⚡ The Case For Plain Text Emails
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[Read the browser version right here] *The prolific use of em dashes is mine and NOT the work of ChatGPT (or any LLM). Tbh no AI was used in the making of this newsletter.
How are you? How's the newsletter life treating you lately? Stalling or sprawling? I hope more of the latter, less the former. Anyway. Here's what's on my mind. I think it's important. But you tell me, Reader. I've been thinking a lot about pattern interrupts. My friend Bill "Doc" Kerr writes Open Source CEO. I had the pleasure of interviewing him while hosting the SparkLoop podcast. Bill is obsessed with pattern interrupts. His main goal is to stop the scroll and hook attention. A newsletter is no different. Take the inbox for example. But guess what. So are all the others. Your newsletter is just an email amidst a sea of other unreads. So pattern interruption in an inbox is huge. And there are 3 ways to stand out in the inbox: 1) "From" name So nailing these things matters. A lot. I'm sure there have been entire PhD thesis's (theses? thesises?) written about subject lines and inbox strategies. That's not what I'm doing with this email. I'm doing something different. Something *in* this email itself—not the inbox. And I'm feeling a little naked, so bare (hah) with me. Oh and this isn't my fault btw. It's Juliet's. (Blame her if you aren't feeling this. Her email address is in the PS.) Here's why this is her fault: As I was scrolling LinkedIn the other day just begging for a post to interrupt my scrolling. Then I saw this post from Juliet Lyall (you should follow her fyi). And her words in that post inspired this edition of the Growth Currency newsletter. If you scroll down (do it now and come back) you'll see there are no formal headings. No images (except in the header and sign-off). No random emojis or highlighted sections. It's a plain text letter to you. It's something different. And I'm running it through my fingers to see how it feels. Like a toddler sitting on a beach experiencing sand in his palms for the first time. Maybe with a little less drooling. But with just as much wonder. "I wonder if this is a good experience?" The thing with a plain-text email like this is your words matter. They matter so much more. Right? No flashy images of funny memes to entertain or break up the blocks of text. Every line needs to keep you reading, because... The minute I lose you, you're out. SO. Here we are. (Did I lose you, or...) I'll admit it: I'm a bit rusty. But I wanted to run this through my fingers and see if I can build a sand castle or if the waves of unsubscribes are going to bring this whole thing crashing down. (Also... I'm quickly realizing it's hard to segue into another section of my newsletter without headings and dividers and all that jazz, so consider this exactly that. And... break!) Quick question for you. Have you been following the 30 Days of Growth series from Chenell Basilio? There've been some pretty epic growth + optimization stories. Stories about doubling newsletter revenue, 5x'ing landing page opt-ins, and reducing subscriber churn by 57%. So much good stuff. Chenell first ran 30 Days of Growth a year ago. I think she's outdone herself with this year's edition. Oh—and did I mention this is a FREE series? Sign up so you don't miss the last dozen or so. It all ends May 23rd. Get on the list here. (Last time, Chenell put 30 Days of Growth behind a paywall once it was over... not saying she will again, but... just sayin...) Also, if you haven't checked out any of my free guides yet, you can here: → How to build a False Double Opt-In to rescue unconfirmed sub Okay enough of that. Let's move on to the part where I share newsletter-related links I found on the internet this past week or so. I call it Newsletter Hits of the Week. If this email had headings, that's what the heading would be. Just so we're clear. Lets dive in. This tool gives you even more Substack stats than Substack. It was built by one of the first Substack newsletters I subscribed to way back in 2021. The creator is Rishikesh Sreehari and his 10+1 Things newsletter is really, really good. Highly recommend. The mathematical case why most creators fail (and how to avoid it). Big shout out to Greg Roche from the Growth In Reverse Pro community for sharing this one during this week's Substack Braintrust. I'd never heard of Price's Law, and it is wild. "I put my entire LinkedIn content strategy into a Google Doc." This is a LinkedIn post from Brandon Smithwrick who writes Content To Commas. He's been crushing it on LinkedIn lately and this free strategy guide is really good. (He's also featured in 30 Days of Growth!) 7 Reasons Your Paid Subscription Isn't Working (and yes, one of the reasons is "because Substack"). My friend Lex Roman is a paid subscription expert. She's also very anti-Substack. So while this post might be a bit biased , she shares some great insights around why paid newsletters might be struggling. And just for fun... this website is built to resemble and operate like an email inbox. Tip of the cap to Jeff Felten and his partner Kyler Nixon for building this out. I am madly in love with novel ideas for mundane, ordinary, everyday things. This website is exactly that. Now before I sign off, I wanted to let you know there are a few ways you can hang out with me, Chenell, and other newsletter creators. The best place to do that is in our Growth In Reverse Pro Community. If you're looking for a smaller-but-impactful investment in your newsletter, you can book a consulting call with me. Just reply to this email and we can set it up. Oh and I send this email with Kit. I love Kit. I've been using it for 5 years and I'm a proud paying user and affiliate. Can't say enough good things about the product and the people behind it. Lastly, honesty time: was this edition a bit much? Should I revert back to the past format? Blend em? I'd love to hear from you. I reply to everyone. Unless you're mean. Don't be mean. See you in the inbox, Dylan LinkedIn | PS - LOL gothca. no of course I'm not going to share Juliet's email address but now that I've got you here, give her a follow on LinkedIn. She's got a ton of great newsletter advice. * indicates affiliate links. I get paid a small commission if you use these links to purchase a product or service. . |