In this week's issue 📨

• Outlast 99.9% of entrepreneurs
• Find progress with patience
• Create an end-of-year newsletter

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How to outlast

When setting your sights on success in 2024, you can outperform 99% of people just by having a long-term mindset. Using structured, strategic planning is the easiest way to follow your path for whatever thing you choose to focus on. You may not know how to get there, so it's best to set yourself up with a helpful goal-setting framework before the new year.

Writer Justin Welsh from The Saturday Solopreneur shows us how to transform big missions into small, successful action steps.

Goals | Decades

• Realistically, your biggest goal or mission may take decades to achieve. Ask yourself, who do you want to help, what do you want to help them do, and why do you want to help them do that?
• Your big goal should be more "customer" focused than "me" focused. When you hone in on solving problems and providing services, your needs and wants tend to be met naturally.

Strategy | Yearly

• When building a strategy on how you'll accomplish your mission, using the SMART goal framework (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) can give you the best chance for success.
• If you're unsure how to start creating your SMART goals, try this: My goal is to [objective] by [timeframe]. [Key players] will accomplish this goal by [what steps you’ll take]. Achieving this goal will [result or benefit].

Tactics | Quarterly

• Every quarter allows you to review, refine, and execute tactics that align with your yearly strategy. Start with identifying three tactics that lead to most of your growth, like the example above.
• Take each of those tactical actions and create quarterly milestones to see how you're tracking. Mapping these plans out in a document or your calendar increases the likelihood that you'll achieve these micro-goals.

Effort | Daily

• Your daily commitments to creating and sharing valuable content, engaging with your community, and learning from the feedback are all stepping stones to achieving your ultimate mission.
• Keeping a detailed yet flexible schedule in your calendar can ensure that your micro-goals receive the time and attention they deserve. Try setting daily tasks for yourself that support your quarterly and yearly goals.

Outlasting most people isn’t about blind hustle. It happens by following a disciplined, structured approach to your work. In the world of working for yourself, reaching big success is a mix of dreaming big and making step-by-step plans. Or, in other words - putting your time and effort where your mouth is. – Justin Welsh

Interesting stories & ideas 📚

• Seven ways the internet will get weirder - Digital Native
• Saving local news with newsletters - One Man & His Blog
• What to know about X vs Threads - HubSpot
• AI won't replace you - Indie Hackers
• Stop leaving sh*tty comments - Power Your Platform

How to keep going

Sometimes, progress can feel like swimming through mud. You put so much energy into your goals only to have a few good wins, and it can be hard to notice the small successes if you're not yet seeing significant results. When you don't feel successful, the voices get louder: "Why are you doing this? You're just wasting time. What does it all mean?!" Just breathe.

Jay Clouse, founder of Creator Science, talks us down and walks us through how to keep going when it feels like you're not going anywhere.

‣ Expand your time horizon by adopting a long-term mindset. Zoom out and look at your macro trends outside of your micro trends. Treating time like a friend instead of an enemy will help you realize that progress comes with time. Start working with the clock instead of against it.

‣ Befriend your data by looking at overall positive trends instead of your most recent negative trends. It can take several years to see consistent, upward results, so don't fret if your most recent quarter took a bit of a dive. Data is one of your most powerful tools, so use it to look at the bigger picture.

‣ Look for signals of progress by noticing your not-always-obvious tiny wins. Pay attention to your enjoyment, things getting easier, someone sharing your work, and the belief that you're improving. All of these small signals of progress add up to large-scale success.

‣ Design for bingeability by acknowledging the power of bingeable content. Even if you're not getting the views or subscribers you know you're capable of, audience feedback using "binge" can be the ultimate signal of progress.

When it feels like you're not making any progress or getting any feedback, don't let yourself give up. Most creators don't fail. They simply give up. Instead, adopt a mindset of radical persistence. You may not see the progress from that last thing you tweeted or the email you published...but it's there. And it all adds up. – Jay Clouse

How to celebrate

If you're quickly skimming this newsletter because you're in holiday rush mode, we get it! You have people to wrap and presents to see; who has the time? And if you're struggling with last-minute newsletter ideas, may we interest you in an end-of-year newsletter to celebrate your 2023 wins and keep your audience engaged over the holidays?

Journalist Georgia Madden at Houzz guides us on quickly crafting an email newsletter that captures your readers' attention during the distracting holiday season.

#1 Make it personal - Add warmth by starting with a festive and inclusive greeting that respects everyone's holiday traditions.

#2 Hit the right tone - Make your newsletter approachable, use language that aligns with your brand, and keep your content easy to digest.

#3 Go behind the scenes - Give your readers a peek behind the curtain by sharing some lessons you've learned or your struggles in 2023.

#4 Celebrate your wins - Share your achievements and awards with quality visuals to showcase your expertise and experience in each project.

#5 Share your plans - Give customers a sneak peek into your upcoming 2024 projects to create a sense of anticipation and keep your followers engaged.

#6 End-of-year value - Tailor your newsletter to the specific time of year or showcase your best work of 2023. It's time to brag!

#7 Say thank you - Use your end-of-year newsletter to express gratitude to all (especially your audience) who have been a part of your journey in 2023.

#8 Include holiday hours - Will you be hibernating during the holidays? Let your readers know when they can expect to see new content.

#9 Call to action - Encourage your audience to engage with your content during their leisure time, or have them take advantage of any limited-time offers.

#10 Relax - Close your laptop, silence your phone, make hot chocolate, and pop in a holiday classic.

Curator's pick ✍️

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In this week's issue 📨

• A guide to color symbolism
• Ten dark patterns to avoid in UX design
• Creating UX personas

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The psychology of color

Color symbolism is the emotional meaning we give to various colors. The color of something can influence our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. When you see a red fire truck, a yellow sunflower, or an orange... orange, is it the object that invokes a particular emotion, or is it the color?

When it comes to UX, color symbolism is essential in creating UI elements and establishing brand communication. Design agency Ramotion breaks down how to use color psychology to improve your UX design and conversions.

Why is color psychology critical for UX design?

• Color is emotional. Ask yourself what feelings you want to invoke from your customers and how you would like them to act on those sensations. Specific color preferences can allure or ward off a user's attention.
• Color is cultural. Before diving in on your favorite colors based on what they mean to you, consider who your audience is. Check the infographic above to review how the same colors are seen in different parts of the world.
• Color makes it memorable. Try a harmonious mix of warm and cool colors to prevent your users from being overwhelmed. You'll also want to consider color in different design elements like banners and infographics.

How does color impact conversions?

• Improve your CTAs (call to action) by changing the color of a button or giving buttons and links the same color. Try testing various color choices and combinations to see how your audience reacts.
• Brand image consistency that your readers can instantly recognize and feel good about is essential for growth. Your logo color scheme and your site's color palette should invoke solid and positive emotions for new and existing followers.
• Not everyone sees color the same way. Using appropriate color contrast can help people with colorblindness and other limitations. Keep the needs of all groups in mind when choosing your colors. Accessibility always!

