When choosing between platforms like Beehive, ConvertKit, and Substack, prioritize the one used by others in your niche. This maximizes your chances of being included in their recommendation networks, a powerful and often overlooked channel for subscriber growth.
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Relying solely on social media platforms for your audience is like being an employee of those platforms. An email list is the only owned asset that gives you direct, unmediated access to your audience, making it non-negotiable for long-term viability.
The conventional wisdom is to move followers off social to an owned email list. However, the reverse is also powerful. Drive engagement and grow your social following by embedding links to your best social posts directly within your newsletters and promotional emails.
It's okay to start a newsletter without a perfectly defined audience. Write about a range of your interests and pay close attention to which links get clicked and what topics resonate. Use this early feedback to meander your way toward a niche that both you and your audience enjoy.
New creators often waste time debating which email service provider (ESP) is best. The tool will not make or break your newsletter's success in the early stages. The right approach is to pick any platform, start publishing, and only reconsider your choice after six months of consistent effort.
When you create a LinkedIn newsletter, the platform sends a one-time notification to all your followers, inviting them to subscribe. This unique feature bypasses the standard algorithm, offering a direct, powerful way to convert your existing audience into a dedicated subscriber list with high initial uptake (around 15-20%).
Newsletters can be powerful list-builders, but only if promoted like a product. Instead of a simple 'join my newsletter' prompt, create a dedicated page that details the value, explains what subscribers will get, and even offers a preview of a past issue.
To break through the noise of modern influencer marketing, target less-obvious platforms. Instead of competing for attention on Instagram and TikTok, pitch YouTubers and Substack writers who receive fewer inquiries. This approach increases your chances of getting noticed and securing features without a budget.
Before building landing pages or choosing an email platform, validate your newsletter concept by directly asking people to subscribe. If you can't get 10-20 people from your network to say yes, the idea might need refinement. This avoids building infrastructure for an unproven concept.
Matt McGarry's 'Big Three' strategy posits YouTube, podcasts, and newsletters as core media pillars. All other platforms, like LinkedIn or X, should be treated strictly as discovery channels. This framework clarifies their role as top-of-funnel tools, preventing creators from misallocating resources on platforms they don't own.
Running paid ads for a new newsletter is a mistake. First, prove you can convert an existing organic audience (e.g., from social media). If your core followers won't subscribe, there's a content or messaging mismatch. Paid ads will only waste money by scaling a message that doesn't resonate.