The difference between newsletters that thrive and those that fizzle often comes down to planning. Without a system, you're constantly scrambling. With the right approach, content flows predictably from idea to inbox.
Weekly? Twice weekly? Monthly? Your cadence determines how much content you need and how far ahead to work. Maintain a consistent schedule your audience can rely on.
Create a running list of topic ideas before you need them. Capture inspiration immediately—a healthy backlog prevents last-minute scrambling.
Visualize content moving through stages: Ideas → Research → Drafting → Editing → Scheduled → Published. This shows where everything stands at a glance.
The sweet spot for most newsletters. Too far ahead and topics become stale; too close and you're always rushing.
Group research days, writing days, and editing days. Context-switching kills productivity. Write several drafts in one sitting, edit them all another day.
Set a recurring time to review your plan. What performed well? What's coming up? Regular reviews keep your plan aligned with reality.
For most newsletters, 2-4 weeks ahead is ideal. This provides buffer without topics becoming outdated.
For beehiiv newsletters, Planetly offers native integration. General options include Trello, Notion, or Asana.
Maintain a content backlog, repurpose high-performing content, answer subscriber questions, and follow industry news.
Both serve different purposes. Calendars show timing; Kanban boards show status. Many teams use both.
Pick a tool, set up your workflow stages, and start planning your next few issues. You'll learn more in a week of doing than a month of researching.
Plan your beehiiv newsletter with Planetly →