What are some color design best practices?

• Create your own brand and style guidelines. When creating your publication's design, determine what colors you want to use to establish your brand identity and stick to them.
• Stay consistent with your color design throughout your publication so that the flow of your site is easy to follow. You want your readers to be immersed in your work, not distracted by your design.
• Use the 60-30-10 rule. You should dedicate 60% of space to one neutral color, 30% to the secondary, and 10% to the accent color. This rule is applied by almost every designer for an aesthetically pleasing color palette.

Interesting stories & ideas 📚

• Create a business that runs without you – Jodie Cook
• Readers, not subscribers – Josh Spector
• What's the future of search for publishers? – Media Makers Meet
• Build a culture that supports mental health – Harvard Business Review
• Millennial meme marketing must end – Embedded

The dark side of UX design

We've all had experiences with websites that seem innocent on the outside but are deceptive on the inside. "Are you sure that you're surely not sure about cancel-activating your subscription reactivation?" 😵‍💫 UX dark patterns are built to trick users into making choices they did not intend to make. Sometimes, these dark patterns can be honest mistakes, but most of the time, they're purposefully crafted to sow customer confusion.

So, how do you make sure you have the best intentions when it comes to design? UX designer and content writer Alexander Varela from Dodonut shares ten common dark patterns to avoid in UX.

1. Confirmshaming is appealing to emotional blackmail to stop specific actions or to persuade your users to make a different choice. For example, carefully wording decline or cancel options that induce feelings of guilt or shame.

2. Creating fake urgency and FOMO for users who haven't visited your site in a while with phrases like "Your friends miss you" is emotional manipulation at its finest. If you have great content, your audience will always be present.

3. Nagging is when you don't accept "no" for an answer. Try not to include "Not now" or "Not yet" when it comes to choices that require a simple and permanent black-and-white answer.

4. Obstruction or sneaking is done by including a secondary action in the middle of a primary action, such as including hidden costs or items during the customer checkout process.

5. Disguising ads as wanted or expected content has been mastered by all social media platforms. This can cause the user to confuse ads with actual content, and most users end up viewing low-value content they're not interested in.

6. Intentional misdirection uses visuals to create the opposite of the desired or expected outcome. For instance, giving a ‘Cancel’ button two meanings: ‘confirm’ the cancellation or ‘cancel’ the cancellation.

7. Roach motel patterns and trick questions are used to get customers into situations they cannot escape. This can lead users to unnecessary purchases or make them subscribe to newsletters that are difficult to unsubscribe from.

8. Preselection is when a workflow makes an automatic decision that benefits the company and not the customer. This causes accidental purchases and unintended upgrades the user never officially agreed to.

9. Friend spam is a manipulation tactic that tricks users into giving specific permissions or access to their contacts, also known as "contact harvesting." This is often presented as beneficial for the user but is only for the benefit of the company.

10. Forced Continuity is a way for companies to start charging you subscription fees unexpectedly. They deceive you into giving billing information with the promise of free services, only to charge you later without the chance to opt out.

Get personal with personas

To dream up a user-friendly website, most UX designers will tell you that creating a "UX persona" is the first step to putting yourself in your users' shoes. These semi-fictional characters represent your target audience's wants, needs, and characteristics, enabling you to empathize and make better design decisions.

Althea Storm from HubSpot walks us through the benefits of UX personas and shares some tips on how to create them.

The benefits of UX personas:

• Personas help you understand your target customers. This allows you to discover your audience's natural preferences, attitudes, and challenges so you can empathize with their product participation.
• Personas help you make better product decisions. Knowing users' pain points, goals, and motivations enables you to implement changes that positively impact their experiences with you and your work.
• Personas help you retain users. You can create more user-friendly interfaces by understanding your audience's behavior and preferences. This is essential to staying on course and keeping your customers happy.
• Personas help you strategize. Through research, designers learn about their target audience's behaviors, needs, and pain points, making informed decisions on features, site hierarchy, color palettes, and other design elements.

Tips for creating UX personas:

• Demographics shouldn't dominate. Your personas should be based on user behavior, goals, and motivations. Simply knowing the age and job title of your customers is not enough. You need to understand what's stopping them from subscribing.
• Don't create fake personas. Avoid creating a UX persona based solely on your own understanding of your work. This approach can result in a product that caters to only your needs rather than your users. Start gathering insights from your target audience through communication and connection.
• Keep an open mind. When researching your target audience, remind yourself that their experiences might differ from your own. Always remember that you are not the customer. Take a step back and let the insights of your users guide you.
• Encourage community. Create spaces, like a comments section or a Discord, where your users can connect to share their likes, dislikes, and anything in between. You may also want to reach out to peers in your field for advice and direction.

Curator's pick ✍️

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In this week's issue 📨

• A new approach to personal brand building
• Six lessons from the home pages of creative entrepreneurs
• How to be completely ignorable

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Brand under construction

In the era of late-stage capitalism, everything is a product, an ad, and a brand. Yes, even you. We regret to inform you that you are being perceived at all times. Your personal brand is a combination of beliefs, feelings, attitudes, and expectations that everyone holds you to. You know who you are, but does your perception of yourself match how others see you, and how does your personal brand impact the value of your work?

Writers Jill Avery and Rachel Greenwald at Harvard Business Review provide guidance on how to reach your goals by polishing your personal brand.

Step 1: Define your purpose - This may seem daunting, but it's not as heavy as it sounds. What are you bringing to the table, and what do you want to accomplish? How do your life experiences connect to your goals, and what group will you target? Check out how Jay Clouse states his mission right on his home page.

Step 2: Audit your equity - In other words, what are your credentials, current social connections, and what have you learned just by living life? Wrapping yourself up in a shiny package can help you determine if the brand you think you are is the brand you really are. Defining your authentic self will show your followers who you are and build trust.

Step 3: Construct your narrative - The stories you choose to tell are what mold the perception of your brand. It's your job to control and craft your narrative authentically. Don't be afraid to get personal. This shows your audience how unique and relatable you are and will encourage them to share their stories to build community.

Step 4: Embody your brand - When building and engaging with your community, remember that you're constantly advertising yourself. Be aware of your messaging and how you communicate with your audience. Does your communication style match how your brand is perceived? Are you getting too personal or not sharing enough? Find your sweet spot.

Step 5: Communicate your story - Use marketing tools to promote your brand and tell your story. This increases discoverability, awareness, and understanding with your audiences. Showing the masses why your work has value is essential to your brand's success. You'll want to aim for your target audience and how they consume media. Mix it up, and don't be shy about self-promotion.

