This week’s newsletter is presented by Who Sponsors Stuff. Their Sales Pro product can supercharge your ad sales operation — set up time with them to learn more about how they can help your newsletter!

When I hit my 30s, I stopped making big New Year’s resolutions. No matter how often I pledged to read a book a week or work out enough to get a six-pack, I never actually followed through.

So instead, I started making small resolutions — lots of little resolutions I knew I could follow through on.

Volunteer once a month? Call a different friend to check in every week? Sure, those are things I could actually do!

Here’s one that’s on my list for 2024: I want to tell more of the writers and creators I admire how much I like their work. I know firsthand how wonderful it is — and how rare it can be! — to get a nice note from a reader.

So this week, here’s a thought: Go through your inbox, find a newsletter you love, hit reply, and tell the writer behind it why you love it so much. It can just be a sentence or two: “You’ve done such a great job with this newsletter this year. Keep it up — and happy new year!”

You never know when a kind note to fellow newsletter operator might brighten their day. (And who knows: Maybe it’ll bring a bit of good inbox karma your way, too!)

—Dan (say 👋 via email or LinkedIn)

AWeber, Beehiiv, ConvertKit, Ghost, Mailchimp, or Substack: Which Is The Right ESP For Your Indie Newsletter?

A year ago, I published a post comparing six of my favorite email platforms for independent newsletters. But when TinyLetter announced that they’d be shutting down in February 2024, I took a closer look at the post. There are a lot of newsletter operators who might soon be making the switch to a new platform — and I wanted to make sure that my recommendations reflected all the great new features that some of these ESPs rolled out in 2023:

AWeber added an AI tool into their email builder.
Beehiiv made a huge investment in their ad network.
ConvertKit created a way to get paid for recommending other newsletters.
Ghost launched a bunch of new tools to help you grow your email list.
Mailchimp introduced an all-new drag-and-drop builder.
Substack rolled out new features for anyone who publishes audio or video podcasts.

And that’s just a fraction of the changes announced this year.

So this week, I’m rolling out a huge update to our ESP recommendations post, with the latest features and pricing. If you’re one of the writers on TinyLetter who needs to make a change — or you’re thinking about switching to a new platform in the new year — start here. Get the guide →

All of the stories we publish this fall are presented thanks to Who Sponsors Stuff, which gives you and your team the tools to quickly find and reach out to relevant sponsors for your newsletter. I’ve recommended Sales Pro to dozens of friends and clients — it’s a product that can help you quickly scale your newsletter ad business. Find out how their Sales Pro product can supercharge your newsletter’s ad sales operation.

In case you missed it...

We asked more than 20 newsletter operators what they wish they’d known before launching their first newsletter. From content strategy to growth best practices, here’s what they told us.

How do you write a subject line that readers will actually open? From best practices to A/B testing ideas, here’s what you need to know.

Newsletter writers are increasingly taking time off to grow their families, recharge with a vacation, or cope with burnout. Here’s what you can learn from those who’ve taken a break from writing their newsletter.

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📬 No. 14 | Picking the right platform for your newsletter

AWeber, Beehiiv, ConvertKit, Ghost, Mailchimp, or Substack: Which Is The Right ESP For Your Indie Newsletter?

In case you missed it...

Older messages

📬 No. 13 | What I Wish I’d Known

📬 No. 12 | The Hustle + Morning Brew alums shaping the future of newsletters

📬 No. 11 | Landing pages to learn from

📬 No. 10 | Making Emails More Accessible

📬 No. 9 | What’s best: A dedicated or shared IP?

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