Why One Creator Advises Starting With A Newsletter
Ash Ambirge has made $5M self-publishing books online. In this piece she explains what she would do differently if she were starting from scratch.
Number 1? “Start with a newsletter, not a website.”
Discover the 6 other things she would change about her journey.
TL;DR? Relationships matter (sound familiar?). It’s easy to get bogged down in the details and become indecisive, but that won’t lead to success. Ash concludes:
“Do not overthink this. Do not overanalyze it all to death and whether or not you are doing it right. NO ONE’S DOING IT RIGHT. We’re all figuring it out as we go. Just start taking action without constantly policing your action. Let yourself learn as you go.”
Use Your Newsletter To Attract Clients
Josh Spector says creating a good newsletter can replace client outreach. Check out his advice on how to use your newsletter to get clients.
Discovered via For the Interested.
A Lesser-Known Newsletter Growth Tactic
Brian Dean of Exploding Topics has grown 2 newsletters to over 100K subscribers and says he doesn’t see much advice on a growth tactic he’s seen work really well:
“... I recommend putting at least one email sign-up form on your about page.”
Learn why here.
...brb, need to go work on an About page.
Overview Of A Newsletter Overhaul
Josh Spector, author of For the Interested, recently took to Twitter and offered to help someone launch a newsletter in minutes. Will Stew jumped at the chance. Here’s the TL;DR of what Josh suggested:
Discovered via For the Interested.
The Importance Of A Good Sender Name
Are you using the best sender name for your newsletter? This Ghost article explains why it’s important and offers best practices designed to help increase your open rate.
Discovered via Ghost Newsletter.
Emotional Connection For The Win
Are you establishing emotional connections with your newsletter readers?
In an “Author Talks” interview with Sandeep Dayal, Dayal challenges the effectiveness of traditional marketing and instead speaks about the value of emotion. Here’s what I’m taking away:
“Unless I connect with you, unless I have that level of trust in you, I’m not sure that anything else that you say is credible to me.”
Discovered via theCLIKK.
Does Your Newsletter Deliver On a Minimum Viable Promise?
As you seek to build a community, what is it that makes it worth it for your audience? Jay Clouse recommends creating a “minimum viable promise” or "the bare minimum that you need to promise (and fulfill) for someone to be interested enough to purchase membership.”
Find out why it’s important and how to create one here.
Discovered via For the Interested.
Tips, Resources, And Updates In Oshinsky’s April Edition
Dan Oshinsky’s at it again with another great edition of “Not a Newsletter.” A few of my favorites from this month include:
Check out the full issue here (quick reminder that it’s a Google Doc).
Q&A Roundup: What’s one thing you’ve learned from publishing a newsletter?
Josh Spector, For The Interested:
“I've learned that a newsletter is the single best way to attract your ideal audience, build a relationship with them, identify their problems, and ultimately build enough trust with them that you can convert them into customers or lead them to take a specific action. My newsletter has become the engine of my entire business - both as a consultant and a media company.”
Alex Bauer, Branch:
“Having an authentic opinion of your own is incredibly important. People can get news and updates from anywhere, so you have to give them some added value from choosing to spend time with you.”
Dennis Shiao, Content Corner:
“We often obsess over the Subject line, trying to craft the perfect words to get our subscribers to open. We might even do A/B testing to see what works best. I learned to go the other way on this -- optimize for the From line, not the Subject line. If you build a deep and trusted relationship with subscribers, they’ll open and open no matter what the Subject line says.”
Ann Handley, Total Annarchy:
“11 things I’ve learned from publishing a newsletter
- ‘I'll write only when I have something to say’ doesn’t work. It’ll instead just give you an excuse NOT to publish.
- Set a schedule you can manage. Stick to it. Do not break the chain. You've got this.
- Focus on the Letter, not the News. Your newsletter is a relationship-builder... not a distribution strategy.
- Your From line matters more than your Subject Line.
- Writing matters. Obsess about craft.
- Obsess about voice. It's the one thing no one else can copy.
- Do unscalable things. Because over time, unscalable scales.
- Your newsletter needs an emcee. (Even you looking at me with that side-eye, Ms B2B-Solution-Brand.)
- Your first issue will be awkward and self-conscious and not good.
- Make up your own metrics based on your own goals. Example: I track my RR (Resubscribe Rate) and OWB (Open to Write Back rate).
- You will get more out of your newsletter than you give: You will become a better writer, you’ll know your audience more deeply, you’ll understand the value you provide at almost a cellular level, and you will become more attractive with 8-pack abs and a tighter peach. 🍑 (That last one is aspirational maybe. But why not.)
You asked for only ONE thing I learned from publishing a newsletter. Which leads me to my final point:
12. Always deliver more value than an audience would reasonably expect.”
If you're not subscribed to the newsletters from these amazing creators, I highly suggest you check each one out and subscribe for quality inspiration. Massive thanks to everyone who took time to pass on your learnings!
Advice From A Full-Time Creator
Gergely Orosz is an engineering manager turned full-time newsletter creator and is offering this advice:
“Instead of ‘creator’ think ‘one-person business’.”
Find out more here.
Discovered via For The Interested.
