How to Build and Grow a Newsletter as a Business Model

[Andy Black]

Hey guys! I'm new to the forum but having read MJ's book Millionaire Fastlane (after my boss' recommendation which might sound odd) and now reading The Great Rat Escape I decided to join the forum and this thread stood out.

I'm writing here because my job is to manage and grow a newsletter (email list) of one of the biggest education creators (5M on YouTube, 700,000+ subscribers on the email list) but I now want to create my own newsletter-based business.

That being said, I read about all your frustrations around picking the right software. I personally (and for that mentioned 700k+ newsletter) use ConvertKit and if anyone has any questions about that particular tool, I'd be happy to help! (doesn't matter if it's something basic or more complex like liquid statements, etc.)

Welcome to the forum! I love how you're going to directly use the learnings from your day job to grow something on the side.

What subject will you start a newsletter about (you can be vague if you prefer), how will you get subscribers, and how do you plan to earn from it?

I may start a newsletter again on ConvertKit. Now I know who to ask questions of.

Oh, and I insta-followed you based on your one short intro post.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[woken]

Hey guys! I'm new to the forum but having read MJ's book Millionaire Fastlane (after my boss' recommendation which might sound odd) and now reading The Great Rat Escape I decided to join the forum and this thread stood out.

I'm writing here because my job is to manage and grow a newsletter (email list) of one of the biggest education creators (5M on YouTube, 700,000+ subscribers on the email list) but I now want to create my own newsletter-based business.

That being said, I read about all your frustrations around picking the right software. I personally (and for that mentioned 700k+ newsletter) use ConvertKit and if anyone has any questions about that particular tool, I'd be happy to help! (doesn't matter if it's something basic or more complex like liquid statements, etc.)

Is the Sponsor Network worth it? I’m trying to justify the prices as $1k/month for a decent sized list seems excessive to me.

Do you know any sponsorship agencies that work on commission?

Thank you

 

[jkl]

How do you drive growth? What would be your #1 strategy that everyone can use to grow a newsletter fast?

The #1 strategy that I'd recommend is lead magnets.
They're responsible for at least 25% of our entire list and also act as a point of segmentation (subscribers expressing their interest in a specific topic). Good lead magnets (doesn't have to be fancy, all it has to do is resonate with the audience and solve a particular problem) combined with a good piece of content (best if it showcases the lead magnet in some way or where the lead magnet acts as an extension of that piece of content) can single-handedly bring more than 100,000 subscribers.

Giveaways can also work great. Obviously, the main pushback here is that you might be getting low-quality subscribers. An answer to that is (a) doing a short, targeted giveaway oriented around some kind of a milestone (# of followers, subscribers, etc.) and (b) simplifying the point of entry (instead of a classic "share it on X, TikTik, IG, etc. to enter" simply point them to your newsletter). The last thing would be to have some automation to auto-purge inactive subscribers from your email list.

If you have a network of other newsletter writers with a similar audience size it's worth cross-promoting each other. This can be done through tools like ConvertKit's creator network (post-signup recommendations) or by simply exchanging "sponsored slots" in each other's newsletters.

Lastly, if your newsletter is the main thing that you want to grow, orient every CTA around it. Social media profiles, posts, threads, stories, links, and forms on your website.

 

[jkl]

Welcome to the forum! I love how you're going to directly use the learnings from your day job to grow something on the side.

What subject will you start a newsletter about (you can be vague if you prefer), how will you get subscribers, and how do you plan to earn from it?

I may start a newsletter again on ConvertKit. Now I know who to ask questions of.

Oh, and I insta-followed you based on your one short intro post.

Thanks, man! Appreciate it

Still debating on the topic itself because I don't want to necessarily be the (only) one writing the newsletter (if at all). I want to use my expertise in terms of growth and preferably have a network of newsletters in a particular vertical but it's still very much a pencil-sketch idea.

In terms of growth, I want to use all the tactics that I've been using so far -> social media (under an avatar), lead magnets, paid recommendations (Sparkloop), paid ads, referral system.

