The Easiest Way to Start (and Grow) a Newsletter

Heyo!

Welcome back to another edition of the Digital Brand Builders newsletter, a newsletter teaching you one actionable lesson you can use each week to build and grow your own brand online.

I want to teach from my own experience, so I’ll be sharing everything I’ve learned about starting and growing my personal brand and online business over the past several months.

And by the end of every edition, I’ll leave you with a few action steps you can take to get one step closer to building your own digital brand this upcoming week.

Sound like a plan?

Alrighty, let’s dive right into this one!

Here’s what we’ll be covering this week:

The easiest way to start and grow a newsletter.

This Week’s Blueprint 🗺

An email list is the most valuable asset you own as a brand or creator.

Why?

• You own your list

• You can use it to sell products or services

• You can build deeper relationships with your reader

Just to name a few.

So yeah… it’s pretty important.

Realistically, I could just tell you to follow Jay Yang and binge-read his own newsletter to learn everything you need to know about starting an email list.

And while I still wholeheartedly recommend you do that, below I’ll be sharing six steps you can take today to start building your own email list so you can take advantage of the digital economy.

Here we go:

1• Choose a Category

When it comes to your email list, there are three categories I recommend you choose from:

• Health

• Wealth

• Relationships

Why these three?

Because almost every single problem your readers experience will fall under one of these three categories.

So pick the one you either have the most experience with or believe you can solve the most problems within.

In my case, this newsletter is about building your own online brand to create more opportunities for yourself.

So it falls under wealth/relationships.

Makes sense, right?

2• Pick Problems to Solve

We all face problems in our lives that we want solved. And your reader is no different.

Think about the main problems you can help your reader solve in your newsletter.

This is important because it will be the foundation of your content and what you talk about in each issue.

For example, there are a ton of things that go into building a digital brand:

• Getting attention

• Building a network

• Social media growth

• Growing your email list

In my case, each edition of this newsletter focuses on one of these topics that I help you solve.

This week, we’re obviously covering how to start your email list.

3 • Decide on a Format

My favorite newsletters (and often the most popular) all follow a specific format.

Sure, some are long form, written straight from the dome. And there are a few of these that I read each week.

But I find it more fun (for both the reader and the writer) if each newsletter follows the same structure every time.

This newsletter has:

• A quick intro

• One actionable deep dive

• Weekly action steps

• An inspiring quote

• Some helpful resources

This way, the reader (that’s you!) knows exactly what to expect every week, and it’s easy for anyone to follow along with.

I would also recommend a similar structure because it’s a combination of your own content and curating others’ content.

It truly is the best of both worlds!

4• Pick an Email Software Provider

Look, there are so many options out there that it might feel daunting or overwhelming at first.

But think about what your goal is for your email list…

Then go from there.

My recommendations?

Either MailerLite or Beehiiv (I use both).

Both platforms are excellent and have powerful features I can use to grow my email list on autopilot.

Don’t spend forever on this step.

Spend a few minutes weighing your options and then pick one.

Just remember… the email provider isn’t as important as the person writing the emails ;)

5 • Create a Lead Magnet

We covered this the other week (you can read about it here).

Truth is, most of the time people won’t join your email list without having a reason to do so.

You have to give them a reason to give you their email. You have to give them a reason to listen to what you have to say.

Which is why I recommend creating some sort of lead magnet that incentivizes people to join.

Again, I won’t get too into this here. You can read more how (and why) to create a lead magnet here.

6 • Promote Your Email List

By this point, you’ve started your email list. Well done!

But if you actually want to grow your email list, you need to be shamelessly promoting it.

How exactly can you do that?

Add a link to all your socials. Promote your lead magnet wherever you can. Use Auto DM’s to grow your list on auto-pilot. Tell everybody and their mothers about how great your newsletter is and why they should join (okay, this one might be a bit over the top).

• Reddit

• Twitter

• LinkedIn

• Instagram

• Facebook

These are all great platforms to promote your email list and gain some initial momentum.

You know what they say, right?

You can have the best newsletter in the world. But it won’t mean a thing if nobody knows it exists.

So get out there and start promoting it to the world!

This Week’s Action Steps 🐾

So there you have it… 6 steps you can take to start your own email list and build your initial base of readers!

If you still don’t have your own email list set up, here are your action steps for this week:

1. Choose a category and format

2. Write down a list of problems you can solve

3. Sign up for an email service provider

4. Build your lead magnet

5. Start promoting your email list everywhere!

Let me know if you have any questions or if there’s any way I can help :)

Your buddy,

Connor “the money’s made in the email” Flynn

This Week’s Top Quote 🗯

This Week’s Top Hits 🤙🏼

• Thread: $12,000 Worth of Storytelling Degree in 4 Minutes

• Podcast: Hunter Weiss – The Entrepreneur Athlete Taking Over the Internet

• Article: How to Grow Your Newsletter with Twitter

• Song: Man Down - Knox

Just Couldn’t Get Enough?

Start and Grow Your Newsletter in 7 Days 📧

An email list is the most valuable asset you own as a creator or brand. If you want to learn how to start, grow, and monetize an email list (all in 7 days), join my free Money Mail email course below:

Grab The Ecom Email Playbook 🚀

Are you an ecom brand owner looking to skyrocket your revenue while building a loyal community of brand advocates at the same time?

I created a step-by-step playbook to help you add an additional $30k - $50k/month to your revenue in the next 90 days. And you can grab it for FREE below:

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Need help creating a marketing plan that fits your business? Let’s work together to create the best marketing strategy for you and your brand.

Here's what you'll get:

• Email and SMS strategy

• Organic content strategy

• Community-building outline

• Marketing templates and frameworks

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