Opt In ChallengeGrowth Is The Game
Most of this newsletter was dedicated to growth, and therefore, the challenge for this week is too.
Dakota Shane published a list of essential traits that every newsletter should have to grow exponentially.
Your challenge this week is to evaluate your newsletter (if you've already started one) or begin planning (if you haven't started one), and implement the 6 traits described in this article. Especially the last point they make: "Provide proof that your newsletter doesn't suck." At least get to gathering that social proof.
Tune Up Your Description, Welcome Email, & Promotion
Josh Spector of For the Interested just published a 5-day plan to help newsletter creators grow their newsletters.
Your Opt In Challenge this week is to commit to following his instructions. You’ll be improving some critical things and learn a ton along the way, like why you can’t just drop a link to a recent issue on social media and expect to see subscriptions soar. Learn what you should do instead.
Alice Li’s Guide to Dark Mode for Email Marketers sheds light on going dark. Your challenge this week is to make sure your emails look good in dark mode.
Lily Worth explains the value of creating animated gifs for your emails. They’re a nice way to add movement to your newsletter. I challenge you to follow her instructions and try out adding a gif to yours this week.
Try Some Of These Deliverability Tests
The team at Folderly posted a battle card blog about the players in the email deliverability test market. This could be worth your own testing, too. The one Ryan Sager told us about from GMass isn’t on the list for some reason.
I’d love to hear from those of you who use these. Which ones are your favorites and why?
Related: Experts weigh in on why you’re landing wherever you’re landing in Email Deliverability Unfiltered: Gmail Tabs.
Tom May offers some advice for tapping back into your creativity when it feels like it might be running dry. Your Opt In Challenge this week is to try one (or all) of these techniques and be creative. Like, NOW!
Consider A Newsletter Referral Program
Kym Ellis breaks down the types of newsletter referral programs you might want to consider. This week’s Opt In Challenge is to think through what might work for you.
“Referral programs offer the potential to grow your mailing list and your customer base in a cost-effective way — but not all referral programs are created equal. The same type of referral program that worked for the newsletter giants like Morning Brew and TheSkimm might not be the best option for all publishers.
The good news is, getting started with a referral program for your newsletter is easier than you think, and by the end of this article you’ll have a good understanding of three different referral models, and actionable ideas about how to plan your own referral program.”
Promote Your Newsletter On Instagram
This week’s challenge is to consider Instagram promotion for your newsletter and follow some of Piyali Mukherjee’s advice for gaining some traction on that platform (IF it makes sense for your newsletter).
3 Questions That Will Help You Strategize Content
The gang at Digital Marketer has provided three key questions to help you decide what to cover in your email newsletter. If you’re a marketer, they’ll be particularly helpful in figuring out what sort of content you should include in yours. If not, they’re still actually worth looking at.
Your Opt In Challenge this week is to consider these questions (along with mine from the Prologue) now and to set a reminder to return to them at a regular cadence.
Are Spam Trigger Words A Thing Of The Past?
Magan Le’s article on the Litmus blog says that spam trigger words are now mostly a thing of the past. She then dives into what actually impacts deliverability and the steps you can take to improve yours.
Your Opt In Challenge this week is to review her article and Ryan Sager’s tips (video below), which explains how a GMass tool can help you through the testing process.
