Monday flow #2
A weekly email template for founders who are tired of relying on social media to keep their business visible.
Hey folks!
Number two in the series and we’re already onto July babes, which means one thing: everyone (including your email list) has one foot out the door and onto a sun lounger.
So instead of fighting that energy, we’re going to use it.
If you missed number one, June was all about The Gratitude Email and turning the spotlight onto your community instead of your latest offer. This week we’re doing something a little different, and it might just be the easiest one in the whole series.
It’s giving ✨Off Duty✨
July is the month everyone wants to switch off. Your audience is either already away, dreaming about being away, or lying to themselves about how much work they’ll get done before they go away.
Nobody wants a hard sell in their inbox right now. What they DO want is something to add to the ever-growing “to read/watch/listen to” list they’ll never actually finish (relatable).
So this week, we’re on that curating buzz. Pick 3-5 books or podcasts that you read or listen to, or that your readers will find useful, drop in a little life update, and let your them feel like they’re getting a lil sneak peek behind the curtain into what you’re into when you’re not working.
They don’t all have to be about your industry. In fact, the best ones usually aren’t. This is your chance to be a real life human bean in someone’s inbox, not just Miss Business.
Your Monday Flow 🩸 This week’s newsletter personality is July: The Reading List.
Your job this week isn’t to sell (well… you CAN sneak a soft plug in at the end, we’ll get to that), rather it’s to be a little personal, and easy to read poolside. This one is built to be as plug-and-play as possible, so you can put this email newsletter together in the time it takes your coffee to go cold.
Anything in brackets should be customised by you! Give it a read through (out loud, always) before hitting The Button Of Doom, AKA publish, so you catch anything that doesn’t sound like you.
The Template
Subject line ideas:
📚 What I’ve been reading lately
🌞 Your summer reading list, sorted
🧳 Pack these in your beach bag
✈️ Books that keep me up past midnight
Hi (name/greeting),
(Pick one opening depending on where you’re at this month and delete the other two.)
Option A just back from holidays:
I’m just back from (destination) and still riding that “everything feels calmer” high. You know the one, before the inbox catches up with you again and it starts to feel like you need a holiday from the holiday.
Option B about to go:
I’m off to (destination) in (timeframe), which means I’m currently deep in “what am I actually going to read” planning mode. Group chat has been on fire with book recs.
Option C no trip, just vibes:
No holidays on the horizon for me this month, but that hasn’t stopped me from living my best “reading in the garden pretending I have somewhere to be” life. If you live in your Europe, you’re either soaking up el sol or running to the nearest hardware shop to buy a fan in haste.
Either way, July always puts me in the mood to (read/listen to/watch) more, so I thought I’d share what’s been keeping me company lately, in case you need something for your own (beach bag/commute/nightstand).
📖 (Book/podcast #1) (One or two lines on what it’s about and why you picked it up. Was it a recommendation? Did the title just grab you in the shop? Be honest, this isn’t a book report.)
📖 (Book/podcast #2) (Same again; what it’s about, and the one thing that’s stuck with you so far, even if you’re not finished it.)
📖 (Book/podcast #3) (This is a great slot for something totally unrelated to your industry, fiction, true crime, whatever you’re into. Let people see the human behind the business.)
(Optional: add #4 and #5 if you’ve got more to share, or keep it tight at 3. No rules here.)
💛 Why I’m sharing these treats with you
(One or two sentences on the theme tying these together, if there is one. Maybe they’re all about starting over, or rest, or ambition, or just pure escapism. If there’s no theme, that’s fine too, then say so! “No real theme here, just what’s been on my nightstand” works perfectly fine.)
I don’t know about you, but I’m one of those people who has multiple books going concurrently. Because who knows what mood I’m in when the evening comes around. I have (book #1, book #2 and book #3) currently lined up for the coming weeks off the back of other group chat recs.
And that’s me, sorted for the next few weeks. If you give any of these a go, hit reply and let me know what you thought, I genuinely love hearing from you and what’s keeping you burning the midnight oil.
Speak soon,
(Your sign off)
🌊 The thinking behind this email
Not every email needs to convert. Some emails just need to remind people you exist and that you’re a person, not a storefront.
This one works because it costs your reader nothing (no offer, no ask, just a nice little list) which makes it one of the easiest ways to build trust and keep your name in their inbox without asking for anything back. Bonus points for not ending up in the promotions tab of Gmail! As you’re just sharing your thoughts and ideas, no selling around here just yet.
And when you DO have something to sell in a few weeks, guess who’s more likely to open that email? Exactly.
And if you really do want to add a soft plug? Drop ONE short line right before your sign off, something like: “Running a (summer sale/extra sessions/limited spots) over the next few weeks, more on that soon” — just enough to plant the seed, no full pitch needed this week.)
P.S. If curating this kind of content isn’t the fun part for you, that’s literally why I built Flow.
Flow is my done-for-you email marketing service for founders who are tired of relying on social media to keep their business moving. From welcome sequences that bring in sales to newsletters your audience actually wants to read, I help you build an email strategy that feels calm and sounds just like you.
I’m not taking on clients right now, but I’d love to chat if you wanna get your email marketing sorted for the busier autumn and Christmas months. :)
Book a discovery call with me to get the sales running smoothly again.
P.P.S. If this template made you think of a founder who’d love it, forward them this email or send them my newsletter. Good email ideas are too nice to gatekeep.
See you next Monday for number 3 in the series!
Maria