Writing a high-quality newsletter is an impressive achievement. Getting people to read it is a whole other challenge. Reaching the 10,000 subscriber mark is a major milestone in the email marketing industry. However, accomplishing that goal is no small feat. In many cases, it requires a combination of methods to draw in interested readers.
Let’s talk about the top digital marketing strategies newsletters can use to reach 10,000 subscribers this year.
How to reach 10,000 email subscribers in 2024
1. Remember: Content is king
First and foremost, your newsletter needs to deliver content that subscribers want to read. No amount of marketing could convince readers to want another spammy email clogging their inbox on a regular basis.
Before you start trying to increase your subscriber list, evaluate your newsletter. Are you thoroughly revising your copy before mailing it out? Does your publication distinguish itself from other content, or is it pretty similar to your competitors’ work?
Think about writing to a specific audience or niche based on who would get the most out of your newsletter. Then, as you read over each issue, put yourself into your readers’ shoes. By building a target audience, you’ll give yourself a more specific way to gauge whether your content is fulfilling its intended purpose.
2. Advertise with social media
With precise targeting based on robust data, social media makes it easy to reach specific audiences. Many social media ad programs even allow you to set a budget, choose a goal and target an audience for the campaign. Depending on your readership demographics, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter can all be effective platforms for promoting your newsletter.
Check out our Facebook ad case study for a step-by-step guide on how to gain subscribers and boost awareness with social media.
When designing your ads, focus on selling your content instead of your newsletter as a whole. Look through your previous content and dig up your most engaging email campaigns to feature. Give them a quick sneak peek of what you’re offering to grab their interest and prompt them to sign up to learn more.
If you choose to directly advertise your publication, revise the copy to make it enticing. Consider including social proof, such as your current readership size or a celebrity testimonial. Show them what they’re missing out on by including specific incentives. For instance, a job board newsletter may pitch: “a free email every week with 10+ exclusive, high-paying job listings catered to your skills.”
3. Coordinate newsletter swaps
Newsletter swaps, also known as cross-promotions, are one of the most effective ways to gain new subscribers. Through newsletter swaps, a publisher will partner with another growing email newsletter to promote one another to their readers.
To run a newsletter swap, reach out to other publishers in your space. You’ll likely have the most luck with newsletters with a similar readership size to your own. However, it can’t hurt to widen your net, as long as you send a personalized pitch to each recipient.
Once you find an interested publication, set up a plan to trade space in your newsletter or on your social media accounts to promote the other’s work.
Many publishers credit newsletter swaps as the most cost-effective means of gaining new subscribers. While it doesn’t typically require any budget upfront, it’s a good way to boost awareness and capture similar audiences. After all, it’s much easier to convince someone to sign up to a new email list if they’re already an avid newsletter subscriber.
4. Set up a referral program
Creating a referral program is a great way to get your current subscribers involved in the recruitment process. Often employed by leading publications like Morning Brew and theSkimm, newsletter referral programs incentivize readers to spread the word about your publication.
Most publications track referrals by assigning a unique link to each subscriber. From there, the subscriber can send that link to their contacts to take them to a landing page to sign up. Once they’ve successfully converted a reader, the existing subscriber will receive another point in working toward a prize. Rewards may include exclusive content, giveaway entries, branded swag or membership to an online community.
While you may prefer to set up your referral program in-house, there are plenty of apps and SaaS products to help you get started. Some website owners will even use a WordPress plugin like ReferralCandy to integrate with Mailchimp or another ESP.
Affiliate marketing
One other way to leverage referral-based lead generation is through affiliate marketing. With this strategy, publishers will reach out to bloggers or influencers in their niche to advertise their newsletter on their platform. Then, the publisher will pay the partner for every successful email subscription. Because the pricing is set on a per-subscriber basis, many publishers find it to be a worthwhile strategy.
5. Create a lead magnet
Many readers will be hesitant to hand over their email unless they’re receiving something in return. To give potential subscribers an extra boost, offer a lead magnet in exchange for email signups.
A lead magnet is a restricted download or special offer that readers can receive for free by entering their contact information. Common lead magnets include content like eBooks, white papers and case studies. However, they can also include digital products or online softwares. For instance, HubSpot offers a wide array of free tools and report generators. Although users can access the features right away, they’ll need to enter an email to receive their results.
Other ideas for lead magnets include:
- Email courses
- Webinars
- Templates
- Podcast episodes
- Infographics
- Tutorials
If you have a website or blog, you can also capture leads with content upgrades. These are similar to lead magnets, except that they’re placed in the middle of a piece of content to get readers to learn more.
Many publishers find lead magnets to be an effective list building strategy. However, don’t forget to continue employing good practices like double opt-ins and unsubscribe buttons. While it can be tempting to try to increase subscribers at any cost, maintaining a healthy list is essential to long-term growth.
6. Redesign your signup page
If you’ve ever checked your Google Analytics conversion rates, you know that not every visitor who visits your signup page will end up subscribing. To effectively convert visitors, you’ll need to make sure your landing page is pixel perfect. It’s time to conduct an audit of your signup process, including design, copy and the overall user experience.
First, take a look at your signup form. How intuitive is it? How many questions do you ask before the “Subscribe” button? Making your signup process too long or complicated can scare off readers who were initially interested. Ideally, your subscriber opt-in form should only include two fields: name and email address. Then, if you want to maximize your data collection, feel free to tag optional questions onto the end.
Just to note: Limiting steps in your signup flow isn’t the same as ditching double opt-ins. Drawing out the subscribe process is more likely to communicate a lack of respect for your readers’ time than it is to actually weed out uninterested visitors.
Offering a simple signup form gives your subscribers a better user experience by allowing them to join your mailing list more easily. From there, you’re free to send them an email to confirm their interest in your newsletter from the comfort of their own inbox.
7. Advertise to similar newsletter audiences
Even the biggest newsletters around started somewhere. To grow their own lists, premium publishers like Morning Brew, Industry Dive, and Hired.org had a secret weapon: programmatic email ads.
These publishers knew that the people who opened and clicked other newsletters were likely to engage with their newsletters, too. So, they sponsored multiple newsletters at once to capture more subscribers for their audience.
With programmatic email ads from Paved, you can advertise your signup form like the pros. Simply set your audience (based on demographics, age, job title, and more), design your ad, and set your max budget. Your new subscribers await!
8. Test what works for you
Remember that the most effective marketing strategy will be specific to your newsletter. Therefore, it’s important to continuously conduct A/B testing as you try out different tactics.
A/B testing, also known as split testing, is an experimentation method in which a marketer will send out two versions of a product to randomized groups of users to see which performs better. This practice is central to gathering data in email and content marketing. Many brands will use it across their company functions to boost email open rates, refine SEO techniques and improve their homepage content.
Growing newsletters can employ A/B testing in a variety of areas to gain subscribers. For example, if you want to find which call to action is most effective, you can test two nearly identical landing pages with slightly different CTAs. From there, you can compare the conversion rates to find which one works.
Publishers can apply this same method to many list building decisions, from whether you should use exit intent popups to which freebies are most in-demand.
Learn more about growing your newsletter
Growing your newsletter to 10,000 subscribers requires persistence and hard work, but it’s definitely doable with the right strategies. Check out the Paved blog to learn more about how to expand your subscriber base this year:
- The Do’s and Don’ts for Growing your Email List: 11 Must-Know Rules
- Ad Network Case Study: Get More Newsletter Subscribers
- 5 Quick Strategies to Grow Your Email List When You’re Just Getting Started
