How I grew my newsletter to (almost) 1k subscribers, A guide to landing pages that convert, Getting "in the zone"

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Welcome to Growth Currency⚡ #41 — your weekly dose of web nuggets!

If you're new here, thanks for joining us! Welcome to the 18 new subscribers including Joseph, Ann, Joel, Danielle, Sebastian, Steven, Michelle, and Ken!

I appreciate you giving me a little space in your inbox.

GROWTH INSIGHTS | Pt. 3 | Growing this newsletter from 500 to 1,000 subscribers

The past few weeks, I've shared how I've grown and monetized this newsletter.

This week, I'm filling you in on the strategies I used to grow from 500 and nearing 1,000 subscribers.

And before I begin, I should be clear: there's no magical switch that gets flipped when you hit a subscriber or follower milestone. Some of the things that got you to the 500 follower or subscriber count will continue to work.

For example:​​
​​→ You need to keep producing content
→ You need to keep promoting your content
→ You need to keep engaging with your audience & community

But you might find yourself hitting a plateau.

You know the feeling... The subscribers and followers aren't blowing up your notifications like they were when you wrote that epic Twitter thread or launched a digital product. Been there.

That's a sign you need to iterate, adjust, try something new.

3 Strategies I Used To Get Over the Plateau and Closer to 1k

#1 - CREATE A FREE RESOURCE

I spent some time and put together a 20-page resource on how to start, optimize, and grow a newsletter—in an effort to grow my newsletter. Ah, so meta. But it worked! I offered the resource for free to the first 100 users in exchange for a newsletter subscription.

I created a simple, free landing page with ConvertKit—which BTW, was the gateway drug to my ConvertKit addiction—and started promoting the free resource. Once downloads levelled off approaching 100 subscribers, I announced I was going to start charging for it, which spurred on another round of subscribers.

Nothing like creating a little urgency to get people moving (see image below)..

​You can get that resource here — it's no longer free but it's still a great deal!

#2 - CROSS PROMOTTION & OPA's

Getting your product, newsletter, or brand in front of someone else's audience is a wonderful strategy. I liken it to Joshua Lisec's OPA, or 'Other People's Audiences' strategy he used to grow his business.

I did newsletter feature swaps, getting Growth Currency in other newsletter. Most newsletter creators are happy to do a cross-promotion—just ask.

NOTE: Don't aim for the skies with a massive newsletter. Instead, contact a few in similar growth stages as yours, or maybe a few months ahead of you.

I also started going on podcasts. The podcast interview that got the most new subscribers was HTML All The Things Podcast: a podcast for web devs & designers.

Not exactly my typical audience. BUT an audience eager to learn how to use marketing and self-promotion to grow their freelance business or software products.

Ask yourself: What are some complementary audiences that would resonate with your brand and subject matter? See if you can set up a cross-promotion or guest on a podcast. Use Matchmaker.fm or PodcastGuests.com to find shows looking for guests with your knowledge or experience.

#3 - PAYING FOR ADS $$

I didn't do this until I had begun earning a bit of income from my newsletter. But that doesn't mean you need to wait. Especially if you are about to launch something and have a valuable offer that could benefit from some paid promotion.

What I did: I reserved a $100 ad spot in Josh Spector's For The Interested newsletter (you can do the same here). This $100 returned over 50 new subscribers, costing me under $2 per new subscriber. Not bad.

Paying to acquire more subscribers also allowed me to increase my ad prices. Consider your ad spend an investment.

WRAPPING UP...

Have you tried any of these strategies with any success? Or maybe something else worked for you, I'd be interested to hear about it!

Maybe you launched on Product Hunt, or had a Twitter thread go viral, or tapped into a niche Instagram audience.

Whatever it might be, reply to this email and let me know—I'd love to share other success stories in upcoming editions!

CREATOR SPOTLIGHT 🔦

🔦 SAMANTHA DEMERS || Most of us feel like imposters on the daily. Samantha is helping you overcome your imposter syndrome and doing so in a highly engaging way—with Twitter Space conversations. She's even started a Discord group to help others with goals and accountability.

🔦 ARUNIMA KHUNTETA || Arunima wants you to solve your shit. And she's helping you do that buy putting out something SUPER unique—a season of newsletters. It's like a TV series, but you know, for newsletters. Check out a Season 1 sample here.

Want to be featured in the Creator Spotlight? Reply to this email and let me know what you're building.

😲 CREATORS: WANT MORE BRAND PARTNERSHIPS? 💸

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YOUR GROWTH CURRENCY ⚡ THIS WEEK

​How To Build An Audience Without Being An Expert with Nathan Barry via Andrew Barry's Curious Lion Podcast

The title of this episode resonated in my bones. I had to dive in. And SO glad I did.

Nathan is the founder of ConvertKit—the very email marketing service that delivered this email to your digital doorstop. When he talks about audience building, I listen. (And how can you say no to Barry²??)

​You’ll learn...

→ How Nathan views experimentation and prioritizes the pace of iteration.
→ How to pick channels to find your tribe.
→ How to establish a consistent content process that doesn’t kill you.
→ How to convert people from social media to your own email list.
→ What the value is of having your own email list.
→ How to think about cadence, segmenting, and making offers to people on your list.

​10 Gold Standards Of Premier Cohort-Based Learning: How To Level Up Your Course Like Write of Passage by Alexandra Allen

You might have heard of David Perell and his little writing course, Write of Passage (WoP). Alexandra is a WoP alum and she's packaged up 10 gold nuggets here. If you're planning a cohort-based course, modelling yours after WoP isn't a bad idea.

​How to Create a Content Plan That Works for You and Your Audience by Ann Gyn at The Tilt

Making a living as a content entrepreneur means you need to treat it like a business. Making a content plan is a great way to do that. This article will explain some key steps, like...

→ Determine your dedicated time
→ Develop your content structure
→ Track preliminary content creation
→ Plan your pace
→ Create your editorial calendar (included is a basic editorial calendar template)

​Creator Stash — Check out this library of 300+ products and resources for content creators to help them with creation, growth, management, and monetization.

→ Filter by tags based on your goals, like Course Creation, Project Management, Website Builders, and much more. ​
→ Search by description
→ Subscribe for new tools and resources every month

​My step-by-step guide to landing pages that convert by Harry Dry of Marketing Examples

The title of this resource says it all. Harry's built up a massive audience with is Marketing Examples. This guide is proof of why he's been so successful. Add this to your swipe file!

​How to get in the zone: 39 tips to find your flow (and the science behind it) by James Fleischmann

This article is one of the more in-depth and practical pieces I've read about getting into a flow state. Also, TIL there's such a thing as 'group flow state'. Wild. Reading this article reminded me I need to seek out this harmonious & productive state more often.

That's it!

Thanks for reading this week's edition, I hope you found some value here. I know I did while curating it for you!

Question for you: are you currently publishing, or plan to publish a newsletter? I want to help others grow their newsletters and I'm considering a beta course. Hit 'reply' and let me know if you'd be interested.

And in case you missed it, here are last week's most popular links:

#1: ​​CreatorHooks Newsletter by Jake Thomas
​#2: ​Content Optimization: 23 Ways to 10x Your Content’s Value by Growth Badger

Until next week,

Dylan
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