⚡ #96: How I grew this newsletter to $10k—with a full-time job
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You’re a creator.
You’re passionate and hardworking, but maybe you’re not seeing the revenue you want.
You’re not alone: Over 65% of content creators make less than $10K a year.
Are you ready to see revenue breakthrough this year?
So many creators like Sahil Bloom, Aquila Farrell, and Matt Ragland are finding long-term success by monetizing their content with digital products and pairing that with ConvertKit for lead generation, email automation, and selling those digital products.
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This is GC⚡ #96 — your secret weapon for newsletter monetization ⚔️
A special welcome to the 53 newest readers of the Growth Currency⚡ newsletter!
Thank you for giving me space in your inbox. 🙏
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Before we get into, I'd LOVE to hear about your experience with this newsletter.
Feedback is the only way to improve—and I want to make this experience *the best* for YOU.
How would you rate Growth Currency?
⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡ Electrifying!
⚡⚡⚡ A decent jolt.
⚡ Just static...
Thank you in advance 🙏
[GC Editorial]
How I built a $10K newsletter without quitting my day job
I have a full-time job. And I’m on track to earn over $10k in 2022 with this very newsletter you're reading.
I’ve been operating the Growth Currency⚡ newsletter “on the side” since January 2021. Counting ads, affiliates, and consulting, I just cracked the $2,000 revenue mark for the entirety of 2021.
Then things started heating up in 2022. Why?
- Niched down in March to focus explicitly on helping creators & solopreneurs grow, improve, and monetize their newsletters.
- Established key relationships with other creators & newsletter publishers through Twitter and various online communities.
- Raised my newsletter ad rates as my premium ad spots kept filling up every week.
- Applied for and was accepted to join the ConvertKit Sponsor Network — taking the onus of sourcing, booking, and reporting on newsletter ads off my plate. (More on that here and in this article.)
Doing all that (and more) has led me here:
Before we jump into the nitty gritty…
I want to introduce the 4 main buckets I consider when creating a newsletter:
- Organization
- Creation
- Promotion
- Monetization
This article will cover what I do in each.
[GC Curated: Start + Grow + Improve + Monetize your newsletter]
Your Growth Currency ⚡ This Week
"Knowledge is the currency of growth."
START YOUR NEWSLETTER
⚡ There is no bar by Chris Coyier
My Take: Take 60 seconds and read this short-but-poignant post about starting—then get started. Shoutout to Mike Bifulco for the share in his Tiny Improvements newsletter.
GROW YOUR NEWSLETTER
⚡The Do’s and Dont’s for Growing your Email List: 11 Must-Know Rules by the Paved Team
My Take: I appreciate these do's and dont's. It's hard to find helpful-yet-concise newsletter growth advice. Paved has some great tips here.
IMPROVE YOUR NEWSLETTER
⚡ 39 Punchy Lessons On Writing Newsletters People Love by Jonah Malin (via Medium)
My Take: Jonah covers everything from Headlines to Consistency in this "punchy" piece. My two favorite lessons:
- Make subscribing ridiculously easy. Never bury the form on a landing page. Don’t overwhelm with text and visuals. Hold their hand and guide them to your intended action.
- There’s a special place in hell reserved for people who unsubscribe from my email list (is what I used to think). Truth is, a small, engaged, well-defined group is more valuable to you. Let the unsubscribers go.
(Sign-up for a Medium account to enjoy unlimited reading for only $5/month)
MONETIZE YOUR NEWSLETTER
⚡ Build A Crypto Newsletter That Makes $30k/mo by Patt Walls & Dillon Newman
My Take: Dillon shares how he grew through purchasing other crypto newsletters, used ads to acquire subscribers, and the cold pitches he sends to get advertisers. High signal here.
(Newsletter #Affiliate Of The Week)
The GC NOTW 🤘
⚡Send & Grow Newsletter by SparkLoop
Become the smartest newsletter operator in the room.
I joined SparkLoop's Partner Program a month back and couldn't wait to feature their Send & Grow Newsletter here. It's a must-read for anyone running a newsletter business. Get a five-minute briefing relied on by thousands of publishers to grow their newsletter audience and revenue, written by Louis Nicholls, co-found of SparkLoop.
Thanks for making it to the end—I try and save some personal ramblings for this space.
We're about to get our first snowfall of the season here in the western corner of Canada.
It's a reminder another year is around the corner.
And I haven't set any goals.
Not one.
I've tried setting goals in the past. But as soon as I set them, they become 'have-to-dos' instead of 'want-to-dos'.
Setting goals is a fool-proof way to figure out what I truly want—or don't.
I set zero goals for 2022—and serendipitously had the best year to date from an income perspective.
I'm really interested to see how a goalless 2023 will shake out.
Am I crazy?
Do you set goals??
How would you rate this edition?
⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡ Electrifying!
⚡⚡⚡ A decent jolt.
⚡ Just static...
Hit reply and let me know why — I answer every one :) Or DM me on Twitter!
And in case you missed it, here are last week's TWO most popular links:
#1: 4 simple ways to retain subscribers by Growth Currency⚡
#2: The CreatorBoost templates by Rob Lennon
Looking for 1-on-1 help with your newsletter?
→ Book a Newsletter Consult with me: 30 Mins
Other resources to help you:
→ The 1KS Roadmap: A Free Course To Your First 1,000 Subscribers
→ The Ultimate Creator Database of Awesomeness
→ Advertise in this newsletter
Peace and platonic love,
Dylan