We’re always excited to see an email from Linnea Bullion land in our inbox — an effortless blend of creativity and personality. Designed to keep her top-of-mind with ad agency creatives, she strikes the perfect balance between sharing her latest work and adding thoughtful, personal touches. In this post, Linnea breaks down her process, from idea generation to how she maintains a brand that’s undeniably her own — offering inspiration for anyone looking to craft a newsletter that feels less like a sales pitch and more like a genuine connection.

Bullion: I use my newsletter to stay in peoples’ minds. I’m looking to move more into advertising, so my list mostly comprises of creatives at advertising agencies. I also have friends and family on it, to keep up the good vibes!

I send it about once every 2 months or so (maybe a little less). I don’t want to send it so often that I’m annoying people, but I also want to send it often enough that I’m not forgotten! I’m someone who is more or less constantly shooting, so I fortunately don’t have to worry about running out of content to include. Some newsletters are longer than others, but I typically try to include images from at least three different projects.

Bullion: I’ve always been an ideas-driven person. I have a spreadsheet where I keep all of my photo concepts. Any time I have one, it goes on the list. I used to be very frustrated by the fact that I had so many ideas and never would get to shoot them all, but I now see it as more of a blessing than a curse.

With that being said, I never shoot something with the sole purpose of putting it in the newsletter. It’s more, “I really want to shoot this AND it just so happens it might be a good fit for the newsletter.” These days I’m focusing on making things I want to make, not what I think I should, or what I think people might want to see.

As for what makes it, I have a very official Post-it I keep on my desk that says, “NEXT EMAIL” that I add to when I finish a shoot I want to showcase. I try not to think in terms of, “What will get me work?” I used to think that way, and it never served me. Now, I think in terms of “What am I really happy with? / What is most “me?””

I know people are always saying to find your voice, but it really is true. It took me a long time to get there. I tried for many years to be a photographer who could shoot anything, but lately I've been embracing that I’m not the right fit for everything, and that’s ok. It’s freeing. I would say probably more than half of what I include in newsletters is personal work. There may come a time when I’m too busy to shoot personal work, but for now I make sure to play!

Bullion: I use Flodesk. It might not be the most analytically useful, but I wanted a design-forward platform. I only recently (within the last year) started sending out a newsletter regularly, and I wanted something that would be effortless to send. I designed an email format for the newsletter, and other than a few tweaks here and there I use that same format every month. Having a low barrier to entry matters the most––I have every excuse in the world not to send an email, so I wanted something that is relatively painless to send, and doesn’t require huge amounts of time or effort each newsletter.

Bullion: My sister, Noelle Roth, is a branding + packaging designer. She created with my wordmark a few years ago, and helped me finesse my color palette and website. That process itself helped, because I went through various branding exercises that clarified what exactly it is I am trying to do, and which clients I might be right for. It also helped me land on a style. I’ve always liked shooting with optimism, so I wanted my brand to reflect that. It was a bit strange to work on

I also like to add little flourishes of personality to my newsletter. I love to write, so I always include a snippet at the top. In high school, I saw a “Random Fact of the Day” section on a teacher’s whiteboard. I missed that, so I incorporate fun facts at the bottom of every newsletter too. My work is colorful and optimistic and playful, so I bring that in. It still feels a bit scary every time I hit send, but as I’ve crafted my newsletter to be more “me" it feels like I’m just giving folks an update on my life versus trying to sell them on anything. With that being said, I still have plenty of calls of action to hire me scattered throughout.

Bullion: I always ask prospective clients where they found me, and I have yet to hear “From your newsletter,” SO in that regard––no, it’s not working yet aha. BUT I’ve had multiple people tell me they love getting my newsletter, which I love to hear. Something is working! Like I said, now I mostly care about sending images I’m excited about. Hearing it brightens peoples’ days when they receive it is lovely affirmation that it’s connecting.

Bullion: I’m not sure this is the MOST business-savvy advice, but don’t make your newsletters thinking about getting work. Craft your newsletters from a place of sharing––share what you’ve been up to, share things you like (photo or otherwise), share your favorite shoot you ever did and why.