Step 6: Socialize - Creating a community of loyal advocates helps make the biggest waves regarding brand awareness. Having other people share your stories enhances your credibility and allows you to reach new audiences. Find your allies and share your goals with them. They want to help you, but they may not know how to get started. Lift them so they can lift you.

Step 7: Reevaluate and adjust - Remind yourself that, just like anything in life, personal branding is an ever-changing process. You may not be doing what you're doing at this moment a year, a month, or even a week from now. Change is constant, so leave space for your brand to breathe. In the end, your personal brand should always be personal happiness.

Interesting stories & ideas 📚

• Embracing the robot overlords – Media Makers Meet
• Reaching eight figures from scratch – Indie Hackers
• A tale of two emerging social media platforms – One Man & His Blog
• New data poisoning tool lets artists fight back – MIT Technology Review
• This will make you feel more positive – Barking Up the Wrong Tree

There's no place like a home page

A lot of the time, someone's first impression of you and your brand is your website's home page. Optimizing your home page is no easy feat. You must incorporate elements that attract traffic, educate your visitors, and invite conversions, all within a split second before they click away in disinterest.

So, what's the best approach to home page glory? Writer Josh Spector shares six critical lessons from the home pages of smart, creative entrepreneurs.

#1 Prominently display a sign-up form. Getting a reader to subscribe should be one of your top priorities, so give them a clear reason to join and make signing up as easy as possible.

#2 Feature curated content. Identify your most impactful content and drive people to it. Try featuring your most popular posts like how James Clear and Wes Kao feature theirs.

#3 State your goals. Exclaiming who you're helping and how you're doing it is a great way to convince a visitor why you have what they need instantly. Your home page isn't always about you; it's also about your audience.

#4 You don't have to have a photo. Showing a picture of yourself is a nice touch, but it's not always the best approach. It's ok to let people connect to only your content rather than what you look like. Let your work speak for itself.

#5 Show social proof. Don't be timid about advertising how great you are. Think of your home page as a personal billboard. Justin Welsh references that over 180K people subscribe to his newsletter. It's ok to brag a bit!

#6 Include a key statement. Your home page should reflect the key beliefs of your work and approach. What is your discipline, big idea, or mission? Communicate your brand's foundation in a punchy and attractive way.

Avoid everything to accomplish nothing

Are you scared of the outside world? Are you afraid of your talents, uniqueness, and success? Are you terrified of nobody and everyone caring about you simultaneously? Well, if you're sick and tired of being perceived 365 days out of the year, Neal O'Grady from Neal's Newsletter has some great advice on how you and your brand can be completely ignorable.

‣ Only do the logical thing and do what everyone else is doing. Don't stand out. Don't make waves. Your boat starts rocking? That's just the gentle breeze of boring normalcy, my friend. Just stay in one place, and everything will be ok.

‣ Post and ghost. Avoid community and connection at all costs. Just share your content and get the hell outta there. Don't follow up, and don't review. Who cares why you got over 1,000 likes and shares? Not your problem.

‣ Ramble on and on about nothing. Clear and simple language that's easy to understand is overrated. If you make things too easy, the public might figure out why you're so great. Sounds like a lot of pressure.

‣ If you have unique points of view, do original research, or share a distinctive perspective, stop! People might notice you. Just recycle other people's ideas and take a little nap. Life is easier when everything's the same.

‣ Everything should be perfect before you publish, and everyone knows that perfection is entirely attainable. So, until you feel 100% satisfied with everything you do, don't share your work. Keep it inside until everything is perfect.

‣ Have a specific solution to a particular problem? People might find that extremely useful. It's probably best to help as many people as possible with their broad problems so your brand goes unnoticed.

‣ Did you hear? Trends are trending. It would be best if you hop on any trend you see and have zero identity of your own. Choosing a specific niche that leads to lots of unique success sounds complicated.

‣ Your audience loves kind, courteous, and giving people. So, ask yourself, "What's in it for me?" All of your relationships should be completely robotic and transactional. Have a soul? Put it in a nice box and save it for a rainy day.

In short: copy others, write poorly, use people, and do a bit of everything for everyone. Actually, just let AI do those things. Just kidding. If you want to succeed you need to become un-ignorable. And to do that, do the opposite of all of these things. – Neal O'Grady

Curator's pick ✍️

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💬 In this week's issue:

• The new wave of content-led products
• Using your content to build an audience
• Keeping your content evergreen

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If you create it, will they come?

The art of marketing yourself and your content is all about juggling between attraction, engagement, and retention. You appeal to your readers by developing products you think they want, like articles, videos, or guides, and you keep them around by making them feel understood and valued, like allowing them to submit direct feedback or providing a space for conversation, like a comments section.

But how do you know the products you're offering are speaking to them? Are you wasting creative energy throwing things at your members to see what sticks? And why are your customers so sticky in the first place? Gareth Davies at Animalz believes you should let your content lead when brainstorming your next idea.

There's a well-known mantra in product circles: "If you build it, they will come." But if nobody finds your product in a saturated market, how will they come to you? Content-led product challenges this wisdom and says, "If they come to us, we will build it." – Gareth Davies

Why are content-led products an excellent approach?

• Building and finalizing a product can take months, but generating content can only take weeks or even a few days. This saves you time and money. Starting with content first also gives Google time to index and helps you discover if there's a market for your new product/feature.
• Starting with content gives your product time to generate an audience before it even launches. If the audience feedback is going well, you can launch without worry. If feedback is negative, it's easier to pivot in a different direction before everything has been finalized.

What content should you create?

• Some of the best content you can create is for readers who are looking for a specific tool or who are looking to problem-solve. This can result in early access sign-ups for users who can beta test your product before it launches and can help you determine who is interested in what.
• Once you discover what topics interest your audience, you can create supporting content that will help validate your ideas. You can even use existing, high-performing content to help support your low-performing content. All of this can lead to a more open-minded customer when new products are introduced.

Content-led products are all about people first and products second. By inviting your customers into the creative process, you're allowing them to connect with who you are so you can give them what they need without squandering resources. If you're doing things right, your audience will always be your best asset.

Interesting stories & ideas 📚

• Switching platforms and gaining new followers – HubSpot
• People are using X less – SocialMediaToday
• How women helped save the economy – Tubular
• Should you delete Instagram? – Low Energy Leads
• Membership pricing strategies – The Tilt

The grateful eight

In our humble opinion, creating great content is the #1 secret to audience growth. You can spend all the time and money in the world building a website, but until you fill your space with captivating content, your followers won't care. That being said, certain types of content can make more of an impact.

Alex Llull at The Steal Club shares the eight types of content that help generate the most significant audience growth.

#1 Teach - Online courses, how-to guides, and recipes are all problem-solving content that is very easy to consume while adding credibility to your niche.

