avatarJenn Leach

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er, by…</h3></div> <div><p>jennleach.substack.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*rT6Qp_YO9K0s-P5w)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><p id="9a12">First, I set out to have free and paid subscriptions. My paid subscribers pay 5/month or 40/year for one newsletter per week (or four per month) minimum, plus, discounts on my products, and more.</p><p id="91a6">Free subscribers get one newsletter per month.</p><h2 id="871f">Marketing</h2><p id="b08f">I grew to just 700 subscribers in my first email with little marketing. To push people to join my Substack newsletter, I mentioned it with a link in the bottom of some of my Medium stories. I also pinned it to my Twitter account for a while.</p><p id="9b4b">That’s it.</p><p id="42b1">What I plan to do this year is:</p><ul><li>Share my Substack link in my other email newsletters (I have a list with Convertkit and other platforms)</li><li>Promote Substack in my blog</li></ul><h2 id="5cbe">Open rates</h2><p id="9a27">My email open rates are pretty good, ranging from 30% to 60% which is amazing!</p><p id="b59c"><a href="https://www.campaignmonitor.com/resources/knowledge-base/what-are-good-email-metrics/#:~:text=What%20is%20a%20good%20open,those%20in%20your%20specific%20industry.">According to Campaign Monitor</a>, a good email open rate is 17% to 28%. Mine is way up above that, which blows my mind!</p><p id="1f28">It’s common for smaller email lists to have high open rates though, I think. My larger email list of around 4,000ish subscribers has a much, much, much lower open rate.</p><p id="ed42">If I can maintain this open rate while growing my readership on the newsletter, I can charge higher rates for sponsorships, if that’s something I pursue in the future.</p><p id="44a0">I’ve had 20 unsubscribes over the past year.</p><p id="81d7">When you look at the Unsubscribes Report, it tells you why the subscriber unsubscribes. Some readers even wrote a little blurb that goes more int

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o detail, which is great.</p><p id="32df">Feedback is great. It helps me learn and do better.</p><h2 id="7e99">Readership</h2><p id="4348">My audience comes from around the world: 62 countries and 46 U.S. states.</p><p id="f201">If you look at the Audience Insights report in Substack, it also shares some information about the other Substack newsletters your audience subscribes to, which is insanely helpful.</p><p id="4b60">That info helps reveal even more insight about your audience.</p><p id="0c97">I have 7 publications recommending my Substack newsletter and almost a dozen subscribers gained from recommendations!</p><h2 id="8c8b">Income</h2><p id="8118">I get a mix of monthly and annual paid subscriptions and it’s earned me just under 1,200 for the year, which I’m pleasantly surprised to learn!</p><p id="846a">That’s about 100 a month just for writing a newsletter and I’m super stoked.</p><p id="479d">Prior to this moment, I was really confused how much I was earning from Substack but, it looks like the dashboard has been switched up a bit and it’s much easier to calculate earnings.</p><p id="5a24">So, that’s how my journey has gone with my new Substack newsletter over the past year.</p><h1 id="eca6">TL;DR</h1><p id="f2e3">I started a new Substack newsletter a year ago and it’s grown to nearly 700 subscribers and made me around $1,200 in revenue!</p><p id="b846">This is with very little organic promotion. I definitely plan on continuing it and I’m excited to see where things are this time next year.</p><p id="5ee2"><b><i>Do you have a Substack newsletter?</i></b></p><p id="4bc5"><b><i>Any best practices or advice you can share?</i></b></p><p id="37e9"><b><i>If you don’t have one, would you start a Substack newsletter? Could this be a replacement for a paid email marketing tool like Convertkit and others?</i></b></p><p id="2025">Want to read more stories like this? Check out my <a href="https://jennleach.substack.com/">Substack</a> where I talk about side hustles, social media, content creation and business.</p><p id="ba59">Note: This article contains affiliate links.</p></article></body>

I started A Substack Newsletter — One Year Later

Photo by James McKinven on Unsplash

It’s been one year since starting my Substack newsletter. I started hearing more about the platform and I thought it’d be cool to use it for email marketing and as another place to connect with my audience.

In January 2022, I embarked on this journey and since then, I’ve written 50+ newsletters!

Learn about how I attracted readers, what my stats look like, how much I’ve earned, and more…

Starting on Substack — One year later

It all started in late 2021. I was hearing more about Substack.

So, I decided to start a Substack newsletter. This is how it went…

First, I set out to have free and paid subscriptions. My paid subscribers pay $5/month or $40/year for one newsletter per week (or four per month) minimum, plus, discounts on my products, and more.

Free subscribers get one newsletter per month.

Marketing

I grew to just 700 subscribers in my first email with little marketing. To push people to join my Substack newsletter, I mentioned it with a link in the bottom of some of my Medium stories. I also pinned it to my Twitter account for a while.

That’s it.

What I plan to do this year is:

  • Share my Substack link in my other email newsletters (I have a list with Convertkit and other platforms)
  • Promote Substack in my blog

Open rates

My email open rates are pretty good, ranging from 30% to 60% which is amazing!

According to Campaign Monitor, a good email open rate is 17% to 28%. Mine is way up above that, which blows my mind!

It’s common for smaller email lists to have high open rates though, I think. My larger email list of around 4,000ish subscribers has a much, much, much lower open rate.

If I can maintain this open rate while growing my readership on the newsletter, I can charge higher rates for sponsorships, if that’s something I pursue in the future.

I’ve had 20 unsubscribes over the past year.

When you look at the Unsubscribes Report, it tells you why the subscriber unsubscribes. Some readers even wrote a little blurb that goes more into detail, which is great.

Feedback is great. It helps me learn and do better.

Readership

My audience comes from around the world: 62 countries and 46 U.S. states.

If you look at the Audience Insights report in Substack, it also shares some information about the other Substack newsletters your audience subscribes to, which is insanely helpful.

That info helps reveal even more insight about your audience.

I have 7 publications recommending my Substack newsletter and almost a dozen subscribers gained from recommendations!

Income

I get a mix of monthly and annual paid subscriptions and it’s earned me just under $1,200 for the year, which I’m pleasantly surprised to learn!

That’s about $100 a month just for writing a newsletter and I’m super stoked.

Prior to this moment, I was really confused how much I was earning from Substack but, it looks like the dashboard has been switched up a bit and it’s much easier to calculate earnings.

So, that’s how my journey has gone with my new Substack newsletter over the past year.

TL;DR

I started a new Substack newsletter a year ago and it’s grown to nearly 700 subscribers and made me around $1,200 in revenue!

This is with very little organic promotion. I definitely plan on continuing it and I’m excited to see where things are this time next year.

Do you have a Substack newsletter?

Any best practices or advice you can share?

If you don’t have one, would you start a Substack newsletter? Could this be a replacement for a paid email marketing tool like Convertkit and others?

Want to read more stories like this? Check out my Substack where I talk about side hustles, social media, content creation and business.

Note: This article contains affiliate links.

Email Marketing
Email Marketing Tips
Business
Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneur
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