The Weekly Newsletter: A Step-by-Step Guide
If you care about building a brand, growing your work, and contributing to something bigger than yourself, a weekly newsletter is one of the most reliable ways to do it.
It creates a steady rhythm of thinking, sharing, and showing up — without being at the mercy of the algorithm. It also builds real relationships: readers reply, ideas evolve, and opportunities show up because you’re in someone’s inbox at the right time.
A weekly newsletter helps you:
Clarify your thinking by shipping one focused idea on a cadence.
Build trust with consistent, human communication (not just posts and promos).
Create momentum for your projects—events, offers, launches—without shouting.
Own your audience so you’re not guessing who saw what on social.
Scale your impact as ideas compound week after week.
My newsletter is where marketing and brand strategy meet teaching, community, and social good. Subscribers expect practical insights, stories from the field, and experiments I’m running — plus the occasional deep dive when a theme deserves more space. I share links, embed visuals, recommend tools, and sometimes include a PS with what’s coming next (like workshops or meetups).
How I write The Intersection newsletter each week
Here’s my step-by-step process for writing The Intersection — the weekly mix of growth, storytelling, and social good that I send on Fridays. If you want to follow along in real time, you can subscribe at intersection.danieldoes.co.
Why I write The Intersection
The Intersection is where my worlds meet: marketing and brand strategy, teaching, and social impact.
Some weeks it’s a tight long-form piece; other weeks it’s links, visuals, and a reflection.
The format flexes, so I can stay consistent without forcing a single template.
The weekly cadence
Target: Friday morning send.
Reality: When it’s a hectic week, I’ll write on Friday and ship later in the day. Consistency matters; perfection doesn’t.
Beehiiv gives you that “streak” nudge, which helps—but I also give myself grace if I miss a week.
The 8 Step Process
The Step 1: Capture the idea in the wild
My best topics don’t start at the keyboard—they start in motion.
I’ll record a quick voice note on my phone the moment an idea hits—walking between meetings, after a podcast line lands, or mid-article.
If I’m referencing anything (an article, book, video, or film), I note the source right then so I can pull it later.
This ensures I’m capturing how I said it—my actual tone and phrasing—before I overthink it.
Step 2: Transcribe and build a raw draft
Back at my desk, I upload that voice note to a transcription tool. Now I’ve got my words on the page—unpolished, but honest. I’ll paste in relevant quotes or links to anything I referenced so everything lives in one working document.
Step 3: Shape it with AI, without losing my voice
I use ChatGPT as an editor and organizer, not a ghostwriter. Here’s the gist of my prompt each time:
“This is a draft for The Intersection in my voice and tone (based on past issues). Do not change the wording or voice, but you can reorganize for clarity and flow. Please structure into clear sections with subheadings.”
What AI does well here:
Outlines and order. It helps me find the arc and create clean sections.
Section labels. It suggests helpful subheads so readers can scan.
Gaps. It surfaces where an example or link would help.
What I don’t let it do:
Rewrite my thoughts.
Change my voice.
Step 4: Build and format
I paste the organized draft into Beehiiv (the newsletter platform I highly recommend) and switch into editor mode:
Subheads & spacing: Break up walls of text, add short paragraphs.
Bold & quotes: Highlight key lines and call-outs.
Links: Add sources and further reading.
Images: Drop in a visual if it adds context or energy.
This is where it starts feeling like a finished piece, not just a transcript.
Step 5: Title and subtitle (don’t overcomplicate it)
Two approaches that work for me:
Theme-as-title: If the concept is strong and simple (e.g., “The target is not the market”), I’ll make that the headline.
Title workshop: If I’m stuck, I’ll ask ChatGPT for 10 subject line options based on the draft and tweak the best one. I’m aiming for clarity > clever.
Sometimes I’ll add a short subtitle for context, especially if the title is punchy but abstract.
Step 6: Choose the thumbnail image
This can be the longest part if I let it, so I don’t. My quick criteria:
Landscape orientation (works better for headers).
Relevant, not literal. Metaphor is okay if it’s clear.
Ethical sourcing. I use my own photos, stock (often Unsplash), or generate a custom image for conceptual topics.
Always credit the photographer/creator in the post.
Step 7: Polish the experience
Before I schedule, I do a fast quality pass:
Mobile preview: I send a test email to my phone and scroll. Is it readable? Scannable? Are links easy to tap?
Subject line length: Will it truncate in common inboxes?
CTA check: I like to add a simple PS with one or two relevant actions — an upcoming workshop, a video, or a local meetup.
This is also where I’ll swap in a diagram or better image if something feels heavy.
Step 8: Publish, then syndicate
Friday: Publish to email via Beehiiv.
Monday: I republish the same issue as a LinkedIn newsletter with a short summary and a couple of images — but I point people back to the full version. Email is my home base where I can serve subscribers consistently and see what resonates.
A few more things.
Checklist Recap
Capture the idea (voice note on the go)
Transcribe and paste references
Use AI to reorganize, not rewrite
Format and link in Beehiiv
Title + (optional) subtitle
Add a landscape image and credit it
Mobile test + subject line check
Add a simple PS/CTA
Publish Friday → share to LinkedIn Monday (link back to the full version)
Example
“The target is not the market”
A recent issue started as a phone reflection. I referenced The Win Without Pitching Manifesto, pulled a clean image, and linked to the source. Titles I tested leaned from declarative to question-based; I went with the clear statement and kept the subtitle optional to reduce friction. An honest thought, structured clearly, sent out on time.
Tools
Phone voice notes for capturing ideas
A transcription tool like Fireflies to get words on the page
ChatGPT for structure and sectioning (not writing)
Beehiiv to publish and manage subscribers
Unsplash / my camera / simple image crop for visuals
No complicated stack. The constraint keeps me consistent.
What’s next?
The goal isn’t a perfect essay every week — it’s a reliable conversation with people who care about brand, community, and impact. The format flexes so I can show up even on busy Fridays.
If you’re building your own cadence, steal this process, adapt it, and keep it human. And if you have a different workflow, feel free to share.
See you in your inbox on Friday.