#2 Entertain - Be informative but also be funny. This shows a human side to you and your content that sucks people in. Learning is boring. Laughing is fun!

#3 Inspire - Content that's inspirational can turn passives into long-lasting advocates. Don't be afraid to get personal. Oprah™ wasn't built in a day.

#4 Engagement - Try connecting with your audience by speaking directly to them. Encouraging engagement also leads to content boosting.

#5 Curation - Your content doesn't need to be original to stand out. Try giving existing content fresh perspectives using your unique voice.

#6 Personal story - Injecting your life experiences into your content is something nobody else can do. Content creators, they're just like us!

#7 Analytical - Turning complicated topics into something edible is a valuable skill. This also builds trust and great word of mouth within your community.

#8 Build in public - Being fully transparent shows your followers that it's not all flowers and sunshine. Celebrate your wins and be open about your losses.

...do you need them all? The answer is: it's up to you. Pick 2-3 types of content and make those your main focus. After that, you can sprinkle others here and there, but more rarely. Decide what content resonates with you the most and start experimenting with it. Then optimize based on that. – Alex Llull

Forever evergreen

As the world moves a million miles a minute (200 kilometers per second, actually) it's more complicated than ever for you and your content to stay relevant. The article you wrote a month ago is now severely outdated, and the content you created last year might as well be about millennials and avocado toast.

How do you stay up to speed while holding your audience's attention? Si Quan Ong at Ahrefs believes the key is keeping your content evergreen.

How do you create evergreen content?

• Try using tools like Google's Keyword Planner or Ahrefs' Keywords Explorer to catch rising and declining trends. Feel free to cross-reference using Google Trends. Topics on heavy decline aren't evergreen.
• Show Google that you have the most relevant content by identifying and matching search intent. Why are searchers searching for your content? Take a look at your target keyword's top-ranking results.

How do you stand out?

• Revolving your content around popular topics emphasizes the importance of injecting your distinctive voice into your work. If the heart of your content is the same as everyone else's, there's no reason for readers to click.
• Try writing from personal experience to offer your unique take in a saturated market. Giving your point of view will make your evergreen content more relatable, creating repeat customers.

How do you achieve longevity?

• Avoid angles with short lifespans, like pop culture references. You'll also want to sidestep any words or phrases that date your work. These aren't musts but are worth a try if you're not seeing consistent traffic.
• Don't be afraid to update your content. Because things are constantly changing, and your topics are consistently popular, keeping up with the "now" is extremely important. Evergreen content is also accurate.

Creating evergreen content around evergreen topics generates consistent growth, rather than watching your trending topic traffic plummet once interest dissipates. Think of evergreen content as the meat on your plate and fads as the dessert. You can't live off of dessert for the rest of your life. God knows we've tried. 🍩

Curator's pick

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💬 In this week's issue:

• A strategy guide for content creation
• Choosing a blogging niche that makes a profit
• 20/20 vision is out, polar vision is in

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Cooking up your content strategy

Being a content creator can be overwhelming at times, especially if you're just getting started. YouTube, TikTok, podcasts, Instagram - where to even begin? The platform buffet is endless, and you may not be sure what will curb your appetite when it comes to building your content strategy.

Jay Clouse, the founder of Creator Science, gives us a deep dive into where to invest when it comes to content creation.

#1 Earn attention - First and foremost, everything you create, and the actions you take should be based on attention and trust. To accomplish this, you must simply create and distribute great content. If you're not making something delicious, what are you doing?

#2 Choosing your mediums - What is your audience hungry for? Where do your talents lie? Writing, audio, or video? These three mediums are the cornerstones of content creation. You don't have to stick with just one, as they are all connected in some way, but choosing the one that speaks most to you is a great jumping-off point for cooking your content.

#3 Deciding on a format - Short-form, or long-form? Currently, short-form content is the main power of social media and could be the quickest path to success, but requires you to create at a faster pace. While not as sugary sweet, long-form content has a longer shelf life and will continue providing you with vitamins and minerals far into the future.

#4 Your platform preference - If you're not quite sure which format to go for, choosing a platform that already speaks to you may help. There are essentially two types of platforms: Discovery vs Relationship. "Discovery" platforms are usually the social media variety, while "Relationship" platforms are from your kitchen that you operate and control.

#5 Combining your ingredients - The trick to a tasty content strategy is eventually using multiple tools at once. This isn't going to happen overnight, but if you build it, they will come, and they will eat. If you're still not sure what your choices should be, try choosing one discovery platform, one relationship platform, and start with email.

In the end, you want your creation efforts to compound over time AND create a distribution system YOU own. The only way to do that is to invest time in both creating long-form content and developing a Relationship Platform. But there's no shame in leveraging Discovery Platforms to accelerate growth in your Relationship Platforms. In fact, I recommend it. – Jay Clouse

Interesting stories & ideas 📚

• Teach your readers to cut their carbon footprint
• Creating a 30 hour work week
• Secrets to success, from astronauts
• Gen Z has destroyed the digital footprint
• Assessing your commitment to 𝕏

Banking your blogging niche

A struggling and unprofitable blog is usually one without a strong niche. (Take a shot every time we say "niche". 🥃) The blogging world is a competitive one, and if you don't make your purpose loud and clear, you'll get lost in the sauce.

When it comes to focusing on your true calling, the two most critical components are SEO factors and personal factors. How can you harness the one-two punch of these elements to create some cash? SEO strategist Samantha North breaks it down:

Avoid YMYL - "Your Money, Your Life" pages are always vetted extra closely by Google, which could impact your ranking. If you're just starting, consider a different niche entirely.

Analyze the competition - Is your niche already a popular one? Time to Google and find out! Competition isn't a bad thing, but it could mean a longer road to victory.

Promote affiliate products - Not all of your content needs to be commercial, but promoting the right affiliate products that match your niche is a great way to create some gains.

What are your qualifications? - Having an actual hand in the things you're writing about makes all the difference. A personal connection to the topic creates personal connections with your audience.

Are you that interested? - Longevity is key when it comes to creating a profitable platform. Magic rarely happens overnight, so it's time to play the long game. Make sure you love what you're doing or you'll run out of steam.

How are you creating change? - Find the essence of your niche that solves problems and enriches lives (not just your wallet). Anyone can put words on paper. Give your audience experiences they've never had before.

The vision for good decisions

The modern-day world is all about choice, but with endless variety comes the daunting task of making the right (or maybe wrong) decision. What happens if I choose Path A over Path B? What about Paths C through Z? Should I focus on the now, or overanalyze every possible outcome? You can't predict the future, right?

Well, author Jodie Cook thinks that you can by using polar vision, a powerful concept that helps assess any situation from long and short-term perspectives.