In terms of monetisation a combination of owned digital products (if it makes sense) but mainly sponsorships.

Sure thing Feel free to ping me with any questions.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[jkl]

Is the Sponsor Network worth it? I’m trying to justify the prices as $1k/month for a decent sized list seems excessive to me.

Do you know any sponsorship agencies that work on commission?

Thank you

Hey @woken !
I have 0 experience with their Sponsor Network so can't really tell you much.
The only agency that I've worked with is Sixteenth but that's more of a creator-focused agency and they're probably not focused on creators with just the newsletters.

I know that a lot of creators (e.g. Jay Clouse) are happy using CovertKit's creator network but recommending them would be a stretch.

One tool that you may want to look into is Passionfroot | Where Creators do Business. It helps creators (newsletter writers, YouTubers, etc.) manage sponsorship inquiries. While it won't solve the outreach problem, you might find a potential sponsor who's already your subscriber so it's worth having a link somewhere in the footer.

 

[Cameraman]

I've been testing an autoresponder with my newsletter subscription process for the past few months, and it's been an eye-opener. I thought I would share it in case anyone finds it helpful.

The first automated email in the sequence is sent three days after someone subscribes. It's very short and asks if they downloaded my free eBook.

I'm getting about 70% of new subscribers replying to this, which is great. There's now a lower chance of my email being flagged as SPAM with this recipient in the future because they have exchanged emails with me. Better still, I've had some great feedback about me bothering to check, and I've even made some sales off this.

What's also great (but worrying) is that I discovered my welcome email wasn't received by around 50% of the people who replied. It's a great goodwill builder when I then send them the link, but it also highlights a problem with the signup process I need to fix.

Of the people who did receive the email, around 30% say they had problems using the download link. That's another big problem I must fix. If I hadn't bothered to send out an automated email, I would never have found this.

Since I set up the sequence, my numbers for people unsubscribing, complaining about SPAM and emails bouncing have all fallen. I can't give exact stats, but it feels like they have halved.

 

[woken]

Another great example of SparkLoop allowing their "partners" to legally steal.

"Most" -- wow, I wonder what those terms are.

View attachment 53173

I started using it “to grow”.

I am being charged for subscribers that did not fit the engagement criteria regardless. And not for an extra 1-2 subscribers, but for ALL.

F*ck sparkloop.

Beehiiv’s boost feature does not allow for imposed engagement. If you send subscribers you are being paid.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[MTF]

I started using it “to grow”.

I am being charged for subscribers that did not fit the engagement criteria regardless. And not for an extra 1-2 subscribers, but for ALL.

F*ck sparkloop.

Beehiiv’s boost feature does not allow for imposed engagement. If you send subscribers you are being paid.

Lol at the same time they don't pay publishers for their referrals. Seems like a really nice scam is going there. My Upscribe stopped working a few days ago and the referrals I'm sending are all getting rejected.

 

[Andy Black]

What about putting Adsense or other types of ads on the Thank You page? Or ideally selling your own product?

 

[MTF]

What about putting Adsense or other types of ads on the Thank You page? Or ideally selling your own product?

Such a simple idea I forgot about because I wanted my perfect funnel leading to a big course. I think I'll create a little $17 product and sell it on the thank you page.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Andy Black]

Such a simple idea I forgot about because I wanted my perfect funnel leading to a big course. I think I'll create a little $17 product and sell it on the thank you page.

I see people all the time "building stuff".

Remember...

"The first purchase is a test."

Both ways.

Make the first purchase simple for them to buy, and simple for you to deliver.

 

[Ognjen]

Such a simple idea I forgot about because I wanted my perfect funnel leading to a big course. I think I'll create a little $17 product and sell it on the thank you page.

You can also find an affiliate offer and test it with that before building an info product. I did it with a newsletter idea I had - 500 subs, 0 sales. Saved me a ton of time I would have wasted creating the product.

