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Hey

After reading the subject line, I’m sure you know I will talk about your favourite newsletter today and how I grew it in the past 1 year and 2 months.

However, the growth I made is not good, at least for me. As I covered in the last edition, I made a lot of changes in this newsletter and failed with them. But I kept iterating; the current version is the final version of the iteration. But, I haven’t covered how I made money using this newsletter.

In this edition, I’ll show you how I acquired subscribers and the tactics I used and promote my newsletter which led to making $180.

(Yeah, I know this is not too much. But this is a good sign for me and it motivates me to do more and write more.)

Wait, do you know me?

I keep this section for the creators I feature but I am not sure if you know me. Currently, I have 217 people on my email list. It’s pretty less as an email marketer, isn’t it? It’s like a doctor can’t cure himself, haha! So I can’t assume that many people know me.

So, here is a quick intro about myself.

I am from Kolkata, the eastern part of India. I was born and brought up there. I was a below-average student who did his Diploma and graduated in Civil Engineering. In 2023, I started freelancing. I started this newsletter in October 2023 and have published 63 editions till now.

Now, we will see how I acquired subscribers.

Email List building

I have used 3 tactics to acquire subscribers.

1. Social Media Copywriting + Promotion

I am mostly active on LinkedIn. I used to write 6 posts every week but then I reduced the number of posts and focused more on the quality. Currently, I post around 4-5 posts/week.

The schedule is like this:

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday

I write about Email Marketing, Copywriting and every freaking day in the comment section, I add the link to my newsletter subscription page.

Also, I write a post dedicated to this newsletter on Saturdays.

It is all about giving them a reason to read the newsletter and making sure they know that it arrives every Sunday at 10:00 AM IST, like clockwork.

The framework is simple:

Hook: Stop their scroll with a number or shocking fact.

Introduce the creator and his work in brief.

Then ask them to check my newsletter the next day as a CTA.

It works!

I also write on Twitter (X).

Below this tweet, I ask if they are curious to check the deep dives into the top creators in my newsletter.

From the next week, I will repurpose my previous newsletter editions. I can make 100s of tweets from those editions. 🙂 

One Quick Tip: Use Sub Reddits, it is very underrated. I am yet to leverage them in the best way possible, but I will keep sharing the updates with you.

2. DM People

This is a tactic I learned from Matt. I DMed 30 people every single day on LinkedIn and Twitter, and I am talking about my initial phase.

I don’t do it now because I don’t want “everyone” to subscribe to my newsletter.

There are so many people subscribed to these DMs. It was a successful approach. Thanks, Matt.

3. Lead Magnets

I created 2 lead magnets (one is in the pipeline).

A. How to get your first 500 subscribers

B. 20 proven hacks (Didn’t use it though)

I added it to my website and then asked people to get it by visiting my website and signing up for this e-book.

People loved it 🙂 

Now, I will talk about 3 important aspects.

1. Segmentations

I created two groups, one new and unengaged and one active. 

It helped me understand and improve my email-sending quality.

2. Email Copy

People say they love my emails, and I asked why. They always say, ”You write like you’re talking to me.” I smile because that is my goal. I am writing in the same way, can you feel it? Don’t you think I am writing it to you, sitting in front of you and talking like a year-old friend?

You should apply the same. It actually increases the audience engagement and the CTR.

3. Zero Sales

Do me a favour! Go to your inbox, open some emails you signed up for, and give them a close look. What did you see? They sell in every line, do you hate it? Yes, I know, I hate it too.

I don’t like when people just ask to book a call or buy their product without building any relationship.

I always suggest the 80/20 rule of Email Marketing which is 80% educating and 20% selling.

But Dark Chocolate is 100% educating 🙂 

Now, the most important question is how do I make money?

Dark Chocolate Earning

I didn’t sell anything to you, so how did I make money?

All thanks to Beehiiv’s ad network.

As you can see at the top of the email, it is written “In partnership with.”

Basically, that is the ad I am talking about—whenever you click on it, I generate a small income.

On average, the CPC is $1.2 - $2.4

Also, if you haven’t clicked on the link above, would you mind clicking? It will make some money for me. I invest more than 5 hours writing these deep dives and as you know these ads are my only source of revenue. : )

If you went back to the top and clicked the link, I am thankful to you.

Appreciate the time and attention you give me every week :)

Key Takeaways

After sending the emails for the last 1.2 years, here are my main takeaways:

1. Always write about newsletters on social media

2. Focus on your copywriting skill → Make it conversational

3. Keep testing and iterating with every freaking edition—people want the best from you

Thanks for being here! Next Sunday, I will come with a deep dive into Sa…okay, wait one more week for it :)) Till then keep eating Dark Chocolates and follow me on Twitter (I am taking a 30-day writing challenge there)

Till the next time 👋🏻

- Your “Email guy” Anirban

Did your friend refer this newsletter to you? Well, he/she is such a sweet person.

Here you can subscribe and read more champion😄👇

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(Run by Shagufta and me)