Writing Posts That Drive Email Sign-Ups

How I grew my email list 9x in 10 months using LinkedIn (80% of my growth came from these 5 tactics): I started writing daily on LinkedIn back in July 2024. But I didn't really try to leverage LinkedIn to grow my email list until later that year (around Aug/September). And since then, I've added 8,000+ new subscribers to my newsletter. Here are the 5 tactics I used to turn LinkedIn followers into email subscribers: Tactic 1: CTAs in Posts 2 approaches here: • Option 1: Include links directly in your posts (higher conversion, lower reach) • Option 2: Put links in the comments (preserves reach, still drives signups) My recommendation: If you’re getting 1,000+ views per post, start including occasional direct links. Otherwise, use the comment strategy. Tactic 2: Featured Section Most people waste this feature. How I use it: Instead of featuring my newsletter, I promote 1 lead magnet. Because lead magnets typically have higher perceived value and convert better. The key here: If your goal is to grow your list, stick to ONE offer. Multiple options create decision paralysis (and hurt conversion rates). Tactic 3: Custom Profile Button This is criminally underused. Instead of a generic “Connect” button, I have a custom “Visit my newsletter” button that appears on every post I make. It's passive, works 24/7, and can be your #1 or #2 driver of subscribers. Setup tip: You may need LinkedIn Premium, and there are different button options Tactic 4: Welcome DMs When someone connects with me, I just don't accept the request. I also send them a welcome message. There are 2 ways to do this: • Lower ask: Share 2-3 of your best posts to build goodwill without asking for anything in exchange • Higher conversion: Share a targeted lead magnet Pro tip: Ask a qualifying question first, then send a personalized resource based on their response. Tactic 5: Viral Giveaways & 2-Step Method These 2 tactics are very similar (which is why I combined them), but here's the nuance: Traditional giveaway: Create a valuable asset, post about it, ask people to comment to receive it. When they comment, their followers see your post = exponential reach. 2-Step method: Create a post that's valuable in and of itself but offer an additional resource for anyone who comments. The big difference is that the giveaway post just prompts people to comment without giving any value upfront. Both approaches consistently get me 70-90% opt-in rates on my landing pages, though. I've had 2-step posts that generated more subs than some giveaways The beautiful thing? You don’t need to immediately try all 5 tactics to see results. Pick 1-2 and start executing them consistently. I promise you'll start to see the difference. Hope this helps! PS - I created a more in-depth text & video breakdown of these 5 tactics. Want to check it out? Comment "grow" and I'll send it over. (This was actually a module from a recent cohort-based course I ran!)

I did a workshop with beehiiv on how companies are adding $1M in ARR using founder-led newsletters. Here's the tl;dr: But, first, why write a founder-led newsletter? • 90% of your ICP isn’t in the market to buy TODAY. But when they will be, you’ll be the first person they think of. • You can meet only once per quarter on a sales call with your prospects — miss it, and you wait for 3 months. But a newsletter lets you talk to your ideal customers 2-4X a month. • Newsletters help you go from "pushy salesperson" to "thought partner" if you focus on consistently providing value (more on that below) • <20% of your social followers are likely to see your content, but 40-60% of your subscribers will open/read your newsletter So, the question is not “if” you should write a newsletter, it’s “how.” Here are 4 principles you can use: 1) Focus on who reads, not how many I sent my first issue to 236 people I met at conferences / had already worked with. Today, the founders of beehiiv, 1440, The Rundown, and most of the largest newsletter brands read it. So don’t overthink. Just start. And obsess over attracting the right audience instead of chasing # of subscribers - that’s a vanity metric. 2) Give away the secrets, sell the execution My highest-performing content (60%+ open rates): • Tactical playbooks (we share our ads playbook for the largest newsletter brands) • Case studies (like how we drove $250K for a 15K-person newsletter) • Also great: interviews with experts, guest posts, industry hot takes/trends 3) Focus on the four highest-leverage growth levers • Lead magnets I recommend some kind of triple T lead magnet (tactics, templates, or tools) that’s gated by a simple landing page in Carrd. People sign up to your email list to receive what you put together for them. • The Dream 100 strategy Create a list of people you’d love to work with → Find them on LinkedIn → DM them: Share value (lead magnet, past newsletter issue) → Invite them to subscribe to your newsletter Example: (“Hey, I have a newsletter where I share growth/monetization tactics 2X a month. [people/brands they respect] are reading it. Mind if I add you?) • Post on socials and share the newsletter link at the end • Auto-DM new followers and send the newsletter link 4) Convert readers into clients Step 1: Do interesting things and talk about them Every Sunday, review your calendar from the past week: • What questions kept coming up in calls? • Which client problems did you solve? • What frameworks worked? That's your next month of newsletter content. Step 2: Introduce subtle CTAs • Show how you've helped similar clients and how you can help them. Example: I shared how we helped a founder generate $250K and naturally mentioned we scale newsletters. • I sign off with my LinkedIn and calendar link for anyone to book a call with me. • After delivering value, I reach out 1:1 to book meetings. Following this template, I grew my agency to $1M in ARR in 11 months.

