The Basically Jamie June Newsletter Launch
This project was in collaboration with designer Stacy Aguilar and naming strategist Katie Pannell inside our joint offer, Signed, Sealed Subscribed, where clients get everything they need to launch a branded newsletter in just one week.
The Client
Jamie is a business coach and systems strategist for small business owners, emphasis on the small. After being in business for 10 years, she made a big pivot in her brand and offerings — and she knew it was time for her newsletter to catch up.
Get to know Jamie a bit more in this excerpt from her newsletter subscribe page:
The Backstory
Jamie had a “successful” newsletter prior to signing up for Signed, Sealed, Subscribed.
She had about 6,000 subscribers, consistently saw open rates between 40-55%, and her unsubscribe rates were rarely higher than 1%, even during a launch.
But after using the same newsletter template for 5 years, she’d begun *dreading* writing them each time the task popped up on her to-do list.
She sent her emails irregularly (which we actually leaned into as part of her newsletter’s “brand” when I wrote her website copy back in Spring of 2025), but she knew she wanted to make consistent newsletters a main part of her marketing strategy for 2026.
She told us:
“I was so bored with my old newsletter format, and that lack of inspiration was really making it difficult to come up with things to write about. I needed something new so I’d be motivated to stick with it. My newsletter is my biggest goal for the business for 2026, so I was excited to make changes!”
So when Jamie saw me post about SSS on Threads, she was immediately in.
The Deliverables
During all SSS weeks, Stacy and I deliver:
✔ A newsletter brand kit (logos, color system, email template)
✔ A subscribe page (copy + design)
✔ A newsletter template/repeatable format
✔ A welcome email
✔ A 12-week content plan
✔ A set of Canva graphics to promote your new newsletter
✔ Copy edits for 3 written-by-her newsletters by me
Jamie also opted to add on:
✔ Katie Pannell of 26&thensome’s Name•O•Matic Custom GPT (affilitate link)
✔ Design Implementation by Stacy, which included the development of her website’s subscribe page
WHEW! 😮💨 Now, let’s take a closer look at each…
THE concept + branding
Jamie has a 9-5 *and* a full life, and as such, her entire (very successful!) business is run in the margins.
When she used the Name•O•Matic to help come up with a name (which would anchor the concept of the newsletter), she was drawn to the name Margin Notes and how we could lean into it thematically.
Stacy ran with it, creating hand-drawn-style accents that reinforce the “notes in the margins” concept as well as grid lines and dotted patterns inspired by journal paper.
We also kept the theme going with her newsletter’s segment titles, which we’ll get to in a minute ;)
Stacy also brought in a few bold color moments that Jamie had been slowly introducing into her brand to create a cohesive color system specifically for her new newsletter.
Jamie told us a month after we wrapped up her SSS week that the new brand assets we solidified had already woven their way through the rest of her brand — she’s using some of the new elements Stacy included in her newsletter band kit across her website, socials, and more!
And *that’s* THAT on getting big bang for your buck!
The Subscribe Page
For each SSS client, we strongly suggested that their subscribe page should live on their website, versus simply being a form in their email service provider.
Doing so gives us more room to “sell” the newsletter, which is helpful when the newsletter is the only thing you’re offering in exchange for someone’s email address.
For Jamie’s subscribe page, we went hard on the “in the margins” concept, paired with the “real-life-first” messaging we’d already used across her website.
Here are a few snippets from the page (but click here to see the whole thing!):
We kick things off with a clear promise — what *exactly* will people get when they sign up? Why is this newsletter worth reading?
It’s easy for people to opt in immediately, but we keep the convincing going for those who aren’t sold yet.
We wanted her perfect subscribers to see themselves in the copy — to know that she really gets it, and walks the walk.
We paint the picture not only of what’s challenging, but of what’s possible, and begin to position the newsletter as a way to find the solutions they need.
We also made sure to explicitly name WHAT Jamie would be talking about in her newsletter, so people could see what they’d be signing up for.
(P.S. we developed these pillars together in our content planning together!)
