Hey Reader!

In this polarized era, in which every word anyone utters is a potential sign of ignorance, devilry, or confrontation, is it okay to be political in your newsletter?

Let me tell you a little story.

Once upon a time, I wrote something in a newsletter about the guy who is currently in the White House.

He was there back then too, and let’s just say that I was not, and am not, a fan. I don’t remember exactly what I said; it was in passing, not my main theme.

A reader wrote back and told me that I should be careful, that I risked alienating 50% of my readers, including her.

Except - I’m pretty sure that I have never had a 50-50 readership when it comes to politics.

In fact, I’m guessing she was one of very few who took exception to my sh*t-talking the president.

Not that I have a litmus test for subscribers or anything, but I do write about myself. People get to know me, and I’m guessing that some of them are turned off by my occasional expletives, my obvious affinity for wokeness, and my general stance on life.

My reader reminded me that she’d been one of my early fans, and that while she liked my content, she might unsubscribe if I continued to troll the GOP.

And honestly, I’d have been sorry to see her go.

But.

I like to think I’m relatable, but I don’t expend a lot of energy trying to be palatable. I have a point of view. I do my best to keep an open mind about ideas other than my own, but I’m not scared of upsetting people by announcing my values.

If I state an opinion that a reader doesn’t like, they are welcome to engage me in a discussion about it.

They are also welcome to leave.

Unsubscribes don’t hurt my feelers, as we say in my house. They also don’t worry me from a business perspective.

Maybe you’d rather ride a rhino into a swamp than talk about politics in your newsletter. Fair! But if you find yourself shying away from words that are busting to get out, ask yourself this:

Are you feeling desperate when it comes to business?

In the woo woo world, of course, we’d ask if you’re in a scarcity mindset. It’s a thing that happens to most of us, especially when we’re just starting out.

We want customers! Any customers! Money is money, man.

But pretty soon you start to realize that it’s not worth the money to work with people who don’t appreciate what you stand for.

And that censoring yourself just sucks.

The more you can be your unfettered self in your writing, the better the chance that you’ll find your people. And isn’t it nice to feel like you don’t have to hide or mask while you’re at work?

I’m guessing that’s a big reason you chose self-employment, if that’s your gig.

To be clear, I’m not saying that we should strive to work only with people who are just like us. But surround yourself with people who respect you, and you’re more likely to feel a sense of safety and belonging. Not to mention having a lot more fun.

True story, I’m right on the verge of unsubscribing from a newsletter because I think the writer and I are not spiritually compatible. 😬

And while his products may be good, if they are imbued with what is starting to feel like a dram of contempt and possibly even a smidgen of misogyny, then he’s not the guy for me; and someone else can teach me the very same concepts.

Me leaving his mailing list is not going to ruin his business, just as that one reader leaving mine would not have hurt my business.

So yes, you can be as political as you like. But do keep in mind WHY people signed up for your newsletter in the first place and make sure that’s your main focus.

Then you can spout allllllllll your unpopular opinions.

Though please, for the love of Mike, don’t preface them by announcing that you’re about to express a (theoretically) unpopular opinion. Because that, to wildly mix generational slang, is hella cringe.

It feels performative and gimmicky.

Bring your best unfiltered (well, okay, maybe sometimes mildly filtered) self to your writing and your people will be drawn to you. If others are repelled? Wish them well. They will find their own community elsewhere.

xo, Julia
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Each week I give you ideas for making your writing (and sending) life a little better. Here's what I've got for you this week.

FIVE-MINUTE FIX

Look at your spacing.

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If you write drafts in Word or Google Docs and then paste them into your email program, sometimes the spacing gets wonky; generally I’ve seen (and experienced) that you get larger than normal spaces between lines.

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Like this. Doesn't that feel weird?

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You want short paragraphs that are spaced normally, so if it looks wonky in the final version, clean it up!

ALWAYS send yourself a test email and let your eye skim over it - are there places where it feels visually awkward? Does your eye snag on an element or a weirdly long paragraph or something else?

And make sure to read it on both desktop and mobile, to be sure it looks good on both platforms.

We've heard that it takes only a few seconds for a person to evaluate what they're seeing and decide whether or not to engage.

While this is usually applied to social media, it's relevant to email as well.

If your email looks inviting it's more likely that people will read it, not skim for a second and then close it again.

​Taylor Swift doesn't let public opinion sway her and neither does this email. Forward it to someone who believes in the value of their words.

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