How the Best Newsletters Grew to 50,000+ Subscribers
How the Best Newsletters Grew to 50,000+ Subscribers5 proven growth tactics used by the best newsletter writersDear subscribers, Today, I want to share how the best newsletters grew from 0 to 50,000+ subscribers.
Chenell Basilio has spent 100s of hours studying top newsletters. Together, we looked at how top writers grew through the following tactics:
1. Pick the right nicheA great niche helps your ideal reader achieve their dream outcome. Your niche sits at the intersection of what your ideal reader wants, what you’re good at, and what you’re interested in. A newsletter that has nailed its niche is: Technically by Justin Gage Justin reached 50K+ subscribers in 3 years while working a full time job. His niche is: Technical concepts explained in a simple way for non-technical people. Per our definition of a great niche:
For more, check out Chenell's deep dive on Technically’s growth. 2. Build a content systemA great content system lets you write 1x and publish 7x. Your content system helps you avoid having to stare at a blank page. A newsletter that has an amazing content system is: The Saturday Solopreneur by Justin Welsh Justin has 130K readers and only spends a few hours writing each post. His niche is: 1 actionable tip to launch, grow, and monetize your internet business. This niche already suggests brevity, but it’s his system that saves him even more time:
For more, check out Chenell's deep dive on The Saturday Solopreneur’s growth. If you’re enjoying this post, fill out this 1-min survey to help me create better content: 3. Drive sign upsA great sign up page includes a dream outcome, social proof, and testimonials. Your sign up page plays a key role in converting casual readers to active subscribers. A newsletter that has nailed its sign up page is: Marketing Examples by Harry Dry Harry reached 130K subscribers in 3.5 years. His sign up page has all 3 elements:
Harry also displays his sign up form via the nav bar and at the end of every post. It’s no wonder that his sign up rates are above 50%. For more, check out Chenell’s deep dive on Marketing Examples’ growth. 4. Get organic trafficGreat organic traffic can come from social, referrals, and SEO. Your organic channels help you get new sign ups without spending a dime. Below’s a newsletter example for each channel: SocialSuperhuman by Zain Kahn Zain grew his AI newsletter to 250K+ in just 5 months. He created viral social posts on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram to ride the AI wave. For more, check out Chenell's deep dive on Superhuman’s growth. ReferralsFirst 1,000 by Ali Abouelatta Ali grew his newsletter to 74K+ in 3 years without a social presence. He did this by building a custom referral program:
The Sadness character from Inside Out probably helps too. Ali’s top referrers have sent over 100 referrals. For more, check out Chenell’s deep dive on First 1000’s growth. SEOStarter Story by Pat Walls Pat’s grew his newsletter to 114K+ in 3 years thanks to his lean SEO framework:
Pat places many small bets and then doubles down when content works. For more, check out Chenell’s deep dive on Starter Story’s growth. 5. Drive paid trafficGreat paid ads optimize for short payback periods and lifetime value > cost of acquisition. Your paid ads can be a major growth driver once your newsletter is making money. A newsletter that grew rapidly through paid ads is: The Milk Road by Shaan Puri and Ben Levy Shaan and Ben grew their newsletter to 250K+ and sold it for a million in a year. From a case study on The Milk Road’s growth, they focused on:
Paid ads added 50K+ readers to the newsletter. 5 proven growth tactics from the best newslettersTo recap, the best newsletters use these tactics to grow faster:
Of course, the best growth tactic is to show up every week to write great content (like Chenell’s newsletter). Let me know if you have any questions about growing a newsletter in the comments. If you enjoyed this post, consider taking a few minutes to:
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