Plenty of people don’t make decisions with polar vision. They fail to see that cutting corners every day will lead to a future where they don’t achieve what they are capable of. They make a grand commitment (a dog, a house, kids, a side project) without considering how it affects their waking hours. – Jodie Cook

Here's how to harness your polar vision:

• It's easy to focus on the big, glossy positives when setting goals, but reviewing the smaller actions, and the length of time it will take to get there, makes your accomplishments more tangible.
• It makes sense to take things one step at a time, but you should also think about what your future may look like in the next one, five, or even ten years. What actions can you take now that will almost guarantee success tomorrow?
• What do you want the final act of your story to look like? Thinking about things only halfway is a safe approach, but it doesn't lay down enough pavement on the road of your dreams. Having a complete map helps prevent dead ends.
  

If you don’t develop your polar vision, you’ll constantly be confused and surprised. You’ll feel a lack of control. You won’t reach your goals, you’ll have unexpected outcomes. You’ll feel like success is a black box and lose motivation to work. – Jodie Cook

No matter your approach, find what helps you see through your fog. Everyone's vision of their journey is unique, and polar vision is a personal concept that only you have the keys to unlock. It's good to focus on the big picture, but don't forget about all the small things. 🔎

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💬 In this week's issue:

• Learn how to rewrite your landing page copy like a pro.
• Don't overcomplicate things. Keep your marketing simple.
• Find out how to protect (and unlock) the creative magic in your work.

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Unlock the secrets to high-converting landing pages

In case you missed our last issue, we announced an exciting new feature in Ghost that makes it possible to build even better landing pages. So we couldn't resist following that up by sharing some great copywriting tips that can help you turn those pages into powerful conversion engines!

In a recent Marketing Examples post, author Harry Dry and copywriting pro Annie Maguire rewrite the copy of several company landing pages. The insights and examples are so digestible that you can apply this knowledge to your own landing pages right away! Here's the takeaways:

• Put yourself in the customer's shoes. What do they care about the most? For example, if they care about saving time, make sure your copy shows them how they will do that!
• Instead of being vague, get really specific and highlight the uniqueness of what you offer. Lead with what makes you stand out from the competition.

When you've got a unique product the golden rule is to let the product speak for itself.

• People are interested in outcomes, not products. In the example below, the original copy simply explains what the product is. The improved copy explains what the outcome is, and taps into what potential customers desire.

• Handle the common objections people might have, in as few words as possible, like this:

• Figure out what the emotional pull to your work is, and highlight that in your copy. This means figuring out what gets your audience excited.
• Always add social proof. How many subscribers do you have? How many people has your work helped? Include this in your landing page copy.
• Be concise. Less is often more. Don't expect people to read huge blocks of text on a landing page that is designed to sell.

Write the title only you can.

Interesting stories & ideas 📚

• How to create content on LinkedIn that actually gets engagement
• 3 ways to keep content quality high (even at scale)
• Why you need to personalize your cold outreach emails
• 13 SEO tactics to help you get more traffic
• 9 things Grub Street Journal learned making an indie print magazine

Are you overcomplicating your marketing?

It's easy to fall victim to shiny object syndrome and start believing that we must do all of the things in order to grow. But as IndieHackers member Dan Kulkov argues, sometimes this leads to an overcomplicated strategy. In a recent post, Dan shares some tips that can help you keep things uncomplicated and gain more clarity in your approach to marketing.

1. Start at the bottom — Focusing on getting as many website visitors as possible is not useful if you can't convert any of those visitors. Start at the bottom of your funnel and make sure you have a clear and compelling offer. "Chase conversions. Not clicks".
2. Do your research — Don't neglect learning all there is to know about your market and competitors. Doing research can have a profound impact on your business and the decisions you make later.
3. Simplify — Design a marketing funnel that is simple and effective. Lean on one primary acquisition model, one key activation moment, and one key offer to sell to your audience.

Conversion Rate Optimization isn’t a magic spell to make people love you. It’s about designing a marketing funnel that takes in new users, communicates your product’s value, and helps them to pay you money.

4. Don't forget to nudge — Most people aren't ready to purchase from the get-go. Make sure you are nudging your audience by addressing common objections and building trust. In short: Make what you offer more desirable. Some great tools to use for nudging your audience include creating offers and discounts for new customers and offering free trials.
5. Don't do difficult things until you get your first customer — If you put too much effort into long-term strategies like SEO before you have verified demand, you run the risk of having to pivot and start over.
6. Pick one thing — You don't need to do everything all at once. Be focused, pick something to work on, and work on that until you've nailed it.

Protecting the magic of your creative work

There's a captivating essence that comes from discovering your own personal process of creativity. It's raw, it's messy, and it's powerful. Once you find your secret formula, you feel like a superhero that can accomplish anything, but how do you protect yourself when something tries to knock you off your pedestal? Sammy Maine over at The Creative Independent chats with writer Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah on how to shield yourself from external (and internal) demons.

There may be a set of rules, but it’s for you and it may change all the time. So basically there is none. If there was one way of doing it that was correct, a lot more people would do it. Also that wouldn’t be art. Part of the magic is our diverse processes. Part of the magic is the ways we contour our lives around the thing. – Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

Here's how to craft the perfect creative potion:

• Switch up your workflow, and break your own rules. Consistency is powerful, but shaking up your muscle memory can lead to exciting paths.
• Take your time, and don't force it. You can't always rush through the creative process and hope brilliance will gush out naturally.
• Don't focus too much on numbers and algorithms. Concentrate on the human aspect of your work to block out any distractions.
• Protect your content. Your creative work is who you are. Make sure that you have a sturdy support system, both professional and personal.
• Mentor others. Connect with the community around you, and teach those who want to learn. Inspiring others is a creator cornerstone!
  

If I can help someone feel like they deserve to be a little bit more as an artist or as a person, that matters a lot and I think some of these writers forget that you have that. It matters how you move. A lot of it’s connected to teaching. That’s why I like being a mentor to someone because I’ve had really great mentors and I like creating spaces where people can discover a way. You have this power just like anybody else. – Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

You're in control of your own destiny. Your creative magic lies in who you are and what makes you happy. Protecting your work by staying true to what speaks to you, and inspiring others to do the same, is as close to "perfect" as you can get. The rest is just beautiful chaos. 💥

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• Discover how to create beautiful landing pages using the Ghost editor.
• Have you tried BAB and AIDA? Explore these creative copywriting frameworks and make your writing more persuasive.
• Find out how cognitive biases and buyer psychology can improve your content.

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How to build a beautiful landing page in Ghost

Hot off the press 🔥 It's now possible to remove the title and feature image from any page in Ghost, unlocking the ability to build landing pages that truly look the part in just a few clicks. All you need to do to get started is hide the title and feature image from the page settings, like this:

Once you've done that, it's time to start building a beautiful landing page using the dynamic cards in the editor. For example, you can use a header card or a signup card to open your page with a splash, followed by some copy, images, toggles, buttons, or whatever your heart desires.