Everyone’s saying, “You need to build an email list YOU own social media is SO unpredictable, it could go away any time!” But few are actually teaching you how. So I will :) 2 months ago, I wrote a single LinkedIn post that added 104 new email subscribers to my list. 1 became a client the next month. Here’s why it worked well to grow my list & what I’d do if I were trying to get more of my social media audience on my email list. It comes down to copywriting 101: - Crafting an open loop - Creating urgency - Building credibility & positioning I’ll break it down & paste the original post in the comments 1. Start w/ a real problem your ideal clients care about Your post needs to solve a problem that your audience feels deeply. My client's big fear is their LinkedIn profile might be costing them business & opportunities (it often is which I address in the post) 2. Create an open loop Intro the topic, but don’t give away the solution in the post itself. Keep readers curious. I mentioned these industry leaders were making 3 common mistakes I see all the time but didn’t reveal the mistakes or how to solve them. Instead, I said that I’d share the full breakdown in my newsletter. This left them wondering: Am I making these mistakes too? 3. Hook them w/ specifics The 1st sentence set the scene w/ vivid details: the date, city, “exclusive dinner,” time of year. People love stories & specifics that draw them in. Whenever you can, turn your post into a mini-story or anecdote it makes the lesson more relatable & memorable. 4. Establish authority & credibility Through the post, I wove in subtle signals of credibility. I mentioned that I was working w/ “some of the most accomplished women in their field” at an exclusive event. This wasn’t just about adding to the story, it was positioning. By showing that high-caliber professionals trust me, I built trust w/ my audience too. 5. Show the transformation. In the post, I shared how I helped those leaders identify & correct their mistakes proving my methods work. People need to see value before they’ll want more. 6. Leverage FOMO. At the end of the post, I added urgency by saying: “Tomorrow, I’m sharing those 3 (very common) Mistakes & how to avoid them but only w/ my email subscribers.” If they didn’t sign up, they’d miss out. 7. Close w/ a clear, actionable CTA. I ended the post w/ a question.  It prompted self-reflection while also softening the pitch. Making the next step (sign up for newsletter) feel natural & necessary. TLDR: How to replicate this strategy for email list growth using LinkedIn posts: 1. Start solving the real problems your audience cares about. 2. Use open loops  3. Incorporate storytelling & authority-building details. 4. Save most valuable insights for email subscribers. 5. Commit to promoting your newsletter 2–3x per month. There’s obviously much more nuance to it, but this is the basics. Hope this helps! Curious how you're finding LinkedIn to grow your email list? ⤵️

