Hey friend!

Have you ever wondered how top creators and companies create newsletters every week without burning out?

I chatted with Matt Ragland, founder of HeyCreator and former employee number five at ConvertKit, who's spent the last decade mastering newsletter creation and helping creators transform their content.

Watch the full episode on YouTube!

By the end of this conversation, you'll learn the exact framework for remixing your content into newsletters that your audience will love, and how to build a sustainable content strategy that doesn't leave you constantly creating from scratch.

Key Quotes from Matt

1. On sticking with your message: "If you have something to say that you think is important, even if it's not hitting, you have to keep protecting time and creative energy to say the thing that's important to you."

2. On remixing vs repurposing: "Repurposing is often taking with very little change the original content and then repurposing it into another channel platform... Remixing is taking the body of work around different core categories, saying what's if I just took this for what it is." — Matt Ragland

3. On scaling content: "You can start big with a long-form podcast all the way down to a tweet or thread. You can also start small with a tweet and continue to move that up."

3 Actionable Strategies to Create Newsletters from Your Content

1. Pinpoint Your Main Themes: Start by diving into your existing content and identifying recurring themes or topics. Matt uses themes like goal setting, time management, and brainstorming for his content. Make a list of these themes and categorize your content under each one. This way, you’ll have a clear roadmap of what to focus on when creating your newsletters.

If you have a series of blog posts on "time management," compile the best tips and create a comprehensive guide.

2. Mix and Match Your Content: Don't just copy and paste. Get creative by blending pieces from various sources. Matt’s team takes highlights from different videos, podcasts, and blog posts to craft something new and engaging. Take a look at your content library and identify the best parts of each piece, then mix them to form a fully-rounded newsletter.

If you have a video series on "topic 1" and a podcast episode on "topic 2," but they both are in the same theme, extract the key tips from each source and integrate them into a cohesive format. Then add a new intro and conclusion that tie everything together.

3. Start Small, Then Build Up: Validate your ideas through smaller content formats like social posts, short videos, or conversations. Use these as testing grounds to see what resonates with your audience. Once you know what works, expand those ideas into longer formats like newsletters, blog posts, or podcasts.

If you write a post on "3 essential tips for effective goal setting" and monitor its performance. If it gains traction, use the post as an outline for a detailed newsletter. Expand on each tip, include real-life examples, and go deeper into how readers can implement these strategies.

Want a more efficient newsletter flow this year?

Don’t miss the full convo where Matt dives deeper into how you can efficiently repurpose your existing content into engaging newsletters.

Watch the full episode on YouTube!

Have a great week! 👊

Justin

Founder, Distribution First Academy

P.S. If you like this newsletter and want to simplify your content marketing and get off the content hamster wheel, here are 3 ways you can do it this week:

1) Get the FREE Distribution Blueprint Course

2) Join the Distribution First Academy

3) Hit reply and say hi (I'll always reply!)