started. Plan out your October newsletter calendar and batch write your emails. Schedule them and you’re good to go!
by Melissa H | Aug 17, 2022 | marketing
All digital products require consistent marketing to keep sales coming in. Here is a super simple way to to market your ebooks, printables or digital courses that isn’t too sales-y. (PS it also works for physical products!)
So… you’ve created this new digital product. Maybe it’s an ebook, or a downloadable printable. Or a digital course.
You’ve funneled time, money and energy into it and it’s perfect. It’s packed with helpful, practical information and tips. It’s beautiful to look at. And you just know it’s exactly what your people need to make their lives or businesses better.
There’s just one problem.
Nobody’s buying it.
Almost everyone who has launched a digital product has experienced this and it can be, at best, frustrating. At its worst, it can be a blow to your self-confidence and make you wonder why you’re doing what you’re doing.
One Key Thing You Need to Know About Selling Any Product or Service
Before you get too down on things it’s really important to know that most customers, or potential customers, require at least 7 touch points with your product before they’ll purchase. This is a key takeaway to factor into your digital product marketing plans! (oh and it also works for physical products!)
If you share your new product on Instagram , Facebook and Tik Tok once each, that’s 3 touch points…sort of.
If you have different audiences on each platform, it may only be once touch point for each of them…. maybe. If they didn’t see your post (because, algorithms) then it’s actually zero touch points!
Now you’re starting to see just how much marketing you’ll need to do to hit 7 touch points with most of your customers. You need to be promoting your new ebook constantly and consistently.
But what if you don’t want to be too sales-y?
I get it. It feels weird and awkward and even you get sick of hearing yourself talk about your new baby.
So here’s a super simple tip that takes very little effort and helps you get eyeballs regularly on your products.
Promote Your Digital Products to Your Email List In Every Newsletter
Before you groan, this is not as sales- y as it sounds.
Here’s what you are NOT going to do:
- you are NOT going to go on and on about your product in each newsletter
- it is NOT going to be the first thing, or even the second or third thing you talk about
- you are NOT going to annoy your subscribers
Here’s What You ARE going to do:
- Create 3-4 different graphics for each product you have. Aim for about 640px wide by 200px high – about the width of your newsletter
- Your graphics should show an image of the product (a book cover, the logo for your course etc) and have a small amount of text encouraging people to buy
- Insert one of the graphics into the bottom of your next newletter, just above your sign off – like an ad!
- Make sure the graphic links to somewhere they can buy the product
- If you like, you can also write a short paragraph blurb highlighting a great feature or benefit of your product. If you do this, make sure you include a text link so they can buy
- Add a button that says something like “GET YOURS NOW” or “BUY NOW”. Buttons convert well in emails – better than images and text links
- Rotate your graphics each week so they don’t see the same image every week.
- If you have multiple products, rotate the product you feature each month – if you can tie it into the theme of your newsletter or a key point in your newsletter that’s even better.
By doing this, you’re not in your subscribers faces each week. You’re not pushing them to buy.
You’re simply reminding them that you have this product and, when they’re ready, it’s there waiting for them.
You also need to remember that each week, you have new subscribers who have never seen your product before. They are starting from zero touch points!
You’ll still need to regularly promote your products on social media and to your network but that’s a tip for another day!
In the meantime, add these graphics into your rotation and it’s a very simple way to market your books, products and courses every week to the people who are most likely to buy from you!
by Melissa H | Aug 16, 2022 | Newsletter Ideas
Start prepping for the fall with these easy September email newsletter ideas for food bloggers and food content creators.
As we get ready to head into the fall, all you food content creators know that this is just the beginning of what is usually, your busiest season of the year. And it all starts with September!
If you’ve been neglecting your newsletter subscribers, now is the time to show them some love. You want them to be interested and full of anticipation for how you’re going to help them get through the next four months as they head back to school or work, look forward to Thanksgiving and Halloween and start to plan their holiday season.
This is the time of year where food plays a crucial roll and everyone has a lot to do! How can you start to make things easier for your most engaged audience members?
Focus On Your Email Audience
Start with September! There is no shortage of email topics this month. Below are some general September food newsletter ideas. Use them for inspiration but make sure that you niche them down and adapt them for your audience.
For example: lunchbox ideas. These don’t just have to apply to school lunches. Adults head back to work after vacation. Some are going back to the office for the first time in a few years. They need lunches too. Your audience might be looking for budget friendly hacks or maybe they’re vegan, or don’t eat dairy or they follow a keto diet. Take the lunchbox idea and adapt it to fit your content and audience.
September Email Newsletter Ideas for Food Content Creators
- grab ‘n’ go breakfasts or snacks
- school snacks (skip the nuts)
- don’t forget after school snacks before heading to activities or sports
- lunchbox ideas (for kids and adults)
- fast and easy weeknight diners
- classic but easy cookies (lunchbox or cookie jar favourites)
- September produce (and what to do with it)
- corn
- tomatoes
- blackberries
- apples
- pears
- carrots
- beets
- potatoes
- squash
- meal planning basics
- grocery budgeting for the holidays
- Canadian Thanksgiving – don’t forget that Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving on the second Monday of October every year
Now’s the time to get started. Plan out your September newsletter calendar and batch write your emails. Schedule them and you’re good to go!
by Melissa H | Sep 13, 2013 | colour palettes, resources
Fall is almost officially here and it’s my favourite season. Mother nature puts on a show in glorious technicolour and we get to come along for the ride. It will be wet, rainy, cold or snowy soon enough so soak in all the gorgeous rich colours of fall while you can!
Feel free to download this palette if you wish to use the colours in your own projects or add it to your design resources (right click on the image to download to your computer). The hex values are included. (Hex codes are how colours are described in CSS for the web).
For more palette inspiration, be sure to check out Melissa’s Palette Pinboard on Pinterest!
by Melissa H | Aug 19, 2013 | colour palettes, resources
Took a little break last week to enjoy some of what summer has to offer in BC’s Okanagan Valley which gave me a ton of inspiration for new palettes. But, I think this one might be the last “summery” one because I’m itching to get into fall colours!
In the meantime, don’t let summer pass you by too quickly – make the most of the last few weekends of “cottage life”!
Feel free to download this palette if you wish to use the colours in your own projects or add it to your design resources (right click on the image to download to your computer). The hex values are included. (Hex codes are how colours are described in CSS for the web).
For more palette inspiration, be sure to check out Melissa’s Palette Pinboard on Pinterest!