Here's a few examples of what's possible:

We'd love to hear from you and see what you create. Hit reply or head to the comments to share your new landing pages with the community! 💅

Interesting stories & ideas 📚

• 3 time-saving Facebook automated rules to try (+1 to avoid)
• Google engineers want to make adblocking (near) impossible
• How to scale the # of articles you publish per month (& increase your search traffic)
• Giving your donors the best possible experience as a non-profit
• The difference between creative & uncreative people

Copywriting frameworks that actually work

Speaking of creating beautiful landing pages, if you're looking for some copywriting tips to make sure those pages convert, look no further than these frameworks.

In a recent newsletter issue, Neal O'Grady argues that rather than reinventing the wheel, you can use some of these existing copywriting frameworks to spice up your writing. Here's some examples to get you started!

PAS(P)

Neal added the last P to this commonly used framework to make it even stronger:

• Problem — Identify a problem your audience has.
• Agitation — Make that problem more intense.
• Solution — Introduce the solution to the problem.
• Proof — Provide evidence and social proof.

BAB

Paint a story of where your reader is now, where they could be, and how they can get there:

• Before — Show your reader's current (bad) situation.
• After — Show how amazing their life could be.
• Bridge — Explain how your product bridges the before-to-after gap.

AIDA

If you're struggling to focus on a "problem" using the first two frameworks, then you might find AIDA is a better fit:

• Attention – Hook your readers with a great headline, question, or fact.
• Interest — Build interest with a story that backs up your headline.
• Desire — Paint a picture of how.
• Action: Drive action with a compelling call to action.

The 4 P’s

Make your readers visualize their future with this framework:

• Promise — Make a bold promise about what you can offer.
• Picture — Help readers visualize how their life will be improved.
• Proof — Back up your promise with testimonials and social proof.
• Push — Your CTA, give visitors a reason to take action.
  

Writing is a superpower.
It sells even when you're asleep.
It amplifies your voice around the globe.
It sharpens your own thinking.
It attracts people to you.

How to hypnotize your audience

We all want to be liked, make friends, and have a laugh. (Not talking to you, Capricorns. 🐐) We do this by relating to others and understanding what makes us tick. Connecting with people can be hard, and an unconscious barrier that all of us have are cognitive biases. These biases are a natural part of the human psyche and are mostly viewed as negative, but can cognitive biases be used as a positive in the name of content creation? Alex Llull over at The Steal Club thinks so.

I’ve been studying cognitive biases and buyer psychology a lot lately. Initially, it was out of curiosity more than anything else. But, the deeper I dug, the more ideas I found that could be applied to content creation. We engage with things that spark emotions in us. That’s why learning what makes people buy, click or engage is super helpful. And it can turn into a competitive advantage. – Alex Llull

Here's how you can help grow your engagement in a mind-bendy sort of way:

1. Make your content feel personal, even if it isn't all that deep. This will help draw your audience in and make them feel seen and heard. It's not always about what you say, but how you say it.
2. Give your content its own signature style. Use unique colors and interesting formatting. Just like in real life, personality is everything. What's pleasing to the eye will be pleasing to the brain.
3. Create an emotional barter system. A human's natural instinct when being helped is to give help in return. Don't be afraid to ask for retweets (re𝕏eets?), follows, and shares. A loyal audience will happily go to bat for you.
4. Master the art of passively bragging. Sharing your wins with style is a classy way of making people think (or know) they're missing out on something great. The bandwagon effect is real!

Psychology can be applied to everything, including content creation. Just remember that with great power comes great responsibility. There's a fine line between being dishonest and delivering content in a more appetizing way. Your first line of defense is to create great content. The second is to make your content more human, and that's the most genuine you can be. 🌀

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💬 In this week's issue:

• LinkedIn. A 7-step marketing strategy that helped Justin Welsh gain 430k+ followers.
• Nonprofit news. How a community-led strategy can bolster growth for a more sustainable newsroom.
• Social media ain't what it used to be. But here's how we can all contribute to making it a better place to hang out ✌️

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A 7-Step LinkedIn marketing strategy

LinkedIn is not just a space for your online resume, nor does it work like many other social media platforms. When used correctly, it can be the place where you can build meaningful connections, share your content, and become a thought leader within your niche.

Justin Welsh, one of the top creators on the social platform with over 430k followers, shares their tried-and-true strategy for marketing on LinkedIn.

#1 Determine your audience — Avoid shouting into the void by first figuring out who you're aiming to connect with on LinkedIn. Ask yourself what your passions and strengths are. Ask who are the people you can help with your skills.

Knowing who you're speaking to is the first step in delivering content that sticks and sparks conversations. It's not about casting a wide net, it's about attracting the right fish. — Justin Welsh

#2 Optimize your profile — Treat your LinkedIn profile like you would your homepage, and make sure it showcases your expertise and credibility in a way that aligns with your target audience. Make sure you update every aspect of your profile, including your banner, headshot, tagline, featured section, about section, experience section, and get some stellar recommendations.

#3 Turn creator mode on — This allows you to add up to 5 hashtags relevant to your areas of expertise and helps you get discovered by other people interested in those areas. To turn this one, click the Me button, select View profile, scroll to Resources, and then toggle creator mode on.

#4 Don't stop networking — But don't play the numbers game and add everyone (no one likes this behavior). Build a relevant network, focus on quality over quantity, and foster real relationships with real people. Personalize those connection requests!

#5 Publish shareable content — As is always the case on any platform or on your own website, sharing valuable content with your followers is the best way to expand your reach. Create a domino effect by publishing sharable posts that are packed with value.

Your content shouldn't mirror what everyone else is saying. It should inspire, challenge, and educate. It should solve problems, open up new thought avenues, and stimulate meaningful conversations.

#6 Spend time on engagement — Sharing high-quality content is half the battle. The other half is sticking around for the comments. Set aside some time to engage in the comments on your posts with thoughtful responses that further the conversation.

#7 Partner up — Work with other professionals and creators to cross-promote your work. Get involved with (or host) a LinkedIn live, jump on other people's podcasts, and create some mutually beneficial opportunities to attract new followers from each other's networks.

Interesting stories & ideas 📚

• The price of verification: What paid Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter verification means for news
• 10 things you won't want to miss in your GA4 migration
• You can now use Google sheets to deliver email to up to 1,500 recipients with mail merge tags
• The most important copywriting skills every marketer needs
• Twitter is now X as the little blue bird disappears

How a community-centric approach boosts member revenue

The Intitute for Nonprofit News shared an insightful deep dive into the success of Bridge Michigan, a nonpartisan news service published by the Center of Michigan.

