Jason Frasca |||

Research Ways To Present My Newsletter

email newsletter

I’m interested in membership and paid newsletter models. Researching for my project: Subvert! Migraines.

When I saw the Trends report on Paid Newsletters it made sense to dive in.

My routine is to take extensive notes about what I am working on along with my thoughts. I do this in Workflowy

Today, I am trying something new: Publishing my thoughts around the question I am trying to answer. What I have learned. My conclusions.

Some of what I write below is new to me. Other points I’ve known. More important, this is a collection of my thoughts to guide my efforts from a messy 6 hours of research.

It is not meant to be grammatically correct writing.

It is a guide to focus my thoughts.

Free / Paid Newsletter Conclusions:

Here is what I’ve learned:

  • After exploring all email marketing service options I will stay with
  • Webflow - use the home page as designed
  • Mailchimp:
    • as it tightly integrates with Webflow.
    • I already have it setup
    • I need to launch
  • Don’t worry about paywall or Formstacking your content now.
    • Webflow has memberships on their roadmap
  • Original content, no curation
  • Add value to the email when sharing there is a new post
  • Don’t just say here is a new post
    • recap the blog post / piece sharing the bits you are thinking about.”
    • each week intro the blog post with a story of your migraines… how they impacted you - how you overcame….
      • can come from the migraine journal…
      • Or be a recap of the week… directing people there.
    • Highlight some other thing you saw in the world
    • Highlight some other migraine thing that can be helpful
    • Occasionally do a curation post
  • Create a lead magnet(s)
    • Use lead forms that are dynamic like Thrive Leads to gather more data on downloads and signups.
  • Landing page on web flow (preferred) or from Mailchimp (here first, faster)
    • via subdomain
    • for twitter
    • for instagram
    • for referrals
  • Market Research can be a valuable path
    • Already had vague ideas for this
      • How to Build a Six-Figure Newsletter Without Anyone Knowing; Gaps made it granular
  • Curated email
    • Could setup a curated email on migraines
    • That is meant to drive traffic to Subvert!Migraines
    • It would be a hosted by Subvert! Migraines
    • Shared on Twitter
    • Automate the whole thing
      • Carrd Landing page for signups
      • Some affiliates?
      • Could use either:
  • Better, use the same tools to curate links for my Twitter feed
  • Best Resources:

My notes below is not a critique of anyone. These are my observations as someone who is trying to get a handle on this creative and broad space.

  • PowerPlays - sexism in sports.
    • very niche
    • Don’t see the paid model
    • on Substack
  • Growth List - recently funded startups
    • For sales and prospecting
    • Market and monetization is clear
  • Stratechery - impact of tech
    • Long form
    • high quality
    • free daily
    • paid? monthly
    • On Revue
  • Shero - issues facing women
    • subscribe for full access
    • on Substack
  • Heated - climate crisis
    • solid community interaction
    • a hot’ topic
    • on Substack
      • all Substack pages look the same.
      • causes brand confusion
      • Clean landing pages
  • Explorers Club - value prop is messy
    • Messy is from the choice to use a 1-page website theme.
      • Harder to distinguish give and get
    • High end membership
      • not tiered
      • lifetime membership for $1500 should net the two books - not a $30 discount code
      • recruiting support from members to create content
        • What’s in it for me?
  • Scott’s cheap flights - name says it all
    • Tough to be in this market right now
    • Value proposition is clear right away
      • Save $550 on average
      • Offers a lot of resources on travel
      • An affiliate program
      • more robust than the others
        • service vs content?
  • Fintech today - finch news
    • $25 a month
    • high price justified by the market segment
    • Incentivized by a slack group
    • clearly defined why and who in About
  • The Pomp Letter - crypto industry
    • Longer CTA on landing page
      • Too many things to too many people?
    • 50k subs!
    • Doing something right
    • posts include podcasts
    • recaps in the Rundown
    • I like the mix of free and paywall posts
      • a feature of Substack
        • another on Substack
  • Sinocism - get smarter about China
    • why?
    • odd quote that leaves me perplexed… though it may resonate with people interested in learning about china
    • Nice engagement with posts!
    • About page delivers why and what clearly
      • Wish this was on the home / landing page
      • Or a short direct version of it.
    • Substack
      • Platform may be limiting the landing page value proposition
      • Landing pages should communicate whats in it for me beyond a tagline…
        • if the tagline is not concise and meaningful
    • I find this text peculiar in that the model is discourage sharing
      • an SEO signal to google

      • word of mouth is the best form of sales

      • if people are sharing freely - you are onto something

      • Unless it is so successful he’s not worried about sharing?

        Can I share your emails?

        Occasional forwarding is fine but please don’t over-do it. Subscriptions are the sole source of revenue for the Sinocism China Newsletter. If you do forward some emails, consider encouraging the recipients to subscribe.

Not taking anything from these talented folks - but I’m yet to be enticed to subscribe to any of these…

No clever headlines, calls to action or compelling value or slick copy.

Up next Podcast Editing Write Once Use Twice Write once. Avoid re-writing for different uses. Write everything with the intent to publish. Notes and copy are written in a direct, clear, and
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© 2020 Jason M. Frasca