If you have tried to build a newsletter before, you know it can be a real grind.
You spend countless hours:
- setting up opt-in forms
- creating lead magnets
- and creating content
…only to see your subscriber count inch up at a snail’s pace.
I used to struggle to get email subscribers. I posted on Facebook. I started a YouTube channel. I wrote for SEO. I spent over $5,621 on ads.
If I was lucky, I’d get a handful of subscribers per day and my motivation slowly faded away because I felt like I was wasting my time and energy.
So, instead of just posting content, I decided to test 3 strategies.
As a result, I added 2,080 subscribers to my newsletter in just 93 days:
Let’s see what I did (so that you can model it.)
(Ethically) steal your competitor’s email subscribers
Sponsorships are a great way to gain lots of new subscribers without creating new content.
Sponsorships mean paying other creators who already have a list to feature your list in theirs. It’s a strategic way to tap into an already engaged audience.
Here’s how they work:
- Identify newsletters with audiences that match your ideal subscribers.
- Reach out to the creator who runs the newsletter and ask if they’d feature your newsletter in exchange for a fee.
- Once you agree on a fee and a date, simply send over the text and the link… and watch your list grow.
There are many ways to find newsletters.
One of them is to scroll through platforms (like Medium or X) — and find creators who already have email lists. The easiest way to get started is simply to follow a few people and then let the algorithm suggest new creators to you. Then, I jump on the list and try to be useful, like finding a bug or a broken link.
3 hours later, the creator replied.
When I don’t find broken links, I simply send a compliment and a useful question. This allows me to start a conversation and see if they are open for sponsorships.
Please, don’t take this too seriously. You’ll discover that the internet is like real life: Some creators will ignore you. Some will ask too much. Some will tell you that you’re not a good fit. Some will be a-holes. But some will be great people to work with.
Once you find a few newsletters, this works like gangbusters because you’re leveraging the trust and relationship the newsletter owner has built with their readers.
When I started sponsoring newsletters, I reached out to 2 friends: Alex Llull and Jamie Northrup — Minimalist Hustler.
I found Alex while browsing on X (Twitter), and dug his visuals. So I reached out and asked him if he’d be down to come on my podcast:
He agreed. And we haven’t stopped collaborating since then.
I found Jamie while browsing on Medium. I loved his philosophy about minimalist hustling, so I signed up for his list and saw he runs sponsorships. Boom. Instant deal.
The best thing is that I’ve been running these sponsorships for several months… so it keeps adding new subscribers regularly without much extra work.
For more info about how to grow your list with sponsorships, you can check out my free course.
Get noticed by gurus
When I look at the subscriber growth on my email tool, I see two spikes:
One of the best ways to get more quality subscribers is to get featured by another creator with a large audience.
Problem: Most large creators don’t give a damn about you. So you have to find smart ways to get their attention.
There are many ways to do this, but one of the simplest ways is this: keep writing relevant content. I know, it doesn’t sound like a growth hack, but hear me out.
Back in October 2023, one of my blog articles performed well and gathered almost 3,000 views.
It popped up on the newsfeed of a big creator. He signed up for my list, read my emails, and then told me this:
His newsletter blast added 542 new subscribers to my list almost overnight. 42 of them became clients:
But what was my secret to getting noticed? Sorry, but there was no secret. I simply put in the reps and wrote a damn lot of content to ultimately get noticed.
Give away stuff for free
Giveaways and online summits are great ways to grow your list.
They involve multiple creators offering valuable content in exchange for email sign-ups, creating a win-win situation for everyone participating.
Each participant promotes the giveaway to their audience. It’s a collaborative effort that amplifies your visibility and credibility.
Each participant promotes the giveaway to their audience. It’s a collaborative effort that amplifies your visibility and credibility.
The giveaway I participated in is called the “Feast of Education” and is held once a year. This giveaway had prestigious contributors like Bob Bly (the famous copywriter who wrote over 100 books with over 40+ years in copywritng) and Terry Dean (one of the founding fathers of internet marketing):
My contribution was a free course about writing blog posts with AI that sound like you.
I genuinely played the game and promoted this giveaway to my list several times during the launch period. I even made it to the top leaderboard in the first days.
By the end of the giveaway, I had added 462 new subscribers to my email list. 31 of them became clients.
Not bad.
Now comes the real question: How do you find these opportunities?
In my case, one of my mentors introduced me to James Lam, who runs the giveaway. We scheduled a call three months before the giveaway, and since I was introduced by someone James knew, it was easy for him to say ‘yes’.
That’s why networking with other creators in your niche is important. It opens up new opportunities that are hidden from the public’s eye.
The easiest way to get started networking is by simply engaging with creators as I did with Jamie & Alex. The bonus tip goes for picking creators who are more or less at the same level as you and avoid getting ghosted by big creators who use VAs as their gatekeepers.
If you have a few hundred dollars you could join communities or cohorts within your niche. That’s how to connect with bigger creators and like-minded people. Give more than you take. People will start noticing you.
Finally, if you have a few thousand dollars go find a mentor or a coach. I’ve spent tens of thousands of dollars on personal education. Hiring a coach/mentor has been the best investment with the biggest ROI. A good mentor can give you immediate shortcuts and secret insights about how to grow faster in your industry — and that’s exactly what you need to grow quickly.
Want to grow your email list? Get my free course here