Ann Handley On Creativity And Newsletter Growth
Letterlist published a Q&A with Ann Handley and it’s delightful. You’ll learn the backstory on her newsletter, Total Annarchy, and how she’s grown it from 2K subscribers to over 42K in 3 years. Her growth strategy?
“I’ve grown it organically. No forced opt-in or lead magnets or coercion or popovers. That might sound judgmental about popovers… it’s not. Popovers work, but they’re not right for my newsletter. I wanted a reader’s relationship with me, ultimately, to be the trigger than would grow the list.”
She chose to create something very personal. And it works.
I found the section of this interview on her writing and editing process particularly insightful.
Read the full interview here.
2 Inspirational Tweets
Is it possible to stand out in a noisy world? Wes Kao thinks so and explains how in this Twitter thread.
Plus, Alex Llull shares 9 things he wishes he knew before building a newsletter audience in this tweet.
Both threads discovered via Marketer Crew.
Is Your Newsletter Getting Intimate?
Micaeli Rourke looks at the power of direct relationships and intimacy in newsletters in this Digital Context Next article.
Newsletter Insights From A Solopreneur
In this issue of The Rebooting, Brian Morrissey, a solopreneur who left Digiday to go it alone, offers reflections on a year of newsletter publishing, including:
“I decided to focus the business model in the first stage of The Rebooting around sponsorship and consulting. This will enable free access, removing friction from building the audience and expanding the product set. Down the road, late next year or in early 2023, I can see developing a membership component.”
How Mario Gabriele Revolutionized The Newsletter Business
In this great interview by Seth King, Mario Gabriele breaks down his newsletter journey creating The Generalist.
He covers
Click through to read more.
4 Tips To Improve Deliverability
This deliverability tips article by Alexandre Zibrick with Mailgun asks questions like “Why do mailbox providers use spam filters?” and “What do mailbox providers expect from you?”
His answers?
Learn how here.
Could These Ideas Boost Your Newsletter Growth?
In Lenny’s Newsletter, guest author and creator of the First 1000 newsletter, Ali Abouelatta, offers 60 ideas for newsletter growth (and examples) including:
Check out all 60 here.
Discovered via Growthmarketer.
Gumroad asked successful (aka those earning six figures) creators for their advice. Their answers gravitated toward themes like:
Read all 102 tips here.
Related: This tweet from Josh Spector offers some solid advice on what to do if your newsletter’s growth has stalled.
Could THE RIGHT Influencer Help Your Newsletter Grow?
No matter your feelings about influencers, the truth is they have the potential to help your newsletter grow. This Entrepreneur article explains why and how to leverage the right influencers to grow subscribers and increase exposure.
Discovered via Inbox Reads.
Is Your Newsletter Building Community?
In the midst of the pandemic, park naturalist Scott Kudelka created the Minneopa State Park newsletter in an effort to continue sharing the beauty and happenings of the park. Bob Timmons covered the newsletter recently in Star Tribune.
As it’s grown to over 500 subscribers, Kudelka has realized even greater value:
“The weekly update following has snowballed, Kudelka said, as people see things that spark an interest and share the news. The project has deepened him, too, he said. Most remarkable has been the volume of photos sent in, capturing the park in ways that are sometimes even new to him.
‘[The newsletter] continually grounds me to the park.’”
Learn more about his approach as you consider how your newsletter can connect people.
Here’s an interesting twist, you’ll need to e-mail Scott Kudelka at scott.kudelka [at] state.mn.us to subscribe to the newsletter.