Your email list is your most valuable marketing asset. So here are 5 funnels you can use to build it starting today: Template 1: The Bare Bones The simplest one: you post content, drive it to your profile where they can join your email list. It works well as long as: - You’re attracting the right crowd with your content. - You’re having enough traction to get meaningful signups daily. The problem is that beyond the qualify of your content and your profile, your audience doesn’t have an incentive to join your email list. Which brings us to number 2: Template 2: The Magnetized I call it “Magnetized” because it involves a lead magnet: a valuable, free resource that your subscribers get in exchange for their email. Here are a few rules of thumb to follow: - It must be so valuable people would willingly pay for it. - It must solve a specific problem your audience is facing. - It should tie directly to your core offer. That will increase the number of conversions. But it doesn’t solve for the amount of traffic. Which brings us to number 3... Template 3: Augmented I like ads for 4 reasons: 1. They allow you to increase traffic 2. They allow you to do that quickly 3. They allow you to do that without relying on other creators. 4. They also allow you to target specific people (either via targeting or specific copy) Those get more people to see your lead magnet, download it and join your email list. Template 4: Collab The next level is to leverage other people’s audiences via guest posting. Here’s how it works: 1. Make a list of newsletters in your niche 2. Guest-write an issue of that newsletter 3. Add your lead magnet link to the bottom 4. Make sure to offer the owner of the newsletter to do the same with your audience. Just like collabs in music: this tactic allows you to get in front of a qualified warm audience. The only problem is that you have to rely on someone else’s goodwill. Template 5: Viral Who are your best sales reps? Happy customers. How do you make them promote your newsletter? Do this: - Create newsletter-specific content (not recycled stuff) - Provide non-obvious insights - Make it actionable. - Incentivize them By doing all 4 you’ll create growth loops that will allow your newsletter to grow on autopilot. Template 6: Pinnacle Combine all of the above. Complex, but unstoppable.

I grew my startup’s email list to 13,000 signups organically (without ads or begging for signups). Here’s the weird strategy i’d use if i had to start from zero again: I'd become the "translator" between my audience and the experts they can't understand. First I'd find the smartest people in my niche - the ones with terrible content but incredible knowledge - And I’d post content "translating" their insights into beginner language. Monday: "PhD explains customer psychology in 47 minutes - here's the 3 sentences that matter" Tuesday: "CFO breaks down unit economics - here's what it means for your $500 business" etc… I'd literally watch expert content, extract the gold, and repackage it for people who don't have time to decode academic jargon. And the beauty of this approach? You're not even coming up with the content yourself - you're just adding value to content that already exists. The problem is, you can only fit so much value into a 60-second video. And that's where your email list comes in. Your email list is where you give your audience deeper frameworks, and actionable steps they can’t get in a 60-second video. And because you've already posted so much value, people trust you and are hungry for more. They’ll sign up to your email list without a second’s hesitation. Try it out. You’ll be surprised at how fast your list grows.

I’ve grown 100+ newsletters in 3 years. Here’s how to turn your newsletter into 250+ social posts that bring in tens of thousands of new subscribers (for free): Repurpose every newsletter you write into 5+ posts on your social media platform of choice. For starters, I recommend choosing from Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. And while you’re at it, repurpose each newsletter issue into an SEO-friendly blog post. If you turn your weekly newsletter into 1 blog post and 5 social posts a week and do nothing else, you’ll publish a whopping 52 blog posts and 260 social posts a year. Each of those is a chance for your content to get discovered and shared — and for your audience to grow. A cool example of this is Rowan Cheung, the founder of the Rundown. He’s grown his Instagram account to 100K+ followers and racked up 10M+ views using nothing but AI-generated videos (HeyGen for video, ElevenLabs for voice). And they’ve gotten him tens of thousands of newsletter subscribers completely for free. The way he does it is very similar to the flywheel I described earlier: 1) His team creates a daily newsletter. 2) They repurpose that newsletter into a script. 3) They use HeyGen to generate an AI avatar video. 4) They tweak the video and publish it on IG, TT, and YT. By using his newsletters as scripts for his social videos, Rowan has managed to tap into a new audience with content he was already creating. And by sharing that content on social, he’s managed to drive more people to his newsletter, where he’s able to better monetize his audience. You don’t have to post *video* content for this to work. If you prefer text, you can ask ChatGPT or Claude to help you repurpose your newsletter into social posts with a prompt like this: - “Act as a newsletter and email marketing expert. Using this newsletter, create a LinkedIn post that’s 300–400 words long. - Make the content actionable, conversational, and easy to understand. Don’t use big words. Break up the content into bullets when needed. Use no more than two sentences in a paragraph. - Use a strong hook in the first sentence to grab attention.” You don’t want to spend triple the time creating content and burn out before the year is over. Instead, you want to create content that works across your newsletter, your blog, and your social media. Social media is how you get feedback that you can use to improve your content. And trust me, you’ll get a lot more of it from social than you will from your newsletter. And a lot faster, too.