Five free ways to grow your newsletter
Free ways to increase your newsletter subscribers
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1. Cross-promotion
The most likely person to subscribe to your newsletter is someone who already subscribes to similar writers. Work with those writers!
Simplicity
Cross-promotion is a simple concept - you suggest another newsletter to your subscribers, and they suggest you to theirs. Both of you grow. We offer a range of tools to help you find partners, and an exciting way to automate the process.
2. Guest posting
Much more work than cross-promoting, but a bigger reach if you get things right. The key is to guest post for much bigger newsletters in your niche.
Fair warning
Guest posting is hard! Large and reputable publications are very selective about who they accept as guest writers. You'll require a matured writing style, and you'll probably have to adapt it to their stylistic preferences.
Don't be deterred though. If you've written enough to know you're good, then getting an article into a large newsletter can explode your reach.
3. Going viral!
The Holy Grail of online writing is making your readers want to share it. If you can craft an article so good that your subscribers tell their friends about it, you've hit growth rocket-fuel.
Get ready
Blunt truth - very few articles go viral. But when it happens, you need to be ready. For every person who agrees with your take, there will be another who doesn't... along with one who ridicules, one who argues, one who wilfully twists your words. That's the nature of virality, and you need to be tough.
Ask for it
Be subtle about this. A little note at the end of your writing, like "If you loved this article, please share it", is the way to go. Readers will be put off by anything too overt, and inbox filters are very aggressive. Ask for anything - even some sharing - too loudly, and you might trip them.
4. Leverage your socials
If you have a significant social following, this is a no-brainer. If you don't, we have some awkward news...
The books are (mostly) closed
Social media isn't a new thing anymore. Established creators dominate on all platforms, and quickly colonize new ones (like Threads and Bluesky). And they leave very little room for new creators to build a presence.
But, if you want to chance your luck, it isn't impossible. The first thing you'll need is distinctive and scroll-stopping content. Then you'll need to get it in front of those established guys. If you can offer them something that keeps their content fresh - collabs, interviews, and so on - then they might help you grow.
Be prepared for a ton of sweat equity. Social platforms are the hardest growth option.
5. Set up referral programs
Okay, this one isn't entirely free, but it can be very cheap. A referral program means giving subscribers some reward for referring new readers.
What to offer?
Something like three months of your paid subscriber content, or an in-depth analysis of your industry (that you don't share publicly!), are go to choices. If you host in-person events, free tickets can also work well, and physical merchandise is an interesting, but pricey, option.
You'll need some way of organizing it all, and the better newsletter platforms include some inbuilt functionality for referral programs. You can also leverage third-party referral tools like Sparkloop.
