Newsletters Are Cool! Here’s Why I’m Starting One This Year

Email is an evergreen platform. No recommendation algorithm can tank your reach, no shifting trends can ruin your efforts. Why? Because you own your list. The personal information (PI) is yours. Don’t like your current mailing provider? No problem—you can pack up and move to a new one. This independence is one of the reasons I’ve decided to give growing a newsletter a serious shot this year. I’ll be sharing my results and insights here every month.

I like to think of growing an email list as an investment strategy. You invest time and money into building it, and if all goes well, it pays off in the long run. Even if you pause for a while, the list remains yours. You can return to it anytime and pick up right where you left off. Think about it: emails often last for years—sometimes even decades—so you’ll always have a way to reconnect with your audience.

For me, building a personal brand through a newsletter feels like the most natural and sustainable approach. It also comes with tons of advantages:

• No more dependence on recommendation algorithms.

• No pressure to churn out X posts a week just to stay visible in feeds.

• A more personal connection with your readers.

• No feeds! (I hate feeds.) Just long-form content designed to deliver real value.

And so, the journey begins.

First Month Report: Strategy and Growth

Strategy

Right now, my approach is basically “spray and pray.” I’m experimenting with as many tools and techniques as possible to figure out what works for me. Yes, this phase is more expensive (especially since I’m testing paid promotion channels), but it’s all about learning.

Here’s what I tried this month.

Free methods:

1. Embedding CTAs on Medium posts: This is a long-term play. As my posts get indexed by search engines, they’ll (hopefully) bring in consistent sign-ups over time.

2. Posting on Reddit: I tested the waters by sharing helpful articles and occasionally linking to my newsletter. Results? Meh. No noticeable growth, and it’s pretty time-consuming.

Paid methods:

1. Reddit Ads: Tricky to set up since you need to find the right subreddits to target.

2. Meta Ads: Much simpler. I relied on Meta’s machine learning algorithm to figure out the best audience for me.

Both have pros and cons, but Meta definitely felt smoother. I also set up custom conversion tracking using Meta Pixel and Google Tag Manager on Beehiiv, following their excellent guide (shoutout to Beehiiv for that one).

I’m currently hosting my newsletter on two platforms: Substack and Beehiiv. Substack has a social element (like Notes) that I plan to explore for growth, while Beehiiv offers advanced paid features like Boosts and better monetization options.

Growth Results

This month, my newsletter grew from 0 to:

• 57 subscribers on Substack

• 11 subscribers on Beehiiv

That’s a total of ~70 subscribers.

Here’s the breakdown:

• I imported ~30 emails I’d collected from Medium over time.

• Substack brought in 10 additional subscribers through interactions and recommendations.

• Paid ads (Meta and Reddit) added 22 new subscribers.

The total cost of running ads was ~$190, resulting in ~20–30 paid subscribers. My next focus will be optimizing the cost per subscriber.

Next Steps and Goals

Right now, I’m still in search of product-market fit (PMF) for my newsletter. But the early results look promising. My goal for this year is to grow the list to 1,000 subscribers, and I’ll keep sharing updates on my progress.

If you’re thinking about starting a newsletter, I’d highly recommend it. Whether you’re building a personal brand, creating a community, or launching a product, it’s one of the most reliable ways to connect with your audience.

Let’s see where this goes! 🚀