Prologue

I am bursting with exciting news, y’all.

I usually open this newsletter with a how-this-thing-in-my-life-teaches-us-a-lesson-about-newsletters narrative.

And you read with skepticism, wondering how I’m going to manage to teach you anything of substance.

Then suddenly, you are surprised by just how brilliant my point is (a girl can hope, right?).

BUT

I have news that is too good to bury more than six paragraphs in:

Curated is launching the first ever Newsletter Fest this April… and it’s FREE.

What’s Newsletter Fest?

What began as a Slack chat about what we could do to celebrate Curated founder Dave Verwer’s 500th issue of iOS Dev Weekly morphed into a plan to spread our passion for what he began to the rest of the world with a digital celebration and some newsletter workshops.

After receiving enthusiastic responses from some potential speakers I approached, it feels like one day will not be enough.

So, we’re planning a week-long online conference for newsletter creators.

Don’t worry. You don’t have to commit an entire week on your end. You’ll get to pick and choose which sessions will be most helpful to you.

Mark your calendar for the week of April 12 and subscribe to our Newsletter Fest Newsletter (yes, it’s a newsletter about a newsletter festival being announced in a newsletter about newsletters).

We’ll use subscriptions to gauge interest and send updates to bring you along for the journey as we add speakers and workshops for publishers, independent creators, and marketers.

And we’ll also be taking nominations for a newsletter awards ceremony (you’ll get to vote for your favorites in different categories) and a chance for some of y’all to enter to win free Curated accounts for a year (if you like that sort of thing).

Our goal is to build the BEST newsletter conference out there and we’re eager to hear your thoughts on topics and speakers you’d like us to try and line up.

We’ve also got an event landing page in the works that should be live next week and will serve as a registration page and resource hub.

So… I hope you like this exciting news and I’d appreciate your feedback. Just hit reply and let me know.

And read on for your weekly dose of newsletter advice and insights.

Screen Share

Esther Thorpe Explains How The Media Roundup’s Daily Media Newsletter Supplements A Weekly Podcast

Esther Thorpe knows media. So, naturally, this media analyst and her podcast team at Media Voices launched a newsletter, The Media Roundup from Media Voices.

In this interview (filmed in December 2020), we discussed publishing trends, including the results of the report Media Moments 2020. Esther is well tuned into the tensions between publishers and big tech and the benefits of newsletters independent of social media platforms.

We also discussed the evolution of The Media Roundup, why they increased from weekly to daily, and why distilling the day’s media news into four stories has worked really well for them.

New phrase I’m loving that she uses in this chat: the splinternet. Brilliant.

Newsletter Tips

List Growth Tactics From Justin Welsh

Justin Welsh knows how to build an audience on social media. Now he’s sharing how he’s growing his email newsletter list using blog content and social media. Check out this Tweet thread and consider adopting his approach.

Why Writers Should Start Newsletters

Britany Robinson thinks writers should have their own newsletters. In this article, she provides six persuasive reasons.

My favorite?

“5. Nobody can take your newsletter away”

Do You CURVE Your Email Subject Lines?

Shooting for higher open rates? In addition to delivering amazing content that is so valuable your subscribers open them regularly, you might want to consider learning the CURVE methodology in this article by Alex Williams.

Hint: CURVE is an acronym.

Marketing

Do You Subscribe To These Marketing Newsletters?

Hal Koss offers marketers a list of 19 newsletters they should consider subscribing to. I see a few favorites, but one I really love, theCLIKK, is missing. Maybe he’ll publish a followup list at some point?

Social Media 2020: The Infographic

When you study 22 million business posts on social media from 2020, creating an infographic to deliver the key insights seem fitting. Looks like Instagram performed best for brands, image posts are popular, and politicians, education, and airline brands are getting the most engagement. Click through to understand what I summarized here in a more visual way... because that’s what infographics are for, right?

Publishing

“Can’t they please just let us have this one thing?”

Jared Newman thinks social media is going to ruin newsletters for writers and publishers.

“My fear, then, is that they’ll inevitably follow an all-too-familiar pattern: Build their own version of a promising new idea, try to crush their competitors along the way, and then proceed to ruin—willfully or by neglect—the very thing they set out to copy in the first place.

If this ends up happening, both journalists and their readers will be worse off as a result, as big tech companies reestablish the very patterns that newsletter creators have been hoping to escape.”

Image Source: Fast Company (Zac Ong/Unsplash; Olivier Verriest/iStock)

Money Matters

Newsletters are hot right now. So is advertising in them. But finding the next good-fit sponsor isn’t always easy. I’ve heard from three sponsor matching programs that could be worth checking out.

Note, at Curated we have always promoted building an engaged audience before you begin selling so that you can attract sponsors who align well with your editorial content but do not heavily influence it.

If you use one of these successfully, please let me know:

• Who Sponsors Stuff
• Find Sponsors
• Swapstack

Psst! It looks like Ryan Sager of Who Sponsors Stuff will be joining us as a speaker for Newsletter Fest.

Bustle Plans On Newsletter Subscriptions Becoming An 8-Figure Earner. Will It Work?

Kayleigh Barber asked Dan Oshinsky to weigh in on the likelihood of Bustle Digital Group achieving its ambitious income goals with the 14 (soon to be 15) newsletters it publishes.

“Based on what Oshinsky has seen with the publishers he works with, a ‘best-in-class’ unique open rate is 30% or above. A 20% average open rate is not bad, he added, but he said that while BDG focuses on growing its total list size, it will be important to monitor that engagement does not drop off as a side effect of new subscriptions.”

Psst! Dan is also slated to lead a workshop for Newsletter Fest. We’re discussing a presentation on different newsletter business models. Stay tuned.

Related: Check out how The NY Times aims to convert newsletter readers into paid subscribers.

Curated News

Subscribe For Newsletter Fest Updates

Just in case you skipped my prologue, the first ever Newsletter Fest is scheduled for April 12 - 16, 2021 and IT’S FREE.

Join publishers, marketers, and independent creators to learn success strategies from email newsletter experts.

Subscribe to get updates and register for sessions as they are announced.

ICYMI: We now have a Public Product Roadmap! Check out our recent releases and what’s up next.

Opt In Challenge

Consider A Newsletter Referral Program

Kym Ellis breaks down the types of newsletter referral programs you might want to consider. This week’s Opt In Challenge is to think through what might work for you.

“Referral programs offer the potential to grow your mailing list and your customer base in a cost-effective way — but not all referral programs are created equal. The same type of referral program that worked for the newsletter giants like Morning Brew and TheSkimm might not be the best option for all publishers.

The good news is, getting started with a referral program for your newsletter is easier than you think, and by the end of this article you’ll have a good understanding of three different referral models, and actionable ideas about how to plan your own referral program.”

Signature

Let me know. Reply, email me at Ashley[at]optinweekly.com, or find me on LinkedIn to hit me with some feedback. I’d love to know what you think.

Also, I’d appreciate it if you shared it with fellow email newsletter creators. All archived issues will be available on OptInWeekly.com, so you can send them the link to check it out.

Have a great week sending, y’all.

Thanks for reading,