The Real Reason Stylists Don’t Send Newsletters (and How to Fix It Fast)
If you’ve been telling yourself that you’ll send your monthly newsletter “as soon as that tutorial gets filmed,” you’re not alone. Stylists have the best intentions, but between client reschedules, laundry, loud coworkers, and life happening, the perfect blowout demo never actually makes it to your camera roll. Meanwhile, weeks (or months) go by without your clients hearing from you at all.
Sound familiar? Don’t worry. I’ve got good news:
Your newsletter doesn’t need to be polished to be valuable.
Your clients just want to hear from you, the same way they do behind the chair. And when you stop waiting for perfect and send what’s real, staying top of mind gets easy.
The Real Block: “I Need to Film a Tutorial First.”
There’s this misconception out there right now that salon newsletters need to have gorgeous tutorials, step-by-step blowout videos, and “perfect” educational content with impeccable lighting.
While that would be nice, it’s absolutely not required. And worse…it’s keeping you stuck.
Tutorials require time, space, equipment, quiet, and zero interruptions. At best, this is hard to come by. At worst? It’s impossible. Why? Well, life happens. A client will call to reschedule their appointment, the dryer announces the laundry is done with an earsplitting buzz, the school nurse calls to say your kid is sick. Suddenly, your designated filming day is gone.
But because you keep saying you can’t send out your newsletter until you film your tutorial first, weeks go by before you can finally find the time to hit record. Meanwhile, your clients are wondering when your December books are going to open and if they should book an appointment with another stylist for their holiday hair.
Instead, lean into what clients really want: you.
The Truth? Newsletters Don’t Need Tutorials
Don’t get me wrong: tutorials are a great option to add to your monthly newsletter, but it’s not the reason clients subscribe. They sign up to hear from you. You are who they connected with and they want to stay connected to you.
What does this actually look like? It can be simple:
Everyday behind-the-chair conversations you think they’d enjoy
Small “aha” moments your clients experience
Quick, simple education (no ringlight required)
Let me put it this way. One of my clients was combing their hair and ripped through the tangles in their ends. When they came in and mentioned it to me, I realized they needed a styling oil to hydrate their ends and a brush that glided through the strands. I shared this in my newsletter and got a ton of responses asking to buy that oil because my other clients had experienced the same thing.
In other words, real stories convert better than perfectly-edited videos.
The Solution: Build a Simple, Zero-Pressure Content Bank
Meet your new newsletter (and marketing) best friend: the content bank.
A content bank is a running list of ideas, stories, education, and yes, tutorials, you can pull from every month when creating your newsletter. It doesn’t need to be polished; simple notes to yourself or unedited footage is perfect.
With a content bank, you’re not starting your newsletter from scratch or pushing it off until you can record. You’ve got everything you need to build a quality salon newsletter fast.
What goes in my content bank?
Anything that you think would inspire or educate your clients. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
Stories from behind the chair (Get clients’ permission before sharing their names or anything personal)
The quick tips you drop during appointments
Questions your clients ask constantly, like “Do I need a trim?” or “Why is my hair tangling?”
Common mistakes clients make with styling or products
Seasonal reminders, like holiday booking, summer rush
Any tutorials you do want to film and the link to the video footage
How to build a content bank in less than 5 minutes a day
“Content bank” can sound formal (and intimidating), but remember, it’s just a running list of ideas to use in your newsletter. So start by making the list. Your phone’s Notes app or a Google doc is great; just make sure it’s something that’s easy for you to use.
Then, add at least one thing to your content bank every day on your way out to the salon’s parking lot. A funny client story, a tip on how to use that new product you just got in, a seasonal styling tip. You can add more if you like, but challenge yourself to add just one thing after every workday.
Then, when it’s time to build your newsletter, simply open your content bank, pick the ideas you want to use, and add them to your template.
Suddenly, the dreaded task of writing the monthly newsletter feels a lot easier, right?
What Happens When You Stop Waiting & Start Sending
When you have a content bank in place, sending your monthly newsletter starts feeling easy. It’s easier to show up consistently, even in busy seasons or when life happens.
Because you show up regularly, clients remember you between appointments and book more often. You sell more retail because clients read your tips and feel comfortable using the products on your shelf.
You build trust, then demand, which fills your books. All without a single moment of “I should really send a newsletter” guilt.
Consider this your permission to stop waiting on the perfect tutorial and remember: your clients don’t want a fully-produced tutorial; they just need you.
Start your content bank today so when it comes time to send this month’s newsletter, it’s simple, easy…even fun (oh yeah, I went there). If you want to jumpstart your email marketing, grab my plug-and-play email templates here.
