Do you want to grow a profitable content business? If so, join 25,000 readers. I share daily insights about personal brand building, writing online and growing a profitable business. It's for creators, coaches and business owners.
The Dangerous Trap of Chasing Subscriber Numbers
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Hi Reader I deleted thousands of readers from my email list a few days ago. If you’re reading this, you escaped the cut! Here’s why: When I started my email list, my mission was to get 1,000 subscribers. I asked friends and family to join my list and gave away a PDF on my website. I hit my goal after a few months. Then, I set a new goal of reaching 10,000 subscribers. I used every strategy I could think of to hit it: Facebook ads, content upgrades, outreach campaigns, competitions, and multiple lead magnets. One lead magnet over-performed. I explained how to turn a fancy Moleskine notebook into a system for Getting Things Done (a popular productivity technique). I took pictures for my guide and wrote a lengthy tutorial. The magnet attracted hundreds of subscribers. But they weren’t interested in any of my offers or courses. They wanted the guide only. So, I had to remove them manually from my list. Dozens of hours, a few hundred dollars, wasted. I want to tell you I only made this mistake once. But I also created content upgrades for blog posts. They covered how to get more done in OS X and Excel… things that had NOTHING to do with my core business. Again, I felt good about my rapidly growing subscriber count but less good when they read my emails and were like WTF?! The bill from my email marketing provider was another painful reminder that I needed a strategy, not just another growth tactic. So, I only create lead magnets that align with my core offer these days. I also regularly remove people who are not a good fit for what I write about or sell. My list isn’t for people interested in free PDFs, generic productivity tips, or a low-paying content writing gig. I create for serious writers, coaches, and content creators looking to grow their businesses. Growing a list isn’t just about hitting an arbitrary or round number on the backend of ConvertKit or Substack. It’s more like a dinner party where only the right guests get your invite. Write on,
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Letters From the Desk of Bryan Collins
Do you want to grow a profitable content business? If so, join 25,000 readers. I share daily insights about personal brand building, writing online and growing a profitable business. It's for creators, coaches and business owners.
Hi Reader, Do you find writing content hard? Figuring out what to post online takes time. And that’s before factoring in writing the post and turning followers into email subscribers or, gasp, clients! I get it. Lurking online is easier than writing and pressing publish. Sometimes, I fool myself into thinking it’s “market research”. But I know if I don't press publish, I won’t grow my brand. I almost always feel better when I write a post and press publish. If you’re feeling stuck like me,...
Hi Reader, This week, I launched a private Telegram community for readers of this email list. My goal is to share insider content about how I run my six-figure content business and help you add $3k to yours by 2025. I also want to explore other distribution channels that don't rely on an algo. Then, I can share the results with you so you can do the same. After I launched my Telegram community, a few subscribers emailed me to ask, "Why not WhatsApp?" Well, I picked Telegram because of its...
Hi Reader, For a few years, I was a content strategist for a Fintech. One of my projects was improving a newsletter for small business owners. The newsletter enjoyed a lousy 5% open rate. The back of a cereal box was more engaging than the boring product content inside the newsletter that a developer banged out between coding sessions. So, we stripped out the boring product content and started sending customer stories and how-to guides. And open rates slowly climbed towards 20%. My open rates...