Founded in 2011 as a digital-only outlet with only one editor and reporter, the organization has since grown to a team of 22 whose roles sit in editorial, growth, engagement, and membership. With a focus on transparency and accountability, the publication approaches its work as a public service and has leveraged several opportunities to grow a highly engaged audience, form a sustainable business model, and continue providing community-centered reporting.

Here's the digestible takeaways:

• Adopting a membership model — By focusing on engaging deeply with their audience, going as far as buying a van to drive around the state to meet their audience, they were able to launch a membership program in 2019 which has gone over to raise nearly $1 million from over 8,000 donors, making up 24% of the organization's revenue.

This is going to sound easy, but I really do think [engagement] is kind of the secret sauce as to how we were able to get off the ground with membership so quickly, and how we’ve been able to continue to grow,” DeLind said. “We sort of had that muscle memory, that institutional knowledge, of how to make people know that you care about them — that you’re interested in their feedback and their ideas, and that membership is really just the ultimate expression of engagement with your organization. You care so much about this thing, this organization that provides you news that you can get for free, that you are deciding to spend your money and just support it.

• Investment in staff and training — Creating full-time roles to manage their growth strategy and membership programs was a big turning point for the publication, along with participation in the Meta Journalism Project Accelerator in 2018, they were able to work on a strategy to attract and retain new readers.
• Understanding the funnel — Gaining a deep understanding of how Bridge readers were visiting the website, what they were reading, and when they were returning, became a valuable tool in understanding audience behavior, and promoting their one-time donation and membership offerings.

• Refining tiers — The Bridge team continues to refine its membership and engagement strategy, build out new benefits for donors and members, and roll out new membership tiers for individuals and organizations based on what they learn from speaking to their audience. Running a sustainable newsroom is not a set-it-and-forget-it deal — it requires constant iteration!

Bridge Michigan has firmly established the membership program in less than three years, thanks to a culture of connecting with local readers and demonstrating the value of Bridge’s reporting work to communities in Michigan.

The engagement grave

Is social media what it used to be? YouTube is out, TikTok is in, Instagram is always working through a mid-life crisis, and we're not sure what's going on with Twitter (𝕏). Many creators struggle with today's complicated algorithms, fuzzy metrics, and dead strategies. How are we expected to function within a dysfunctional social media landscape? Writer and social media manager Emily Rochotte shines some much-needed light through the engagement fog.

In all this uncertainty, there is good news. Social isn’t dead yet, but your social media accounts need some TLC. The negative experiences you, me, and our peers are having with social present a meaningful opportunity to explore how users feel about media platforms and the content that circulates on them. – Emily Rochotte

So, how can you make your social media insanity sane again? Try this:

• Make everything meaningful. The way you engage with other accounts should be relevant, and on-brand. Don't just throw likes and follows at the wall to see what sticks.
• It's not about the bots. Automation and AI may seem like the tools of the future, but it's become a big turn-off. When it comes to social media engagement, most people know a fake friend when they see one.
• Don't cut corners. Shortcuts like buying followers will only falsely inflate your numbers, making your entire social media presence inauthentic. Real engagement needs real people.
• Clean house. Don't be shy about combing through your followers and removing the obvious bots. Your follower count will drop, but you'll know who's left is real, which creates more authentic followers in the long run.
• Content is key. There's never going to be one magic remedy to curing all of your social media ills, but one of your major focuses should always be creating and sharing quality content. If your content sucks, so will everything else.
• Build relationships. Don't be afraid to show your true self to your audience. The amount of "human" you share will always be noticed, and you'll receive authenticity in return.
  

When you keep showing up, providing the information your audience is seeking, and delivering it in the manner in which they desire to consume it in order to help them learn, you’re showing them they’re valuable to you. And in a challenging world filled with an overabundance of low-quality, bot-generated content, making someone feel human is the best way to connect. That connection is the priority. The engagement that builds with it is the added bonus. – Emily Rochotte

In the end, is social media all about engagement metrics? Not really. Your audience doesn't care about your numbers, they only care about you and your content. If you keep giving them what they want and show them who you are, they'll follow you forever. Connecting with others is easy. The hard part is climbing out of the engagement grave, and connecting with yourself. 🪦

Curator's pick

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💬 In this week's issue:

• Social platforms. Which ones should you focus on in 2023?
• A signup story. New ways to implement signup forms, and test their performance.
• Reaching out. How to send cold emails that actually get a response.

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How to navigate the changing social landscape

Social media is having a moment and going through a period of change, with Twitter declining, Threads rising, and short-form video content becoming more popular than ever. So how should we navigate all of this change, as creators?

Jay Clouse from Creator Science shared a tweet thread about this topic, ranking the platforms by order of opportunity. Here's the low-down.

Writing platforms:

1. Threads
2. LinkedIn
3. Twitter

Jay argues that while Threads is new, which brings some risk, it also bridges the gap to Instagram, and it already has a fast-growing user base of 100M (Twitter has 400M). Meanwhile, LinkedIn shows steady growth, and Twitter is in decline.

Short-form video platforms:

1. Instagram (Reels)
2. YouTube Shorts
3. TikTok

Gaining followers on Instagram is a 2-for-1 with Threads (sort of), and YouTube shorts can be a foot in the door for regular, long-form YouTube, whereas TikTok feels more risky, Jay explains.

The most important takeaway: Remember that all of these are "rented" discovery platforms. They're great for growth but don't forget to invest in relationship platforms, too.

Don't neglect Relationship Platforms (email, audio podcasts, SMS, private communities). That's distribution you own. Move people from discovery → relationship platforms. — Jay Clouse

Interesting stories & ideas 📚

• How to sell yourself, without being salesy
• Twitter has blocked links to its Meta rival, Threads
• Mastodon hits 2 million active users
• How Twitter's decline may birth a new microblogging ecosystem
• 5 creator flywheels you can use to leverage your business

More ways to get more signups

Where you place a subscription form on your website, unsurprisingly, impacts the number of subscriptions you receive. While you don't want to overwhelm visitors with a signup form at every turn, it's a good idea to implement several forms in well-placed locations around your website.

ICYMI, a few weeks ago we released a brand new editor card that allows you to grow your audience from any post or page on your publication. The signup card is the easiest way to add an email subscription form to your content whenever you need to call on visitors to consider becoming a member of your publication.

Here's three ideas of where you can use a signup card on your site:

• Half-way down a long-form piece of content
• On your about page
• On a dedicated signup landing page

For each signup card, you can choose a custom width, background image or color, button text, and you can completely customize the copy on each card. This means you can tailor each signup form — make it big, small, colorful, and on-brand. Or keep it simple. The choice is yours. The best part is you never have to leave the editor 😎

Each signup card is directly integrated with memberships in Ghost, so they'll only be seen by logged-out visitors on your site, making sure not to get in the way of your existing member's experience.

Don't forget to test how your forms perform, then iterate and improve! With each signup card, you can apply a label that will automatically be added to any members who sign up using that form, giving you real insights about which signup forms perform the best.

