How to Start a Successful Newsletter: Tips for Maximizing Ad Revenue and Growing Your Subscriber Base
When you're planning to start your own newsletter to share your professional insights and escape the daily grind, I've got some practical tips to help you achieve this goal more efficiently, cost-effectively, and with less stress.
Newsletter Ad Marketplaces
Using platforms like Passionfroot and Paved, you can access detailed information on over 100 newsletters. These platforms provide data such as list size, open rate, click-through rate (CTR), ad click-through rate (ad CTR), audience demographics, and ad/sponsorship rates. Choose a newsletter that interests you and analyze their ad revenue. Look at the average price per ad, sending frequency, ad inventory sell-through rate, and the number of ad placements per newsletter. Use the following formula to estimate their monthly ad revenue:
Monthly Sends × Ad Inventory Sell-through Rate × Price of Ad Inventory
For example, 20 sends x 80% sell-through rate x $3500 = $56,000 in monthly ad revenue.
Finding Their "Advertise/Sponsor" Page or Media Kit
If the newsletter you're targeting doesn't use any sponsorship platforms or marketplaces, visit their website and look for an "Advertise/Sponsor" or booking page. If you can't find this information, fill out their sponsorship form or contact their sales team for details. This way, you can access their ad packages, ad placements, price per ad, list size, open rate, CTR, and ad clicks. Then, use the same formula to estimate their ad revenue. For example, The AI Tool Report has 500,000 subscribers, sends newsletters five times a week, and has three ad placements per send. With an ad inventory of $8500 per send and a sell-through rate of 70%, their estimated monthly ad revenue is $119,000.
Understanding How They Grow Their Subscriber List
Install the Similar Web browser extension and choose a newsletter you want to monitor. Check their traffic channels, top keywords, referral traffic, social media traffic, and more. When analyzing these data points, note that direct traffic is usually the main channel for newsletters, as traffic from email to a website is direct. The second channel is their primary marketing channel. If it's social media, they may be growing organically through their followers or using social ads. If it's referral traffic, they might be using affiliate marketing or content syndication.
Facebook Ad Library and Founder Interviews
If a page has 10 or more active ads, it's likely that Facebook ads are a significant growth channel for them. If an ad has 500+ likes or 100,000+ views, it's performing well. Lastly, find the founder's interviews on Google and podcast platforms. Listen, read, and learn from their experiences. If you want to take it further, reach out to the founder directly. People are often more willing to share their marketing knowledge than you might think.
Now that you have all this intelligence, are you ready to make your mark in the newsletter world? Good luck, future newsletter mogul!
