How Do I Make Sure That Writing My Email Newsletter Doesn't Take All Day?

Hey Tori! Answering Your Digital Marketing Questions for Creative Entrepreneurs Podcast

You know you need to send a newsletter. You’ve heard it a hundred times. So you sit down on a Tuesday night after dinner, open up your email platform, and stare at it. The blank template. The blinking cursor. You have no idea what to say. So you close the tab, tell yourself you’ll do it tomorrow, and tomorrow turns into next week, and next week turns into next month. And now it’s been two months since your subscribers heard from you.

If that sounds familiar, you are not alone. This is one of the most common struggles I see with quilters and creative entrepreneurs. And the good news is: the fix is not about becoming a better writer. It’s about building a better system.

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What you’ll learn in this post/episode:

• Why your newsletter takes forever - and how to fix it with a repeatable template

• The two questions that shape every section of your newsletter

• How to write like a personal brand, not a big-box store

• A simple plug-and-play newsletter template you can build in 20 minutes

• Real examples from quilting business owners who found their rhythm

Why Your Newsletter Takes Forever (and It’s Not Because You’re Bad at Writing)

The reason your newsletter eats up two hours every time is not a writing problem. It’s a starting-from-scratch problem.

Every time you sit down, you’re facing a blank page with no structure, no plan, and no recurring sections to guide you. You’re trying to figure out what to say, how to say it, and how to format it - all at once. Of course it takes forever.

Compare that to a brand like Target or Crumbl Cookies. They send emails daily, sometimes more. But they have entire marketing teams, pre-built templates, and content calendars mapped out months in advance. They are not sitting down every morning wondering what to write. You don’t need a team. You need the same thing they have: a system.

For a personal brand - which is what most quilting and crafting businesses are - once a week is great if you can swing it. Twice a month is the minimum I’d suggest. But consistency matters more than volume. And the way you get consistent is with a template.

Your Newsletter Is Not a Corporate Email — That’s Your Biggest Advantage

Before we build the template, I want to name something that matters even more in our industry: the personal brand piece.

Target’s emails come from a corporation, but yours come from you. And that is your biggest advantage. When someone on your list opens your newsletter, they should feel like they’re reading a letter from a friend - not a blast from a box store. One person writing to one person. I hope that actually makes it a lot easier to write than a polished corporate email. Once you give yourself permission to sound like you, hopefully, the words come faster. Keep in mind that, your subscribers signed up because they want your perspective, your stories, your recommendations, your style. They are not expecting perfectly curated sales emails, they're expecting you.

One of my favorite examples of this is Beth Ann Williams, a quilting teacher who writes emails that feel like she’s writing directly to you. She shares what’s going on, her upcoming classes, a few tips, and what she’s building on her YouTube channel. Reading her newsletter feels like catching up with a friend - that’s the energy to aim for.

Two Questions That Shape Your Entire Newsletter

Here’s the system. It starts with two questions, and I’d encourage you to sit down a couple of times a year and really work through them - especially when you hit that wall of not wanting to write.

Question 1: What is the goal of your newsletter?

This matters more than you think, because the goal tells you what has to be in every single issue.

If your goal is sales - meaning you want your newsletter to drive traffic or revenue - then every issue needs a product or offer in it. A pattern you’re selling, a class coming up, a trunk show, a motif of the week if you’re a longarm quilter. Everything else in the newsletter supports that section.

If your goal is connection - meaning you want to build a relationship and trust with your audience - then your anchor is stories. Stories from your creating life, your business, even your personal life if you’re comfortable sharing. Connection also means interaction: asking questions, sharing answers, highlighting other cool businesses your audience would love.

Most of you? Your goal is probably a mix of both. That’s fine. But knowing where your emphasis falls helps you decide what goes in the template.

Question 2: What do you offer and what are your values?

This is where it gets practical, because your offers and your values can literally become recurring sections of your newsletter.

If one of your values is creativity, you could have a recurring section where you share something that inspires your audience to create or explore. A technique you tried, a new color combination, a new tool. That section comes back every time, and you never have to wonder what to include.