The key thing is that the subscriber flow must be dialed in. Start with the offer, then create a lead magnet that is a natural extension of that offer, and then create a Facebook ad that is a natural extension of the lead magnet.

 

[Andy Black]

You can also find an affiliate offer and test it with that before building an info product. I did it with a newsletter idea I had - 500 subs, 0 sales. Saved me a ton of time I would have wasted creating the product.

The key thing is that the subscriber flow must be dialed in. Start with the offer, then create a lead magnet that is a natural extension of that offer, and then create a Facebook ad that is a natural extension of the lead magnet.

Could try PLR content too I guess?

I start with the visitors first then figure out the offer.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[woken]

Personally I think I’m inclined toward the subscription model substack offers.

I don’t what’s about it, but since I’ve moved one of my newsletters there I have massive engagement. People reply to my emails. Not just one, but tens of people.

It feels like a conversation; no more throwing words at a wall.

Maybe one day i’ll be ready for another progress thread. Funny enough, I even forgot where the button for that is.

 

[MTF]

I see people all the time "building stuff".

Remember...

"The first purchase is a test."

Both ways.

Make the first purchase simple for them to buy, and simple for you to deliver.

I did have an offer on the thank you page before but then I redesigned my funnel and removed this product. But I guess I can redesign the product as well to make it as simple as possible.

You can also find an affiliate offer and test it with that before building an info product. I did it with a newsletter idea I had - 500 subs, 0 sales. Saved me a ton of time I would have wasted creating the product.

The key thing is that the subscriber flow must be dialed in. Start with the offer, then create a lead magnet that is a natural extension of that offer, and then create a Facebook ad that is a natural extension of the lead magnet.

Affiliate offers never worked particularly well in my niche. A thank you page product I had before did make up to a few hundred dollars per month.

Personally I think I’m inclined toward the subscription model substack offers.

I don’t what’s about it, but since I’ve moved one of my newsletters there I have massive engagement. People reply to my emails. Not just one, but tens of people.

It feels like a conversation; no more throwing words at a wall.

Maybe one day i’ll be ready for another progress thread. Funny enough, I even forgot where the button for that is.

Subscriptions are good for just a few niches like business and investing. They don't really work well for most niches, at least from my experience. For example, a gardener won't pay for a premium newsletter about gardening while an emerging markets investor will pay for an emerging markets newsletter. The difference is a clear financial return on your subscription.

 

[woken]

Subscriptions are good for just a few niches like business and investing.

I agree. My niche is business — but entertaining. I’d define it as — visual — which is not how you would typically refer to a newsletter.

We’ll see how it goes.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[MJ DeMarco]

I'm sending are all getting rejected.

Nawwwww, you don't say?

F*ck sparkloop.

LOL. Nothing worse then sending 30,000 referrals into their system and getting paid for 521 of them.

Bend over my friend, you're about to get f8cked.

 

[MTF]

Nawwwww, you don't say?

Hahah I was prepared for that but still wanted to test it.

A bigger disappointment is Convertkit's Creator Network. It does NOTHING to promote you. I'm not even sure what's the point of it. I just turned it off.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

This is what happens when I fail to login to Sparkloop to monitor their fraudulent scammy partners.

Guess how many of these I'm getting paid for?

Zero.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[woken]

Edited. Will come back to this later when i have something concrete.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Some interesting data put out by Behiiv and related by here, although the differences are marginal, unless you're dealing with a huge list.




And finally, the big LOL.

Sorry, we don't need 3000 Newsletters about AI.

This is what happens when you follow a stampede into a trend.

99% of them will need to die or pivot.

 

[Fox]

This is what happens when I fail to login to Sparkloop to monitor their fraudulent scammy partners.

Guess how many of these I'm getting paid for?

Zero.


View attachment 53462

@MJ DeMarco - what has been the average price you have paid (or would pay) for a legitimate subscriber so far?

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[MJ DeMarco]

what has been the average price you have paid (or would pay) for a legitimate subscriber so far?

Nothing, I won't pay for subscribers.

Why?

Because my newsletter isn't a funnel into a high-priced product.

