#3: Zzzzz subject lines can get in the bin

Medium, LinkedIn, Twitter, Clubhouse, BitClout… The sky was raining platforms, and writers were loving life.

And I had a severe bout of FOMO.

Honestly, that’s the only reason I started an email list in March 2021. I saw so many writers jump on the bandwagon, and I didn’t want to miss out.

Hell — I had no idea why I wanted one, but I’d figure it out sooner or later, right?

Right?

Three years later, I have a vague sense of why I’m building my email list (more on this later), and it recently passed 1,000 subscribers:

I share helpful tips, resources for writers, and the ugly stuff that’s going on in my life.

Doing so has rewarded me with countless opportunities.

Here are five lessons to help you grow your own newsletter.

#1: Size doesn’t matter (oi oi)

Lots of writers are building MASSIVE email lists while your piddly attempt stares you in the face.

Cue the f-bombs.

But here’s the thing: Most of their emails are unanswered. Unopened. Unreplied.

They might as well be shouting into a well.

So, I encourage you to care less about size and more about quality. And when someone does reply to your emails, be sure to say “Hi”.

Replies are how I judge the quality of my email list — not the number of subscribers.

Screenshot of replies to one of my recent emails

#2: Package to consume

In 2022, Colgate spent close to $2 billion marketing toothpaste.

Toothpaste.

And let’s not forget the millions it splashes on packaging.

I’m not suggesting you do the same. However, thinking about how your emails look before you send them can make all the difference.

For example, I now add read time to the top of my emails.

My hope is this nudges subscribers into reading my emails now or saving them for later:

Screenshot from ConvertKit | **One of my recent emails**

Here are a few other small details:

Using {{ subscriber.first_name | strip | default: “there” }} in ConvertKit lets me personalise emails. If a subscriber doesn’t give me their first name, their name is replaced with “there”.
I only link to one resource in the body of my emails (although said resource might be linked to more than once). Ask yourself this: When was the last time you clicked on more than one link in an email? Exactly.
I use formatting (bold, italics, bullet points) to break up my text and highlight call-to-actions:

Speaking of packaging…

#3: Zzzzz subject lines can get in the bin

Let’s play a quick game of “Would you open this email?”

Here’s the first:

Nothing to grab your attention here, right?

How about this:

The misspelling of “gratitude” doesn’t fill me with hope.

Spoiler alert — both of these emails ended up in my junk without being opened.

The truth is this:

If your subject line is good, people will open your email
If they can’t open it now, they’ll come back later
If it’s boring as f*ck, they won’t open it at all

Worse still, your subject line might be so sleep-inducing that they open it just so they can unsubscribe.

My rule for writing is this: Spend 80% of your time on the headline and 20% on the content. You can have the best newsletter in the world, but if the subject line is garbage?

None of it matters.

#4: Package to share

One of my friends suggested I put a signup link in the footer of my emails.

So that’s what I did.

In the rare instance that one of my emails is forwarded to a non-subscriber, they’re able to sign up:

Screenshot from one of my recent emails **| Signup link in the footer**

#5: You’ve got rhythm

I used to send emails once a week. Then I switched to once a fortnight.

Guess what?

No one cared.

No one’s waiting for your emails. Their inboxes are full already. We’re all looking for less noise — not more.

So find a cadence that works for you (once a week, twice a week, once a fortnight, etc.) and stick to it. But don’t worry if life gets in the way. People will forgive you if you miss a week.

Just try not to let a week stretch into four.

Takeaways

The creator economy is hella competitive right now.

Everyone’s trying to build an email list.

So before you start building yours, I encourage you to think about why you want one, too. Is it to build a business? To build a brand? To sell products? To expand your network? Some other reason?

Your why will keep you going as your piddly list starts to grow.

Personally, my email list lets me have interesting conversations with interesting people. That’s pretty much it. It also lets me sell a few digital products along the way.

Here’s a quick summary of my five lessons:

#1: Size doesn’t matter (oi oi) — Focus on sending quality emails that deliver on your promise. Replies and conversations are what matter — not how many subscribers you have.
#2: Package to consume — Think like Colgate. How can you make your emails as appealing as possible?
#3: Zzzzz subject lines can get in the bin — Spend 80% of your time on headlines and 20% of your time on content.
#4: Package to share — Make it easy for non-subscribers to sign up to your email list if your emails get forwarded.
#5: You’ve got rhythm — No one’s waiting for your emails, so just find a cadence that works for you.

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My Email List Finally Hit 1,000 Subscribers — Here Are 5 Quick Lessons