How to Launch a Paid Newsletter and Make a Fortune with No Budget: A Walkthrough Guide by Signum.AI

Paid Newsletter
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The world is going crazy over paid newsletter campaigns. Someone’s launching one every day (and probably even this very second). Be it individuals or businesses, people are starting to recognize the power of email newsletters. But how come they’re so popular? What are people talking about? And are they really that profitable?

If you’re reading this post, you’ve probably heard about newsletters and want to find out how to build one. Today we’re talking about the benefits of paid newsletters and sharing a step-by-step guide on launching one that’ll get you thousands of $$ with barely any effort.

Take notes, guys?

Why You Need a Paid Newsletter

First things first, newsletters are indeed hot stuff. Everybody wants one, and after reading this article, you will, too.

These babies can get you several grand monthly without any exertion. Basically, you get $44 for every $1 you pay for email marketing. Not too bad for investment, right? Plus, consumers prefer newsletters over other forms of updates (like tweets or Facebook posts). So it’s both profitable and convenient.

That being said, users are restricted by a bunch of myths around newsletters. They want to try it but are too scared of failing. But the thing is, newsletters are for everybody — they come in all different shapes and sizes, no matter the industry. You may be a cook, an IT specialist, a company founder or simply a college grad. Whoever you are and whatever you do — you have a great chance at building a powerful newsletter (check out our version).

Fine, but why would I do it?

In a Nutshell, You Should Launch a Paid Newsletter Because:

It’s Profitable

For God’s sake, newsletters bring you money! Yes, not right away, but in the long run, it’s pretty fruitful. It may take you a year or month to grow a decent audience, but the sooner you start, the sooner you’ll get paid.

Let’s say you charge $5 monthly. During the first month, you may have only ten subscribers that’ll get you $50. But as your project grows (and so does the number of your followers), you’ll start earning more cash. So when it comes to how much you’ll make, it’s all on you.

It’s Cheap

You don’t have to sell a kidney to do it: building a paid newsletter won’t cost you a fortune. Actually, it’ll barely cost you anything. The necessities include a computer, Internet connection and basic software (like newsletter-building platform subscriptions). So launch a newsletter for free or starting from $500 — if you want to go the extra mile.

Optional costs include high-end technology equipment, premium software subscriptions, office rent, customer surveys, affiliate marketing fees and so on. But in general, no overhead expenses are required to start a newsletter campaign. Seriously, it’s that simple (and that cheap).

It’s a Great Way to Demonstrate Your Expertise

Newsletters present an awesome opportunity to prove yourself as an expert. Remember, there’s an audience even for the narrowest topic, so pick the one you know well and share your experience.

For example, if you’re a cook, you could weekly send out five new recipes or give people little-known cooking tips. It will win your audience’s trust and establish you as an authority. Being an expert goes a long way.

It’s Time-efficient

Newsletters take not only little effort to launch but also little time. It shouldn’t take you more than a couple of days from start to finish to build one.

It Incites Creativity

Imagine being your own boss and not submitting to anybody. Well, that’s what newsletters offer. No sponsors to obey, no rules to follow. You decide on 100% of your content. You can write funny, create odd content or be an utter freak.

There’s no better place to start experimenting than in a paid newsletter. There’s only one rule: your content should be catchy and engaging.

It’s A Piece of Cake

To start a paid newsletter in the past, you’d have to do a ton of work manually: copywriting, design, delivery, etc. Good thing it’s the automation era. There are plenty of tools that’ll do the work for you so you can focus on creating content.

Launching a paid newsletter today is easier than ever before — that’s why it’s trending right now.

Feel like giving newsletters a shot already? Then keep reading 🙂

How to Launch a Paid Newsletter: a Step by Step Guide

Here are the necessary steps for building a successful paid newsletter:

1. Decide on the Topic and Format

The number one step is defining your topic. What do you want to send? This is a critical stage, so think it through. If you’re still on the fence, ask yourself the following questions:

— Why do you want to do the newsletter thing to begin with?

— What value will you bring to your clients?

— What are you really good at?

Then decide on the format of your content. For instance, a Youtuber could send a video once a month, a French teacher—share a checklist of daily to-dos for language improvement, a business owner—talk about startup life hacks. Whatever it is, make sure your format is relevant to the topic.