We also included a section that gave readers a chance to self-identify as the perfect fit for Margin Notes…
Without us ever saying, “you’re in the right place” ;)
Finally, we finished up with one last brief CTA to seal the deal.
The Newsletter Template
I helped Jamie create a branded newsletter template with recurring segments that, of course, fit the theme and concept of Margin Notes!
We ended up with segments called:
The Highlight: A dedicated section to share the tip/value for each email after a personal update or story
The Snippet: A space to share a very condensed, specific strategy, potentially repurposing old blog posts/newsletters OR linking to a blog post or even a piece of your content to get the “full” strategy
Dog-Eared This Week: A place for Jamie to share her take on a conversation, a piece of content, or something she read this week
The Sticky Note: This is a moment to give a “permission slip” or a reminder - something you want your readers to remember and think about after they x-out of the email
The Footnotes: A list of curated links to share things like blog posts, podcast episodes, past newsletters, events, resources, etc.
More In-The-Margins-Support: The final piece of the email — a place to include promotional links to her offers
Then Stacy took those sections and created a branded newsletter template Jamie could use each week in Kajabi!
THE WELCOME EMAIL
When you are welcoming people to your productized newsletter — and they signed up for that newsletter, NOT a freebie — you really don’t need a 3-5 email welcome sequence.
You just need one good welcome email (because within a week, they’ll get your next newsletter!).
Jamie’s had this flow:
An introduction to who she is in the context of her business and newsletter, as well as an introduction to the “in the margins” theme of the newsletter.
This is something her ideal reader can fully relate to — and her “I don’t get it all done and that’s okay” is a core piece of her brand. It’s something we wanted to clearly communicate as we welcomed people to her world.
Then we introduced what readers could expect in each edition of Margin Notes, as well as set the tone for the vibe and, of course, gave her some flexibility to deviate from the plan whenever it suits her.
We wrapped things up by telling readers when they’d next see Jamie’s name pop up in their inbox and invited them to respond to a simple question (great for engagement + deliverability!).
You’ll have to subscribe to read the whole thing ;)
Everything else!
The thing about newsletters is after you create one, you have to get people to sign up… and then keep sending it 🙃
So, of course, the SSS week wouldn’t be complete without content ideas (so you know what to write about each week) and launch graphics (so you can easily talk about your newsletter on social media!)
I ended up coming up with 42 ideas for Jamie’s upcoming newsletters, and I asked her to choose 12 favorites so I could go back in and include a story prompt for each.
And Stacy knocked it out of the park with the social media promo graphics.
We also included footer/banner copy for her newsletter, updated website copy to replace the opt-in copy for the old newsletter — because we don’t want ANYTHING standing in your way when it’s time to launch!
The FEEDBACK
“This was truly such a great experience, probably in my list of top 5 best investments I've made for my business. I'm so glad I got one of the first spots!
Working with Stacy and Caitie to create a new brand and vision for my newsletter was a dream! I've had a successful newsletter for the last 5 years, but slowly my brand had outgrown the style I'd been using and I'd been itching to revamp my newsletter for months.
Signed, Sealed, Subscribed fell into my lap at exactly the right time.
Caitie's genius touch helped plan a direction for the newsletter that is more aligned and clear than what I was using previously and Stacy's magic brought my vision to life. The brand assets and messaging we solidified have woven their way through the rest of my brand and I'm so glad I had the chance to partner with this duo to make it all happen.”
The Shout Outs
Obviously, this project couldn’t have happened without Stacy and Katie!
You can learn more about Stacy here and Katie here — and if you want to work with us on a website project like we did for Goodness Gracious Accounting just let me know when you inquire here!
Want a must-read, needle-moving newsletter of your own?
Then you’ll absolutely want to be on the waitlist for the next time we open our calendar for Signed, Sealed, Subscribed projects!
SSS is a one-week, all-in-one newsletter launch support from a brand designer, a copywriter, and a naming expert who are teaming up to give you *everything* you need to launch a capital-b Branded newsletter.
Learn more and join the waitlist below!