The Key to a Successful Newsletter

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Let’s dive in:

If you’ve been following me here at Summit Group for any length of time, you know that I’m extremely bullish on newsletters for any business. I’m a firm believer that it’s one of the best assets you can cultivate for your long-term benefit.

But I haven’t shared much about how to build a subscriber list. I’ve talked about why you should start a list, what factors should influence how you decide on a platform, and even shared a little about my own story of moving from the 9-5 world into the online entrepreneurial space.

This week, I want to share one of the most effective ways you can build your email subscriber list: social media.

LinkedIn and X are the two main platforms for building this kind of audience, so I’m going to focus on those, but these principles can be applied to virtually any social media platform.

Let’s look at a few ways you can establish your brand:

1. Define Your Audience

Of course, the first thing you need to do is define who it is you’re trying to reach. Start by asking yourself questions like, who needs the products or services I offer? What does my ideal customer/client look like?

These kinds of questions will help you develop your target audience. Once you know that, you can begin to shape your content to fit their way of communicating. For example, using references and examples that they’ll understand and can relate to.

2. Optimize Your Bio

Next, you’ll want to optimize your profile bio. Whether this is on LinkedIn or X, you need to have a good, short, bio that includes a link to your newsletter and a CTA for signing up.

It should state who you are, what you do, and how you help people. Then, include as part of your CTA the value you offer your subscribers.

This alone can significantly impact the number of subscribers on your list.

3. Consistent Posting

This one’s a no-brainer, but you’ve got to post regularly.

In your content, highlight the benefits of your newsletter, how you’ve helped clients or customers with your product or service, and positive reviews of your business.

As mentioned above, include language, examples, and terms relevant and familiar to your target audience. Don’t alienate them by using language they can’t relate to.

For example, if you’re primarily aiming your content at parents, don’t use Gen Z slang. A few of them might get it, but you’ll be speaking a different language than most of your target audience.

4. Engagement

Another no-brainer: engagement. You’ve got to build a genuine connection with your audience and with potential clients/customers.

When someone takes the time to share your post or leave a substantive comment, like it and reply. Get feedback from your followers on what they would like to see from you.

Also, follow people you admire and potential clients. Like, comment on, and share their posts that resonate with you. Let your name be seen regularly on their content. After a couple of weeks of that, reach out to them to ask to connect or to begin your pitching process.

Notice, you don’t ask for something from them until you’ve already provided them with some value. They still might say no, but they’ll give you more of their focus if they recognize your name as a fan and supporter of their content.

5. Offer Real Value

Finally, offer a free information course or tool to your followers if they sign up for your newsletter. It doesn’t take long for you to create and can push someone on the fence to sign up.

Remember, business is all about adding value to the lives of others. When you offer them something that is truly valuable, they trust you all the more.

Notice I said truly valuable. You can’t just throw together a half-hearted ebook and expect people to feel good about your character as a business owner. Put some effort into this and view it as an investment in gaining your audience’s ear. It will pay off.

This is the key step. Once you apply the others and then put this one into place, you’ll see your newsletter list grow exponentially. It’ll start small, but continue to build until you find it hard to believe how many subscribers your social media profiles have gained for you.

There you have it. Those are some of the best practices for growing your audience and brand on LinkedIn or X. Once you’ve established yourself as a reliable brand, your audience will grow on those platforms organically, which will in turn always generate more potential newsletter subscribers for you. Through your social media brand, you’ll have added one more great asset to your business’s lead generation and revenue.

That’s all for today!

Thanks for reading.

Eric Higgs
Founder of Summit Group
Newsletter & Email Marketing Agency

P.S. Whenever you’re ready, here’s how I can help:

• If you’re reading this online, join over 3,000+ subscribers receiving regular emails helping them build, automate, and grow their business with email.

• If you’re struggling to grow your newsletter, click HERE to learn more about Summit Group, our full-service newsletter agency.