This is Inbox Hacking, a free newsletter with Email Marketing insights, tools, & tactics sent twice per week. Join marketers from the NBA, Stanford University, & BASF, and sign up for a Free subscription. Ahead today: growing your newsletterâs reach & revenue (via Trends Report).
Welcome, new Inbox Hackers. Old ones⌠weâre getting better, not older, trust me.
Whatâs up in todayâs feature? I give you quick bullet points on growing your newsletterâs reach and revenue. These come from a 243-page Trends Report which ate up my Friday eveningâ youâre welcome, and letâs get into it.
Just Starting a Newsletter?
Congrats and good news:
- You donât need 10,000 or 100,000 subscribers for a profitable newsletter.
Questions to guide your humble beginnings:
- What content is missing from your niche/industry?
- Or, what kind of voice would better relay content already available?
Crucial to your newsletter growth: sign-up page/forms:
đFull Trends report here if needed.
Basics of Getting Your Newsletter Opened
- Ensure readers recognize your âfrom addressâ (email address you send from)
- Create a welcome email that reminds them why they signed up / sets expectations
- Subject line must prompt opens (tips: write to one person, start a story the newsletter content finishes)
Trends Tips: Inside Your Newsletter Content
- Break up text with images (*contrarian thoughts below)
- Mark images with your company name in case they get shared/forwarded
- Purposely ugly but impactful charts stand out (removes need for graphic designer)
*Some emailers use zero images in their emails. ZERO. On purpose (no distractions).
How to do Intros (newsletter examples)
Typing the intro is a struggle for new newsletter writers. So here are 3 options below:
*I intro Inbox Hacking with a greeting, mention of a holiday if itâs close, and what our feature story is about. We also note in the top gray box what this newsletter is and how to sign up for those who were forwarded our newsletter.
Newsletter Growth Cautions
- Helpful links inform readers but sending them to addictive links (TikTok) means they may not finish reading your newsletter.
- Call-to-Action buttons should state clear benefit of clicking (i.e. Get free website review).
- Donât ask readers to share the full newsletter only, make it easy to share individual sections/stories.
- Turn-key platforms (Substack) are good for fast launches but may fall short with tools after newsletter growth.
- Feedback: Readers need a reason to reply to your emails (i.e. youâll use their replies in future content).
- Donât choose a broke audience for your newsletter (14-yr-old Twitchers donât work, 34-yr-old Twitchers either).
Paid Newsletter Subscriptions?
- Paid subscriptions have workarounds (hackers etc.)
- Even paid newsletter creators ask subscribers to share the content (*occasionally!)
- Group subscriptions can prompt more paid subscriptions (i.e. all members of a non-profitâs board receive your charity statistics newsletter)
Last 5 Newsletter Growth Insights (& bad advice)
- Stand out in small ways (Prof. G uses on-brand social links & graphs)
- Have a main metric to focus on, donât chase ten different metrics
- Subscriber shout-outs help build community among readers
- Referral programs work but expect only about 5% of readers to refer others to your newsletter (full report shows deeper dive into referral stats)
- Incentivize big names to mention your newsletter (ex. give bonus content to high-profile high school football coaches if you cover athlete nutrition)
âOne tip in the Trends Report says not to worry about deliverability or email authentication early on. Wrong, worry about these things from day one.
Newsletter Growth Summary
The Hustle wasnât built in a day. 1440 either.
And itâs unlikely most newsletters will generate 7-figures. Not every newsletter business can be on top (nasty law of averages says so).
But little insights and tweaks will grow a newsletter over time. Nothing wrong with a 6-figure newsletter. Or a 5-figure newsletter.
What has helped grow your newsletter the most in 2023? Weâll use it in an upcoming edition of Inbox Hacking.
Below⌠Apple privacy update, health cheats, & Todayâs Hack has been proven to double sales.
Hell, I Get It
- Youâre behind at work
- Boss is breathing down your neck
- Youâre behind on home chores
Behind on your taxes for all I know!
I get why youâd put off a demo of Inbox Mailers. You. Are. Busy.
So Iâll make you a deal.
Make time to demo Inbox Mailers. If youâre not impressed by the demo, you can call me up and cuss me out for as long as you like (and have time for) 706-224-4241.
I believe youâll be impressed though:
- Open rates of 50% on up to 70%
- Higher click volume
- Reviving inactive subscribers
- Improving your sender score & deliverability
Make time and schedule an Inbox Mailers demo. Itâs a free one-on-one demo and if it doesnât impress you, please call/text me personally to unleash 100% of your rage (even about stuff thatâs not my fault – your boss, homelife, whatever) 706-224-4241.
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Knowledge Base
đŞKnowledge is power, but first, donât fret, itâs a honey badger.
SeedProd & 10 more free website builders
đCan email & social media marketing play nice?
How to write welcome emails (pro tip: good onesđ)
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Inbound marketingâ changed by AI?
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Self Help
Like living?
âWalking a minimum of 4,000 steps a day significantly reduces your risk of an early death, while taking 2,337 steps a day will reduce your risk of death specifically from cardiovascular disease.â ~Dr. Maciej Banach
Significantly means a whole bunch.
And 4,000 steps isnât a whole bunch, considering it extends our ride on this breathable rock with free bird songs and cool sunsets.
Plus, you can cheat:
- Wander around your home while texting
- Drink tons of water, youâll walk to the bathroom more
- Park far from the grocery store
* Inbox Hackers Shout-out:
đ˘Alice at The Conversation (news)
đ˘Candy at DataPath (healthcare)
Facts and Stats
- Global inbox placement rates currently 86%, Apple is only 68% (YTD) & 51% (MTD) ~Validity
- Cloaking sales emails as transactional messages can cost companiesâ Experian fined $650k by FTC (Email Insider)
- Holiday risk: Unclear return policies will put 21% of online orders at risk (Salesforce)
Bonus: Email volume spiked by how much from 2022 to 2023? 4.3% (Snov)
Iâll keep it short because,
My head hurts from writing life-changing copy this morning.
Prolly saved a wayward emailer or two in Portland.
My brain doesnât have any brilliant copy left to give. So just demo Inbox Mailers. It works.
Users are consistently seeing:
- Open rates of 50% – 70%
- Higher overall click volume
- Inactive email lists rising from the dead
Schedule a free demo of Inbox Mailers, Iâve got deranged Portlanders to save.
*sponsoredâ thanks for supporting.
Get Hacking
Using 3D images yet? They can double sales and reduce returns by 40%. Compare 3D vs. flat below:
Todayâs Hackâ use 3D in emails to make your digital products more tangible to shoppers. And⌠test 3D options on physical product imagery. 3D CTA buttons too.
More details:
Alt hack for new newsletter writers: Decide not to be invisible anymore.
âDonât be afraid of your material or your past. Be afraid of wasting any more time obsessing about how you look and how people see you.â ~Anne Lamott
Please forward Inbox Hacking to your fellow email marketing peeps. It may will be the best thing that ever happens to themđ.
đPlease take survey. Not mandatory⌠or is it?
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