If you sell patterns and teach classes, you could have a section called “Pattern of the Week” or “What’s in My EQ8 This Week” to give sneak peeks of what you’re designing - and a separate section for upcoming classes.

Themed sections that repeat every issue make writing dramatically easier. You’re not reinventing the wheel. You’re filling in the blanks.

The Sneak Peek Problem (and a Creative Solution)

Worried about sharing work in progress? One quilter I loved following used little stuffed squirrels in her photos to tease upcoming projects without revealing the full design. You’d see the squirrels pinning, holding scraps, or relaxing in the garden after a big sewing session. It was playful, memorable, and kept her audience engaged without giving anything away. Finding your own version of that kind of recurring visual element can make your sneak peeks feel fun instead of risky.

Build Your Plug-and-Play Newsletter Template

Here is what I’d encourage you to build. Think of your newsletter like a container with plug-in areas. The structure stays the same every time. You just fill in the sections.

Section	What Goes Here	Example
Personal Note	2–3 sentences, one person to one person	“I spent Saturday at guild night and came home with three new project ideas…”
Theme Section 1	Product spotlight, pattern of the week, class update	“This week I released a new modern log cabin variation…”
Theme Section 2	Inspiration share, behind the scenes, community highlight	“A technique I tried this week that surprised me…”
Call to Action	Same every time — shop, book, reply, follow	“Shop new patterns | Book a class | Reply and tell me what you’re working on”

Once you have this template built in your email service provider, all you have to do each week or each month is fill in the sections. You are not designing from scratch. You are not staring at a blank page. You are plugging in content and hitting send.

How Long Should It Be?

It depends on you and your audience. There is no single right answer.

Monica, a DMMC member you’ve heard about on the podcast, alternates between two themes and sends twice a month. Her newsletters read like sitting down with a magazine article. Lynn Christensen keeps hers short and sweet - a personal note at the top, a short paragraph, and a few things she’s participating in that her audience would value. Both styles work because they match the person behind them.

The style that’s right for you is the one you’ll actually send consistently. If long-form energizes you, write long. If short and sweet is more sustainable, do that. Your audience will adapt to your rhythm.

How to Know If Your Newsletter Is Working

Inside the DMMC, we have a section called Evaluate Your Newsletter that helps members dig into their metrics. Many email service providers will show you where people are clicking, which issues get opened, and what content gets the most engagement.

You don’t need to obsess over analytics. But checking in periodically on what’s getting clicks and what’s not helps you refine your template over time. In stage four of the DMMC program, we take a whole focus-and-finesse section where you evaluate your last six or more newsletters and adjust your content strategy based on what is actually working.

Hey Tori Takeaway

Your assignment — 20 minutes or less.

1. Answer the two questions. What is the goal of my newsletter? What do I offer and what do I value? Write both answers down. Take your time with these.

2. Sketch out your template. A personal note at the top, two or three themed sections in the middle, and a consistent call to action at the bottom. Build it as a saved template in your email service provider.

3. Send it. Fill in those sections and hit send. It does not have to be perfect. It has to be consistent.

Stop treating your newsletter like a creative writing assignment. Start treating it like a system. Build the container, fill it in, and get back to your sewing machine.

If this episode hit close to home - if you’ve been dreading your newsletter or avoiding it altogether -this is exactly the kind of thing we build inside the 

If this episode hit close to home - if you’ve been dreading your newsletter or avoiding it altogether - this is exactly the kind of thing we build inside the Digital Marketing Magic Coaching Program. In stage one, one of your action steps is literally to create a newsletter template and get to know your email service provider. Members get live coaching, a step-by-step roadmap, and access to all the custom AI tools I’ve built for quilters and creative entrepreneurs.

The best first step is a free 30-minute strategy session - no pressure, just clarity on your next move. Book yours here.

About the Author: Tori McElwain is a digital marketing coach for quilting and creative businesses. With 24+ years of quilting experience and a Master’s degree in Education, she helps quilters attract more students, sell more patterns, and grow their businesses online - without losing the joy of creating. She’s the author of “Workshops Unleashed” and cohost of the Quilting on the Side podcast.

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