How To Start A Newsletter - The Ultimate Guide

Why should you start a newsletter?

Starting a newsletter can be a great way to share your ideas and thoughts with a dedicated group of readers. It can also be a powerful tool for building and engaging with a community of like-minded individuals. A newsletter allows you to share regular updates and content with your audience, which can help to foster a stronger connection with them.

Another reason to start a newsletter is that it can be a great marketing tool. By consistently providing valuable and interesting content to your subscribers, you can help to establish yourself as an authority in your field and gain the trust of your readers. This can ultimately lead to more traffic and sales for your business.

Additionally, a newsletter can be a great way to stay top of mind with your audience. With so much information available online, it can be easy for people to forget about your business or website. By sending regular newsletters, you can remind your subscribers of your existence and encourage them to visit your website or social media pages.

What is a newsletter?

Newsletters are a type of email communication that is sent out to a group of subscribers who have signed up to receive regular updates from a particular individual or organization. They typically contain a variety of information such as news, updates, and special offers, and are often focused on a specific topic or area of interest.

To start receiving newsletters, a person typically has to sign up by providing their email address on the website of the individual or organization sending the newsletters. Once they have done this, they will begin to receive regular emails from that sender containing the latest updates and information.

Newsletters can be a great way for individuals and organizations to keep their audience informed and engaged. They can be used to promote new products or services, share important news or updates, and offer special deals and discounts to subscribers. Additionally, newsletters provide a platform for individuals and organizations to share their thoughts, opinions, and expertise on a particular topic with a wide audience.

Overall, newsletters are a valuable tool for staying connected with your audience and keeping them informed about what you have to offer. Whether you are an individual looking to share your thoughts and expertise with the world, or an organization looking to promote your products and services, newsletters can be a powerful way to reach and engage with your audience.

Types Of Newsletter Monetization Strategies

There are many ways to monetize your newsletter. Depending on your niche or audience you may decide on different strategies. Let's dive in.

Free Newsletters

Free newsletters are for sure a passion project. Maybe you are pushing a backend product or simply looking to get a message out to the world. Free newsletters are everywhere and are hard to keep reader investment but make for an easier barrier to entry and possibly even a higher opt-in rate if your offer and message is dialed in.

Paid Newsletters

Paid newsletters are becoming more and more popular on the internet today. Most have a low price per month or per year option and even a higher more premium tier option for the bigger offers.

Ad Supported Newsletters

Ad supported newsletters are a great option. This usually requires larger amounts of traffic. It is not a great or preferred style of monetization for a newer creator or publisher.

Affiliate Promotions

This is one of my favorite strategies and one that I use in almost all my content. This is a great option for those who are just starting out and are trying to figure out their offer or dial in their message.

Combo of all four

This is preferred and a strategy that you can utilize at every stage. As you start, as you grow, and as you scale.

Best tools for starting a newsletter

There are many different tools and software to that you may need to start a newsletter. Below are some of my favorite and easiest to use.

Ghost.org

Ghost.io is one of the best tools and easiest to use on the internet when it comes to starting a newsletter. It has a very simple payment center and amazing SEO capabilities. Ghost has a ton of integrations and gives you the ability to make a flexible site that can fit your needs. I have personally used Ghost for two different newsletters in the last couple years. I would highly recommend this software.

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Beehiiv

Beehiiv is one of the newest players on the block when it comes to newsletter software but they are growing in popularity very quickly. The founders were some of the early employees at The Morning Brew. This great software even gives you the ability to set up a great referral program. If you want some simple features and even get started for free then this is a great options. In fact this website and newsletter is built on Beehiiv. Beehiiv is one of the fastest growing and most responsive newsletter platforms on the market.

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Substack

Substack has been around for some time and is a cheap alternative for starting out. In fact it is free to start which makes it very beginner friendly but if you do want to start making subscription revenue then they do start charging 10% of each subscription. This may not seem like a lot but as you grow and start bringing in more and more subscriptions it can become costly.

Check out Substack

Medium

Medium is another great free option for writing stories and creating content and even newsletters. If you want to make money from your content through subscription or reading time then you do need to join their partner program. There are requirements to be eligible. You can see those here.

Try it out!

Wordpress

Wordpress is the OG of website development and most the websites on the internet are made and created on Wordpress. Wordpress has incredible SEO capabilities and is very flexible. It use to be that 80% of the internet was built on Wordpress but now a days that number is decreasing rapidly. Yes it is still one of the most versatile tools on the internet but it can be very confusing and not user friendly for someone who is not tech savvy or does not want to take the time to learn how it works. If your goal is simply to create a newsletter then maybe there are easier tools for you out there.

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In Conclusion

In short, starting a newsletter can be a great way to connect with your audience, establish yourself as an authority, and drive traffic and sales for your business. It can also be a fun and rewarding way to share your thoughts and ideas with a dedicated group of readers.