Newsletter growth is a long game (and what I did to keep going)

+ a peptalk if you're disheartened about newsletter growth 💌

📌 My popular self-led course Small business newsletter magic is for sale until the end of June and you get lifetime access.

I started my current newsletter in early 2020. It took me nearly three years to get to 250 subscribers. While I don’t think newsletter size is everything (open rates famously drop the bigger your list gets), a bigger list can make selling easier. More people that want to be part of your universe means that you have more potential customers and clients to write to.

In this post I give a peptalk if you’re frustrated by slow growth and share a bonus from my course Small business newsletter magic to encourage you if you’re feeling disheartened about your newsletter.

Newsletter growth is a slow and long game. So many of the small business owners, freelancers and creatives I speak to have the exact same experience that I did. Sometimes sign-ups trickle in, sometimes not at all, sometimes all they get is unsubscribes. They start to feel like their newsletter is going nowhere. Or even worse, like they are doing it wrong.

If you want to grow your newsletter but are struggling to do so, you are not alone. This phase that you’re in right now is hard and disheartening, but it’s completely normal. Even the greats, those people we look up to with thousands of subscribers, even they started at 0. We all do.

We all start at 0, even those of us who now have thousands of subscribers.

Since I hit 250 subscribers, my list has grown rapidly and is now at 3500 subscribers (which I find absolutely amazing). In my course Small business newsletter magic I share the strategies that I used to get here.

These are all strategies that are not sleazy, don’t use social media and work for both service-based and product-based businesses. And the strategies that I use to grow my list (and that I teach my clients) are all 100% slow, gentle and effective.

There is no secret formula for newsletter growth. But I can promise you that Small business newsletter magic will help you create a newsletter that is all yours. That is written in your unique voice, that is an organic part of your business and that you write and send in a rhythm that works for you and your life.

The success of my own newsletter (through which the majority of new clients and customers now find me) is down to a few things.

I am clear on the foundations of my newsletter: I have a clear focus for it and it is explicitly rooted in my business and business values.

I write about topics that resonate with the people I work with and speak to: small business owners, freelancers and creatives just like you that want a slower, gentler and more profitable business.

And I’m here for the long game. I don’t believe in the kind of consistency that requires you to send out a newsletter every Tuesday, or every first day of the month, at all cost. I send out my free newsletters twice a month, and the dates fluctuate depending on my own schedule and my energy. But I’m here, writing and sending.

Growing a newsletter list is not so much about how often you send a newsletter as it is about coming back to it and keeping at it.

Growing a newsletter list requires you to be intentional. It’s not so much about how often you send a newsletter, as it is about coming back to it and keeping at it. It’s about tapping into your joy and using that as a point of connection with your audience, no matter the size.

But it’s also hard work emotionally. It’s so easy to get caught up in the numbers (I’ve been there many times!). Sending a newsletter can be disappointing when you’ve spent a lot of time on a new resource and no one replies to it. It can be frustrating and downright disheartening when you feel like you’re writing into the void. As if no one cares.

If that’s you, I’ve got your back in Small business newsletter magic. This self-led course isn’t just about the practical things like generating topics, finding your voice, developing a strategy and growing community around your newsletter.

I know how emotional writing and sending out a newsletter can be, and in Small business newsletter magic I support you with just that as well. The course is filled with reminders to take things gently, to make your newsletter work for you and your life first and foremost. I remind you time and time again that you are not alone in this—all of us who have a newsletter have been there.

🎧 And as a special bonus I created five mini audio peptalks for the course to give you that extra boost of support when you need it:

• a peptalk for writer’s block

• a peptalk before sending that (first) email

• a peptalk when you’re feeling disheartened or growth is slow

• a peptalk when you feel like you’re writing into the void

• a peptalk when you’re getting unsubscribes.

Today, as a special treat, I’d love to share the third peptalk, a peptalk when you’re feeling disheartened or growth is slow with you. Just click the recording below to listen.

“I’m devouring your Small business newsletter magic course and excited to begin implementing all that I’ve learned and discovered.”

Oriana LaVilla, coach, facilitator and writer

Your small business newsletter can be magic

Small business newsletter magic is for you if you’re a small business owner, freelancer and creative with a newsletter that you’d like to be more joyful and more effective.

It’s for you if you no longer want your newsletter to feel like a whole other job next to your business.

It’s for you if you want to feel more confident about your voice, about the topics you write about and about showing up in the world with your business.

It’s for you if you crave clarity and strategy around your newsletter—while still have it be gentle enough to fit in with your life, your needs and desires.

Because your newsletter can be both gentle and highly effective. Your newsletter can be all you.

In 7 modules and workbooks, Small business newsletter magic walks you through:

• your newsletter foundations and focus

• finding your voice and showing personality

• generating topics

• writing for the screen and editing

• developing a strategy for sending your newsletter

• overcoming emotional roadblocks and hurdles, from struggling with finding your voice to dealing with disheartenment or low subscriber numbers

• growing your newsletter list and community around it

• repurposing your newsletter and using it as a starting point for new products and services.

Whether you are just starting out or are experienced, whether you have a service-based business or a product-based business, and no matter what newsletter platform you have—Small business newsletter magic will support you to make your newsletter the powerful tool it can be.

This course will not be gathering virtual dust

Need some more accountability self-paced courses? I’ve got you. If you buy Small business newsletter magic you can also sign up for a 6-part series of weekly emails, helping you to stay accountable to the course.

Watch the course trailer

Small business newsletter magic is available until the end of June. Once you buy it, you get lifetime access to the course, including any future updates and additions.

I would love to support you with your newsletter through Small business newsletter magic. If you have any questions about the course, feel free to send me a message through my website or by replying to this email.

And thank you for following along with me throughout this launch. I’ll be back in your inbox soon x