All these newsletter operators are trying to sell high-priced courses, so paying for subscribers might be a model that works for them.

 

[MTF]

And finally, the big LOL.

Sorry, we don't need 3000 Newsletters about AI.

This is what happens when you follow a stampede into a trend.

The search volume is ridiculously crazy for newsletters about AI, though:

 

[woken]

The search volume is ridiculously crazy for newsletters about AI, though:

View attachment 53677

80% of them are the newsletter operators ripping off each other’s content .

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Amin Purshottam]

I just found this thread today and just finished working my way through it. Thankful that I did.

I am starting a newsletter and had chosen Beehiiv but after reading all the bad press in this thread I may have to pause. I had already added my first draft but was planning to start posting this week. Looks like I am going to have to start investigating Convert Kit.

I have the first three newsletters ready to go and was going to start writing the fourth this week. It’s going to be a weekly thing. I am starting from scratch, zero subs. I plan to post daily on twitter using tweets and threads and start joking some communities to help answer questions. Then I plan on adding other social platforms in due time.

i have also created a list of over 30 Ebooks that I plan on creating and selling (my goal is to produce one every 2 weeks) as well as initially rolling out upto 5 courses. I have a host of other things I also want to do to add to that already mentioned.

This has been a really informative and educational thread. Thanks to everyone!

Once I am ready to post, after deciding on the platform, I will post the information in the thread. Hopefully very soon as my original plan was to already be live but the holidays were not the most productive.

I look forward to continue to read about how everyone else is getting along on their newsletter journey and to getting and, down the road, giving tips to help others.

 

[Amin Purshottam]

I just found this thread today and just finished working my way through it. Thankful that I did.

I am starting a newsletter and had chosen Beehiiv but after reading all the bad press in this thread I may have to pause. I had already added my first draft but was planning to start posting this week. Looks like I am going to have to start investigating Convert Kit.

I have the first three newsletters ready to go and was going to start writing the fourth this week. It’s going to be a weekly thing. I am starting from scratch, zero subs. I plan to post daily on twitter using tweets and threads and start joking some communities to help answer questions. Then I plan on adding other social platforms in due time.

i have also created a list of over 30 Ebooks that I plan on creating and selling (my goal is to produce one every 2 weeks) as well as initially rolling out upto 5 courses. I have a host of other things I also want to do to add to that already mentioned.

This has been a really informative and educational thread. Thanks to everyone!

Once I am ready to post, after deciding on the platform, I will post the information in the thread. Hopefully very soon as my original plan was to already be live but the holidays were not the most productive.

I look forward to continue to read about how everyone else is getting along on their newsletter journey and to getting and, down the road, giving tips to help others.

Looks ConvertKit is going to be my platform . I am finding it better even though you basically have to start paying right away($29/month). There are lots of options to add digital products and so on. Hope to launch next week.

 

[MTF]

@MJ DeMarco these are my Upscribe stats so far after about a month:



So about 25% is accepted. Better than nothing but I have no idea how they verify that the newsletters don't choose arbitrarily which referral is accepted and which isn't. It sure isn't a breakthrough income stream as newsletter gurus portray it. But I bet that Beehiiv's program is even shittier. Promising potential $1-2k a month but in reality getting $50.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[MJ DeMarco]

Better than nothing but I have no idea how they verify that the newsletters don't choose arbitrarily which referral is accepted and which isn't

My actual payments never reflect what they report.

As far as I'm concerned, this dashboard is worthless data.

Here's what I mean.

I'm lucky to make $300 from this "projected earnings of $1.75K".

LOL.

Don't believe anything they report until you see it hit your bank account.

 

[nicheevolution]

Looks ConvertKit is going to be my platform . I am finding it better even though you basically have to start paying right away($29/month). There are lots of options to add digital products and so on. Hope to launch next week.

It's free up to 1k subs but you don't get the automations. That's what I'm planning on using if I decide to launch my paid newsletter. Try to up to a certain amount of paid subs before I pay for their monthly fee.