It’s Wednesday, March 5, and this week, I’m explaining how to create a great ad strategy for your newsletter. What should you charge for an ad? What kind of ad formats work for newsletters? What data do advertisers want? Let’s take a closer look. But first…

Applications for the Inbox Awards are officially closed! Finalists will be announced Friday, and readers like you will be picking the winners. Stay tuned…

On the topic of last week’s broken links: Thanks to everyone who sent kind notes afterwards. Mistakes happen to all of us — even those of us who work full-time on newsletters! And if you do make a mistake, like I did, this guide can help you figure out next steps…

—Dan (say 👋 via email or LinkedIn)

All of our newsletters this month are presented by Optimism, an email-first media company. They believe in the importance of bringing positive and informative content to the inbox. Through Curated By Optimism, they’re working with like-minded media companies to drive traffic to publications like yours.

Interested in learning more? Get in touch here.

How to Monetize Your Newsletter With Ads

There are so many ways to monetize an email list. Not every strategy will make sense for your newsletter.

But one strategy works for many newsletters, from large publishers to independent writers: Advertising.

The key word is “many” — not all newsletters are a good fit for advertising. Today, I’ve got a guide to help you figure out if you should be running ads and how to really drive revenue through ads. I’ve answered a few key questions:

Why do ads work for newsletters?
How big of an audience do you need to run ads?
What should you charge for an ad?
What kind of ad formats work for newsletters?
What data do advertisers want?
What platforms can you use to help you sell ads for your newsletter?
Are there other tools that can help with your ad business?
Can you run an ad business alongside another revenue model?

Dive into the guide

A big thank you to Optimism, the wintertime sponsor for Inbox Collective — they’re making everything in the newsletter and on our website available for free to all readers.

They’re also the proud sponsor of the first-ever Inbox Awards, which honor newsletter operators who are delivering exceptional experiences through email. We’ll be honoring newsletters in these six categories:

Innovation in Content
Innovation in Design
Innovation in Engagement
Innovation in Growth
Innovation in Revenue
Innovation in Technology

Finalists will be announced this week — make sure you vote!

And thanks again to Optimism for their support of the Inbox Awards. You probably recognize one of their 18 email-first brands, including History Facts, Nice News, and Word Smarts. This year, they’re also expanding their partnership program with like-minded media companies. Through Curated By Optimism, they’re driving traffic to external partners and promoting their great content — and with traditional traffic sources continuing to drive fewer readers to publications, new partnerships like this could help your newsletter or site grow faster in 2025. Interested in learning more about how to partner with Optimism? Get in touch here.

*This content has been promoted by our partners*

From my reading list...

In 2024, Ephraim Gopin created a new newsletter that went out every single day — 366 emails in all. (It was a leap year!) It took a lot of work, but it also opened new doors for his business. Here’s what he learned from his daily newsletter experiment. (Inbox Collective)

I loved this story about how UK-based Metro rebuilt their newsletter strategy around courses and niche products. (Media Voices)

I’ve been a longtime reader of Katelyn Bourgoin’s newsletter, so I really enjoyed this deep dive into her growth strategies. (Growth in Reverse)

Great advice for any newsletter, free or paid: “You need to think hard about what distinguishes you — and how to make that case to potential readers or viewers.” (Project C)

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📬 No. 69 | How to (properly) monetize your newsletter with ads

How to Monetize Your Newsletter With Ads

From my reading list...

Older messages

The Newsletter Conference is back!

📬 No. 67 | Ask a newsletter therapist

Time’s running out to nominate your newsletter for The Inbox Awards!

📬 No. 68 | Lessons from 366 days of email

UPDATE: Now with working links! —> 📬 No. 68 | Lessons from 366 days of email

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