You Should Start A Newsletter
The value proposition of newsletters
Newsletters are used by most of the top online creators and yet a TON of digital entrepreneurs still aren't utilizing an email list.
Here are 12 reasons why you should start a newsletter:
1 - Make more money
Tired of not reaching your audience effectively? A newsletter is a direct line to their inbox.
Watch the Social Network. Mark Zuckerberg got VC funds because he had an email list.
Most sales online come through email.
Yes, X is paying people now. But there is a lot more money to be made with your content. Don’t put all of your eggs in the ad-revenue sharing basket.
With a newsletter, you can offer paid subscriptions, sponsored content, or sell your own merchandise. All at once.
Once you build a sizable audience, the sky's the limit. And if it doesn’t suck, it can be a highly lucrative piece of your personal brand/holding co.
2 - You can start for $0
We are in the golden age of newsletters.
With any of the big platforms, you can get started for free.
It is super simple. Just sign up and start writing.
3 - They can scale like crazy
Newsletters have super high leverage.It takes the same amount of time to write and send an email whether you have 10 subscribers or 100,000.
Unless you aren’t utilizing a platform and trying to send emails manually. In that case, good luck.
4 - Platform freedom
You own your list. As long as people give you permission to send them emails.
The only way to lose subscribers is if they unsubscribe.
On any social media platform, a huge multiplier for your success is their algorithm.
And even though X/Elon has shipped changes like creator access to subscriber emails, the data and followers still belong to the platform.
If the platform changes its rules or you get banned, audience access is gone, unless you do something with those emails.
With newsletters, your content gets delivered when you hit send.
And you don’t have to follow the terms of engagement set by a publicly traded company.
For instance, Andrew Tate “came back” using an email list: "If you want to hear what happened to me, join my email list."
Newsletters allow you to communicate directly with your audience.
On social, most of the time ~5-10% of your audience gets to see your content in their for-you feed. Really good newsletters get 50-60% open rates.
Email is still the best place to build a relationship with your audience.
5 - Become a better writer
If you want to be a better writer, you have to write.
Committing to a weekly newsletter gives you an amazing reason to write everyday.
And writing a newsletter that other people can understand forces you to understand topics on a much deeper level.
You have to understand what you’re talking about before you teach it to others. It’s a version of Dr. Feynman’s learning technique.
You're not just soaking up info, you're deciphering it for others.
Another benefit of consistent writing is better speaking skills. Neil deGrasse Tyson says that all of the stories and analogies he uses in interviews are written down first.
So if you want to command a stadium's worth of people hanging onto your every word like NDT, start writing a newsletter.
Even if my newsletter had 0 subscribers, I wouldn’t stop sending because of all the other benefits.
6 - It is the best format for creator curation
A newsletter’s purpose in life is so creators (YOU) can curate and dispense information in a way that your audience can’t.
Curation is tough on social media.
Sure you can pin posts, but the real value is on the other side of that link in your bio.
Newsletters provide a means to maintain consistent contact with your audience without being overly intrusive, keeping you at the top of their minds.
It’s always more expensive to get new customers than it is to retain an existing one.
Newsletters are a tool for retention. They keep your brand and products fresh in the minds of past customers.
And consistent branding in newsletters reinforces your brand identity. Over time, subscribers recognize and associate the look and feel of the newsletter with your brand.
7 - Segment your audience
Newsletters allow you to segment your audience.
You can then target communication and content with precision, as opposed to a broadcast with social media, or 1-on-1 via DMs.
The content can be as personalized and segmented based as your user behavior needs.
And people in your email list can serve as a feedback loop if you use them that way. They can respond directly to you, providing insights, comments, and suggestions. This is super valuable. And free.
Segmentation makes this super easy.
8 - Build a community
Newsletters can be a great way to build community among your subscribers.
Consistent communication is so powerful and builds loyalty and connection.
Many newsletters offer access to subscriber-only forums or comment sections, all spaces where your audience can connect.
Houck’s Newsletter and You Probably Need a Robot are two examples.
Also, many creators offer newsletter-only content, discounts, or early access to new products, services, or information.
Tim Ferriss does this with products and content like his NFT project, C🚫ckpunch.
Only subscribers to the newsletter get access. This builds exclusivity and a feeling of belonging.
And part of the community is that it builds a deep connection with your readers to you.
Newsletter readers get a peek inside your mind, as you show your personality, and share interesting stories about your life.
This is hard to do with a 30 second reel or a 280 character post.
And if it resonates, your readers can forward it to their contacts super easily, which can increase your reach and potentially grow your subscriber base organically.
With this deeper connection it can be a hugely powerful way to get someone to take an action if that is your goal.
9 - They are online leverage
With automations, your email can work for you while you sleep. Mailbox money.
With automations, you can set, forget, and they will run forever.
Automation can be used to sell products, keep subscribers warm, etc.
Including links and snippets of information can lead readers back to your website, increasing the number of visitors and potential interactions with your content and other products.
10 - Help your audience focus
Newsletters force focus.
When you are reading a long form post on X, it is so easy to just scroll down mid-read for that next dopamine hit.
I’ve found I’m more engaged and read longer when the content is in my email.
Unlike social media where your updates can get lost in a sea of information, newsletters go directly to your subscribers' inboxes, ensuring higher visibility.
They are more intimate, and it’s harder to just scroll to the next piece of content.
11 - Progress is measurable
The big platforms (Beehiiv, ConvertKit, and Substack) have ways to track metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and unsubscribe rates.
These metrics give you the ability to gauge the effectiveness of your content and refine your approach.
Most social platforms don’t have this level of analytical measurement. You have to pay for an expensive subscription platform.
Newsletter platforms have this built in. Even on free tiers.
What gets measured gets better.
12 - They are flexible
You can put every type of content in your newsletter that your little heart desires.
Articles, posts, videos, memes, super cool Pinterest recipes, etc.
And they can go in any order. The only limit is your imagination.
The best time to start a newsletter was 10 years ago. The second best time is right now.
