Hi everyone! Welcome back to another edition of Letterly!

Can you believe it’s already the last Sunday of January 2024? Like, what?! Time does fly by as you get older.

In honour of the end of January, I plan to reflect on my progress for this month in the evening. I’m going to review and reflect on:

• My best-performing articles, posts, and newsletters for this month

• The number of articles I published on Medium

• The number of posts I published on LinkedIn

• The number of newsletters I wrote

• My biggest goal for next month

• How to improve next month

• The highlight of this month

• What didn’t go well

• What went well

I like doing this reflection exercise for three reasons.

One, I get to celebrate my small wins. Two, I get to feel proud of myself for all that I’ve accomplished to give me the momentum to keep going. And three, I get to reflect on how to improve the next month.

Now, let’s dive into today’s edition!

Deep Dive

I started Letterly — this newsletter you’ve been reading! — at the beginning of January 2024.

My goal is to grow it to 1,000 subscribers by the end of this year.

Here are six simple techniques I’ve been using to gain subscribers to hit my email list goal (that you’re probably not using).

1. Put your landing page link in ALL your social media bios.

I have my link on LinkedIn, Twitter, Medium—EVERYWHERE.

2. Add a call to action underneath your content for people to subscribe to your newsletter.

I learned this strategy from Dan Koe. This is his funnel (based on what I’ve observed and from reading/listening to his newsletters):

• He writes and sends a weekly newsletter. He also includes the option to read it on his website. 

• He posts his newsletter on his website, where he has email sign-up forms in the header and footer.

• He repurposes sections of his newsletter into social media posts (Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube). Then, he adds a CTA to read the full newsletter in the comments. 

• Then, he films a YouTube video of himself reading the newsletter.

• Then, he uploads it as a podcast episode.

Genius. Simple, yet genius. Every piece of content stems from his long-form weekly newsletter. This is the strategy that I’m modelling.

So, to recap this technique, add a link to your landing page/newsletter underneath every piece of content you create.

3. Give a ‘sneak peek’ of your newsletter before you send it. And give a ‘recap’ after you send it.

I send a newsletter every Sunday at 9 AM EST. 

What I’ve started doing (based on Matt McGarry’s recommendation) is this: I’ll publish a LinkedIn post to ‘tease’ my audience on what’s coming up in my newsletter on the Friday before the newsletter goes out. Or you can publish it the day before. 

If they’re excited about the topic, they’ll subscribe. 

Then, I’ll publish another LinkedIn post recapping the key points I covered in the newsletter, either right after I send it or the next day. 

If they want to read that edition, they’ll subscribe.

Other creators like Dan Go, Justin Welsh, and Growth in Reverse also use this technique to gain subscribers. 

4. Offer a valuable resource.

Email marketing is based on trust. 

People give you access to their inboxes with the understanding (and hope) that you will share value and knowledge—Not spam them. I learned this from Christina Garnett. 

So, one of the best ways to get people to subscribe is to offer something valuable in exchange for their email addresses, like a lead magnet. 

For example, I offer a 5-Day Educational Email Course. It’s free. People who subscribe to it will learn why they need an email list, the benefits of having one, and the common mistakes people make when it comes to email marketing.

Now, a lead magnet doesn’t have to be an email course. It can also be an eBook, a checklist, a template, or a webinar replay.

So, create a resource that helps your readers solve a problem they have.

5. Recommend other newsletters (and have others recommend yours).

I recommend four newsletters on my Substack: Stay Invested, Slow & Steady, Daily Dividends by John Hua and, The Lemon Tree Mindset.

Through my recommendations, they’ve gained subscribers. 

Likewise, these newsletters also recommend mine. And through their recommendations, I’ve gained subscribers. 

So, my advice is to build relationships with other writers. Collaborate. Help each other grow. 

This leads to the final technique I’ve learned (but have yet to use).

6. Write guest posts.

Recently, I saw that Jade Cessna wrote a guest post in Stay Invested. I also saw that Mark Vassilevskiy wrote a guest post in Jade’s newsletter. 

This is brilliant because writing guest posts gets you exposed to another writer’s email list.

So again, build relationships with other writers and help each other grow!

~

Bonus Tip (I guess this is more of an anti-tip):

When I started building my email list, I was taught to ask family and friends to subscribe to hit my first 100 subscribers and to get testimonials.

But I learned, at least in my experience, this might not be a great idea. If they’re only signing up because you asked (and not because they’re genuinely interested), then they may never open your emails or buy from you.

This kills your open rates and click-through rates.

That’s why I’ve decided to take the slower route. Instead of going around asking my family and friends to subscribe, I’m focused on building my presence on social media to get subscribers organically.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and experience on this, though!!!

~

Hope these tips are helpful! Which ones are you doing or aren’t doing? What tips did I miss?!

A Writing Tip

Keep Ann Handley’s formula in mind when you’re writing:

Utility x Inspiration x Empathy = Quality Content

Let’s break this down.

Utility = Your content should help your subscribers do something that matters to them.

Inspiration = Your content should be fresh, different, well-written, nicely designed, based on data, and feel like it could only come from you.

Empathy = Your content should focus relentlessly on your subscribers. 

That’s the formula for quality content. 

What I'm Learning

• The #1 Newsletter Growth Tactic You’re Probably Not Using—In this newsletter, Matt gives tons of examples for the pre-and post-newsletter CTAs.

• Email Marketing Course: Get Certified in Email Marketing—I started this course last week, and it’s been fantastic. HubSpot provides a great learning experience. They offer downloadable slides, transcripts, captioned videos, and other resources. Plus it’s free. I recommend this course if you want to level up your email marketing game.

• Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content—This is the go-to guide to creating and publishing the kind of content that will make your business thrive! I probably refer to this book every day lol.

Before You Go

I hope you enjoyed reading today’s newsletter.

If you have a minute, I’d love for you to respond to this email to let me know:

• Your biggest takeaway

• Your biggest challenge

• Your biggest struggle right now

It helps me understand what you’re interested in learning more about so I can write content that’s helpful and relevant for you!

Thank you so much for that!

I’ll see you next Sunday,

Irene💌