2. Identify Your Target Audience

Based on your topic, you can now identify your target audience. Who might be interested in your content? How will it improve their lives? Will your emails be relevant to a specific audience?

For example, if you’re a marketer, it’s not the best idea to target retirees who don’t even know what marketing is. Instead, it’d make more sense to reach out to people wanting to level up their promotion game: business owners, bloggers, other marketers. You get the gist, right? Find an audience who will truly enjoy your content and benefit from it.

3. Create a Posting Schedule

This step’s underrated, but creating a well-developed posting schedule will work miracles. How frequently do you plan to post? Once a month? Every week? Three times a week? It’s strategically important to keep things consistent (which is hard to do without a posting schedule). So build yourself a calendar and stick with it. Consistency is key (we’ll come back to this point).

4. Settle on the Price Tag

Keep in mind that you’re running a business, so you can (and should!) monetize your work. That is, don’t be shy when it comes to setting a price tag.

As icky as it can be, find a pricing model (or several models) that works both for you and your clients. In the beginning, you can start by charging $3 or $5 a month. Then, as your business grows, move to a higher price range and create other pricing options (like an annual subscription for $99) or different content access levels (basic, standard, premium). Just don’t go overboard unless you want to confuse people 🙂

5. Build a Website and a Catchy Landing Page

A well-designed website might be beneficial in launching a successful newsletter business. It’s a great way to promote your product (if you’re running a company) and the newsletter itself.

The best part is, you don’t have to be an IT guru to create a website. 2024 can boast a huge variety of tools that’ll do the job for you. Platforms such as Squarespace and WordPress are the most popular for this purpose, but feel free to do your own research and find the one that works best for you.

Pic credit: squarespace.com

Then, create a captivating landing page that’ll leave users no choice but to subscribe to your newsletter.

Just take a look at how Unbounce does it:

Pic credit: unbounce.com

6. Set up a Payment System

You want to get paid for the hard work you do, right? To handle all transactions, set up an account in an electronic payment processing system. We highly recommend Stripe 🙂

Pic credit: dashboard.stripe.com

7. Choose a Suitable Newsletter Platform

Now on to the fun part. Time to choose a platform for your newsletter business. There isn’t really one versatile option, so you’ll have to explore and see which one matches your strategy best. Here are some of our favorites:

Memberful

Substack

Campaignzee

Buy Me a Coffee

But feel free to also check out other platforms.

Oh, and don’t forget to integrate the platform with your website and payment system!

8. Create Your Very First Newsletter

Okay, by now, you’ve done a lot. Now let’s create and send your very first email newsletter. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Take your time to experiment and grow through trial and error.

And because you’re not offering the highest-quality content in the beginning, you might as well make your first newsletters free and then offer a paid option once your content gets enhanced.

Let’s say you chose Convertkit. Here is a brief guide on how to do it:

1. Set up an account and log in

2. Click “Create a product”

3. Write the name

4. Choose “Subscription” as a pricing method

5. Set the price and frequency

6. Go to the “Fulfilment” section and click “A Newsletter”

7. Fill in a domain name

8. Customize and send the newsletter!

Easy-peasy, isn’t it?

For detailed instructions, check out Convertkit’s full guide.

9. Conduct Testing

With paid newsletters, you’re always on the lookout for improvement (or at least you should be). To beef up your content game, don’t neglect the power of A/B testing. You should constantly analyze your work. What raises my click and open rates? Are my subject lines catchy enough? Are my CTAs propulsive? These are the questions to ask yourself every once in a while. Analyze. Adjust. Repeat.

10. Promote Your Business to Grow an Audience

Now that you know what works and what doesn’t, it’s time to advertise your business. Attracting new clients is an integral part of any successful newsletter campaign. So, how will you promote it?

You could build hype with a teaser video, Facebook ads, influencer marketing tactic, press attention or even a striking landing page. Whatever it takes, think your strategy through.

11. Keep Posting

This one might be kind of obvious, but we still want to emphasize it: thriving newsletters are all about consistency. So keep regularly posting decent content and always stick to your schedule.

Wrapping Up

Yay, now you’re fully equipped for your newsletter journey!

As you can tell, running a paid email newsletter is not an uphill battle, so there are no excuses for not starting. It’s profitable, cheap, easy, and fun. So launch one today using our tips and enjoy a revenue stream in a little while. ?


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