How to Grow Your Newsletters
Our readings for week 11 seek to answer the question I have been struggling most with throughout our class. I have an idea, one that suits my interests and one that I believe will help others whose interests line up with mine, but I have one major roadblock that stands in the way of this idea becoming successful.
I’m starting from scratch, and I have no following at this moment.
While I feel that I am not the only student in our class with this predicament, I understand that, especially in the field of sports, there are already so many writers with legitimate followings who can succeed by using that previously-generated following to help propel their startup into the mainstream.
And while I recognize that this is a serious obstacle, I know that this is a challenge I can overcome with hard work, tactical strategy and dedication.
Our readings from this week — namely the SubStack piece about Delia Cai’s “Deez Links” newsletter and BetterMarketing’s piece about Alex Lieberman and his claim to fame with his “Morning Brew” SubStack — offer insightful tips and tricks as to how to overcome such hurdles.
I liked these two articles in particular because they were relatable to me in the sense that they both started from square one. No massive Instagram or Twitter followings that helped them achieve thousands of loyal, paid subscribers overnight. No, these two individuals took something they were passionate about and worked tirelessly to create a community that felt a need for their work. And I know that nothing is stopping me or any of my classmates from doing the same.
What stuck out to me from the Delia Cai article was the way she borrowed different audiences, such as those from Ann Friedman’s newsletter and and Alana Hope Levinson. I thought her point about how interviewing credible sources can result in gaining followers of your own because they are likely to repost it on their own. it’s a simple concept but one I had not thought of on my own.
As for the article on Lieberman, I found it interesting how he started by writing a newsletter for himself. It struck me that he created the concept without any monetary goals in mind, he simply sought to create a product that people would choose as an alternative to a subjectively inferior product (in his case the Wall Street Journal). It was in this article that I realized the time and energy he truly invested into his product to make it as successful as he was. Lastly, it was intriguing how Lieberman was advertising his product while he was still a student. Through business clubs meetings, he identified a niche. And, while risky, he fought the university administration by adding fliers around campus with creative new ways to generate subscribers. The article says he’s great at developing creative ideas, and I think that’s very clear through the development process of the Morning Brew.
Overall, I enjoyed all four articles we were assigned for this week, but I felt that those mentioned above resonated with me the most, as there is evidence out there that you can create a successful newsletter model from square one.