How to do cold outreach right

Cold outreach doesn't have to be so cold. In fact, when it's done right, it can be the most effective way to achieve your goals — especially in the early days of growing a newsletter.

Co-creator of MakerBox, Sveta Bay, shared the exact cold outreach template they use to contact founders to write guest articles for their newsletter, which gets an 80% response rate!

The template:

1. Quality over quantity. Stop trying to reach 100's of people. Pick the most relevant people for your outreach, and make it personalized.
2. Get to the point fast. No small talk, people are busy.
3. Make a crystal clear offer. Describe exactly what you need and what you'll give them in return.
4. Focus on stats. Back up what you'll give people in return with numbers.
5. Close objections. Figure out what the main objections will be and address them directly.
6. End with a question. This encourages people to answer.

Here's an example Sveta shared of this template in action:

Who says cold outreach can't wear a cozy sweater? 🧣

Curator's pick

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💬 In this week's issue:

• Get personal. How events and in-person interactions can help you grow your newsletter audience.
• Getting sponsored. Useful tips about positioning newsletter ads to advertisers.
• Creative spark. Wise words about harnessing your creativity and building spaces for community to thrive.

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How face-to-face meetings can boost audience growth

Here's a growth channel you might not have thought about — in-person interactions! Whether this means attending events, creating events, offering 1:1 calls, or opening up an office hours slot.

This might sound like a lot of work, but as Simon Owens argues, it's worth considering the fact that face-to-face interactions can offer unparalleled opportunities:

I think a lot of media entrepreneurs underestimate the power of face-to-face interactions as a growth tool. If you have a phone call or in-person meeting with an operator within your niche, they're more likely to recommend your outlet to others. I've met a lot of successful creators who were extremely aggressive about attending live events and also scheduling phone calls with their most engaged audience members. — Simon Owens

Here's some examples of publishers who have benefitted from face-to-face interactions:

• Pickleball newsletter The Dink traveled to pickleball events around the US in a van with their logo on the side. This allowed the founder to meet the sport's top players and influencers (and helped the newsletter grow to 150,000 subscribers).
• Dan Oshinsky at Inbox Collective provided an automated link in the newsletter signup email offering new subscribers the chance to book a phone call, which attracted many consulting customers.
• Jane Friedman of The Hot Sheet leverages speaking at industry events to build a subscriber base.
• The RANGE Media team run AMA sessions with local Redditors, and host office-hours events in a local brewery.
• Simon Owens's Media Newsletter started organizing monthly dinners with media operators in 2023, which has led to an expanding network with dozens of media professionals.
  

Do these types of interactions scale? Not really. But they provide much greater impact on a per-person basis than any individual piece of content — Simon Owens

Investing in IRL events and interactions might require more time and personal energy than writing a piece of content, but the benefit of creating a network, boosting word of mouth, and creating a flywheel for growth shouldn't be overlooked. So, what type of face-to-face interactions could you create?

Interesting stories & ideas 📚

• Instagram's Threads surpasses 100 million users
• The beginning of an exciting new era: The future of news
• SEO: How to target specific keywords and win featured snippets
• 7 areas where entrepreneurs waste time (+ time-saving tips)
• Why doing creative work will save your life!

Are newsletter ads worth it?

In order to make newsletter ads a sustainable source of revenue, it's important to know how to sell ad slots to potential sponsors. IndieHackers community member Darko shared an interview with Emanuel Cinca, the founder of Stacked Marketer, who has monetized a newsletter with ads and gets new subscribers by doing advertising "swaps" with other newsletter creators.

The takeaways provide some useful insights into how you can better position your ad slots, and give sponsors a good idea of what they can expect upfront.

• Compared to social media ads (TikTok, Facebook, Instagram), newsletter ads are high intent. This means they tend to be more expensive but provide higher quality visitors who are more likely to convert, so long as the advertiser and newsletter audience are well-aligned.
• The #1 objection advertisers have when starting with newsletter ads is the lack of defined targeting (for example being able to segment the target audience by location, or job).
• However, many advertisers come back once they see results and many choose to book recurring slots.

It’s not uncommon for 33-50% of the available slots to be booked by returning sponsors.

• The expected click-through rate depends on many factors, including the size and placement of the ad, the size of the newsletter's list, and how engaged the list is.

The size of your newsletter matters a lot. The smaller it is, the more likely it is to have a higher CTR, and the more likely that your audience is made of superfans that engage with everything. If you are over 25,000 subs, I think over 0.50% CTR on your primary placement is pretty good, but you can definitely get it to 1%. Then smaller placements drop much lower in CTR, as expected.

• The cost per click for a newsletter ad can vary between $1-$10, depending on the audience type and size.
• Keeping your list clean is the best way to provide good results for sponsors, and therefore keep them coming back in the future. The Stacked Marketer's 58,000 readership outperforms industry newsletters that are 3-4x the size, by keeping their list clean!

Creating a creative community

Some of us don't have a choice but to create. When you first got your hands on finger paint in pre-school, the fire was lit forever. Now, as an adult, your creativity has become more than color and words — it's your friends, family, and livelihood. Max Freedman from The Creative Independent sits down with author Emerson Whitney on harnessing your creative calling and building community out of your creative work.

Honestly, I think there’s really nothing else to me besides this. There wasn’t anything else I was supposed to do. I entered this material reality with a commitment to writing things down, and it has stayed. There was no point in my life that I was wanting to do absolutely anything else at all.

So, how do you use your creative spark to truly better yourself, and the spaces around you? Emerson has some wisdom to share:

• Be mindful of how your work impacts others. You may feel like a solo artist, but the entire world is your band. Always keep your ears, mind, and heart open.
• Use social media as a creative tool. Harnessing the power of social media to connect with other creatives and fans alike is a great way to flex your work and your voice.
• Your work should reflect who you truly are. Don't be shy about injecting your identity into what you do. This is how your readers relate to your work, keeps them coming back, and makes them stick around.
• Follow the money. As you build a business around your creative work, don't be afraid to talk openly about status and class. Show your followers how you live, and they'll share their lives with you too.
• Teach! Surround yourself with other creatives who want to learn from you and vice versa. By natural osmosis, your creative space will morph into a "learning community" rather than a classroom.
  

The hope is that it’s a place where I’m sharing my resources and my experience, especially in publishing and writing, but also, I’m totally a learner, and I’m blown away constantly by how badass my students are and what they’re up to. I like the fact that we spend our time in a learning community, versus considering my students as a glass that’s empty that I’m filling with stuff.

Sometimes, all we have is human connection. We're not meant to spend our lives totally alone, yet your creative space can sometimes feel a bit isolating. If you're feeling uninspired, pop your bubble and live a little! Show the world who you are, and it'll show you right back. 🚀

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