By Brendan O’Meara
I’m a newsletter junkie and the best ones are the ones that have the reader in mind. And even something as simple as phrasing goes a long way.
What works for me, and I hope you keep this in mind for your readers, is when the author frames his or her suggestions in terms of what she thinks the end user will most benefit from. Austin Kleon does this perfectly.
Others, and I won’t single anyone out because I’m not about that noise anymore, will say things like: Song I’m listening to. Quote I’m pondering. Article I’m reading.
I. Don’t. Care.
That’s implicit in the recommendation and saying you’re pondering a quote is superfluous and downright egotistical.
I guest this is a rant of sorts, but when I see that I see someone who thinks he’s Moses coming down with the tablets.
But there is a lesson here that if we get by the stifling nature of always thinking about the audience, that keeping that in mind is a way to be of greater service, because all art must be in service of an audience. That audience, of course, is up to you.
