​[Read the browser version right here]​

For the OG subscribers to this newsletter. You might remember...

The first 100+ editions of Growth Currency⚡ featured a lot of curation.

I'd share all the links to tools, articles, posts, podcasts, videos—you name it. And It was one of the most popular parts of this newsletter.

Then I killed it. For no real good reason.

Well... I'm bringing it back. 👇

Let's go!

Newsletter Hits
Of The Week

​

⚡ Stop Selling Ads. Book *Paid Partnerships* instead.
​Lex did and went from a $35 ad placement to $1,950 partnership.

​

⚡ 17 Tactics to Engage New Paid Subscribers, Members, Donors, or Customers.
​(These are super useful tips to keep all subscribers engaged, not just paid)

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⚡ Could these be the two most important factors to hold your readers' attention?
​Academy Award winner Aaron Sorkin worships at their alter. Nathan Baugh shares why.

​

⚡ 8-email Welcome Sequence you can steal from expert Jeff Felten.
​Let this sequence run on autopilot so you can "do or of whatever the heck you want."

​

⚡ The #1 tool* I'm using to scale my LinkedIn Growth. ​
The GIR Pro community is running a 30-day LinkedIn Growth Challenge.

I've gained 150 followers this month putting me firmly in 2nd place (wanna help me get 1st? I'll give you a virtual fist bump 🤜🤛).

More importantly, I've posted every day in January—and 33 days in a row. "Be consistent" is a tired clichée, but it's true. See the graph below and how infrequently I was posting prior to the challenge.

This competition wraps up soon, and I'll share everything I learned and the final results.

But I owe a lot of my success to AuthoredUp*.

This tool is making the challenge more fun with detailed stats & streaks (like the streak chart below) —AND— way easier to plan, review, and post than using native LinkedIn features. Highly recommend.

Here's an (almost) live view of the GIR Pro LinkedIn Challenge Leaderboard:

There's still time to join GIR Pro before we dive into next month's challenge. And we're talking all things Newsletter Sponsorhips & Ad Revenue in February. Kind of important stuff for a successful newsletter business. We'd love to have you.

​Join the GIR Pro Community >>​

Scaling to 150k subscribers

The Secrets To More Paid Subscribers — with Aakash Gupta

"The creators growing fastest on LinkedIn were..." ​
​
Aakash Gupta has...

→ 236k LinkedIn followers.
→ 153,000+ newsletter subscribers
→ 1,000+ paid subscribers

But his journey there wasn't linear. It took a lot of trial and error.

And one big unlock was when he learned what the fastest-growing creators on LinkedIn were doing—or, in this case, what they were posting.

We chatted with Aakash to find out what that was, how he's been growing his newsletter, and a lot more:

• What Twitch taught him about newsletter growth
• How he's "optimizing for the internal share" and why he's doubling down on the strategy
• Growth experiments: How sending more content affects paid subscriber growth
• The trade-offs & unexpected benefits of launching a podcast while managing a newsletter
• Mastering SEO basics: How Aakash ensures his content stays discoverable (and what role backlinks play)
• How Aakash converts free subscribers to paid (including a 10x ROI guarantee—or your money back)
• What Aakash has planned for growth and product in 2025.
• ...and more!

​Watch now →​

​

You can listen here:

→ Apple Podcasts​
→ Spotify​
→ More...​

Newsletter Events

​The Newsletter Marketing Summit - Feb. 27-28 - Austin, TX
​Hosted by Matt McGarry

​Sponsor Games - Mar. 16-19 - San Antonio, TX
​Hosted by Justin Moore

​The Newsletter Conference - May 02 - New York City
​Hosted by Who Sponsors Stuff

​Craft & Commerce - Jun. 11-14 - Boise, ID
​Hosted by Kit

(Got a newsletter- or creator-related event coming up? Let me know!)

The Funnies 😆

I was born in the 80s.

So I remember a time back when newspapers had comic sections.

Our local newspaper had the Sunday Funnies comic section. I looked forward to it every week. I loved the Calvin & Hobbes strip, Garfield, Far Side.

So good. Simple & pure entertainment.

I want to bring a little more entertainment to your inbox. So I'm sharing some gems I find each week (they most likely *won't* be newsletter-related. And that's okay.)

Other ways I can help you:

→ The 1KS Roadmap: A Free Course To Your First 1,000 Subscribers​
→ Increase opt-ins like a best-selling author (FREE templates)​​
​→ Start a newsletter for FREE with Kit (free up to 10k subscribers)​*
→ Book a 1:1 newsletter strategy sesh: 30 mins || 60 mins

Peace and platonic love,

Dylan

​LinkedIn | Twitter | Bluesky | Threads

* indicates affiliate links. I get paid a small commission if you use these links to purchase a product or service.

P.S. I’m opening up a limited number of ad spots in this newsletter for the first time in over a year. ​
​
If you’d like to promote your brand, product, or service to my small but mighty email list of ~3,700 newsletter creators, email marketers, and solopreneurs this could be ideal for you.
​
​Sponsoring my newsletter could help you…​
​
• Grow your list faster by sending clicks to your lead magnet or newsletter opt-in page.
• Surface clients and boost engagement by sending clicks to one of your social posts.
• Validate demand for a low-ticket digital product, SaaS, or other product by sending clicks directly to your product page.
• Borrow some of the trust I’ve earned over the years with my audience, and channel that warmth towards your brand.
​
I’m capping this at 3 sponsors between now and the end of Q1.

I’ll write the ad copy for you to ensure it’ll resonate with my audience.
​
​Interested?​
​
​Reply with a sentence or two about what you'd like to get in front of my readers and a link to it. If it’s a fit, and the spots aren’t already claimed, I’ll respond with some email stats and pricing.​
​
Either way, expect a response from me within the next few days. Thanks!

​.​