Choose Your Platform:

Start with your platform choice.

Note: I use Beehiiv for my newsletter and all of the newsletter content throughout this course.

Beehiiv vs. Converkit:

Choose Beehiiv if you want to focus on blogging and email marketing. If you want your email content to also be posted as blog posts, Beehiiv is your tool. The free plan goes up to 2,500 subscribers, so great for starting out.

Choose ConvertKit if you want a powerhouse for automations and integrations. ConvertKit has advances form systems, strong automation and contact management features. They integrate with almost everything as well.

Build Your Newsletter Branding:

Every newsletter has a name, not just the creator's name.

For example: The Growth Innovator. That’s the name of my weekly newsletter. It’s the perfect name for a newsletter about innovative growth systems. The branding is also very similar to my personal brand.

I kept the unique color scheme. Fonts are the same on everything. I overlap blog thumbnails with YouTube thumbnails. It’s a lot easier for a random person to recognize your newsletter if it’s similar to the creator’s vibe.

Custom In-Email Graphics:

This part is super important if you want to stand out from the 1,000+ other emails your subscribers have in their inbox's at a given time.

First, the content separators:

They look like the image above. This separates content in each of my emails, giving each newsletter a unique look.

I used Photoshop to create this. I’ll provide you a Photoshop template below which you can use (just change the color and logo to match your desired outcome).

Download Template Here:

Next up is your email top banner:

I’ve found that adding a personal touch to the top of every email’s help people remind themselves who the email is from and what kind of content to expect. When a new subscriber gets your emails, they may not remember exactly who you are.

Over time, your email sender name + banner will stick in their heads.

Lastly, your newsletter/blog thumbnail displayed on Beehiiv (or whichever platform you use):

Really focus on making these thumbnails stand out - but also don’t make them hard to read.

Typically your subscribers (or newcomers) aren’t on this page very long, so be straight to the point.

Download Tempalte Here:

Your Newsletter System:

Now for the fun part - let’s create a system you can use.

What do I mean by this? What are you going to write about? How frequent will you send emails?

These are questions I ask myself almost every week - let me break them down to build your newsletter:

What Should I Write About?

I’ll be 100% honest, some weeks I have 0 clue what I will write about. Ideas aren’t always easy to come across.

Maybe I’m tired and don’t feel like writing today. But, I always manage to send an email at 10 am CST every Wednesday & Saturday.

First Method: Discovery Calls

I take 10-20 calls a week.

• Link to Calendly on Website.
• Link to Calendly on LinkedIn.
• My audience can schedule a free 20-minute growth session.
• These calls are open-ended (no set structure).
• We talk pain-points, struggles, problems, & answer questions.

Let me tell you - I get a lot of ideas from this. Sometimes I have ideas to schedule for weeks in advance. All from listening directly to my audience.

Second Method: Hot Topics

Occasionally I’ll write about what’s performing well on X or LinkedIn.

• Go to X.
• Use the Twemex extension.
• Find trending recent tweets from creators in your niche.
• Create a newsletter based on the topic or pain-point addressed.

There is no better way to see what’s hot than to find out for yourself. You’ll get first-hand proof many creators are facing a specific issue. Send out a solution in your newsletter. Win - win.

Third Method: Just Think

Not every idea has to come from someone else.

Go for a walk outside. Leave your phone on silent. Let you brain wonder. Some of my best ideas have come from just being myself in nature.

How Frequent to Send Emails?

I recommend 1 or 2 times per week. Pick a time and stick with it.

My newsletter is Wednesday & Saturday at 10 am CST.

I’ve seen polls before in the past that many individuals are sick of so many emails.

Some people prefer 1 email every two weeks. Some prefer 1 email every month.

Start with once per week and ask for feedback.

Newsletter Templates:

Create templates for different emails.

This will do the following:

• Speed up the writing process.
• Keep a consistent writing style.
• Keep you on topic.

When you create a new template for your emails - make sure to give it a specific title.

When you are selling a digital product or have an offer to give to your audience, remember the flow:

Subject Line ➟ Preview Text ➟ Email Body ➟ Call-to-Action ➟ Product Landing-Page ➟ Purchase

The emails job isn’t to sell a product or service. The emails job isn’t to generate revenue.

The emails job is to get your audience to your landing-page ultimately leading to sales.

Here’s what my main newsletter template looks like:

First, the email begins with “read on website”. If you don’t like reading directly from your email, you can hop over to my website. This also makes it easier for my prospects to get through my monetization funnels.

Next, I showcase the time it takes to read the newsletter. For this example, read time is 3 minutes. The next line is in every email:

“Welcome to The Growth Innovator. Exclusive content where I showcase my personal systems to help you create better content, make more money, and save 30+ hours a week.”

Now, it’s time for the body of the email. Each post I send out is seperated into 4 main sections:

• Today’s Email
• Alright - Let’s Innovate
• Referrals
• Additional Offers

If you’re using Beehiiv, I’d also highly recommend using the referral program. It’s an easy way to get new subscribers without having to do any extra work. Beehiiv generates a referral link for your audience. Your audience can now send to their friends. Win - win.

Lastly, here is the text at the end of each email I send out:

Whenever you're ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. The Growth Operating System: Join 702+ students to create content that actually sells on LinkedIn/𝕏. This is the system I’m using to build a massive audience and generate $15,000+ / month in revenue. I'll refund 100% of your investment if you're not completely satisfied!
2. Coaching Session w/ Alex: If you’re looking for most efficient way to take your online brand/business to the next level - 1:1 coaching is the way to go. Book a time that works for you and let’s take your business to the next level.
3. Personal Branding & Copywriting Services: I'll write your content, build back-end systems, grow your email list, and scale your online business allowing you to spend more time on the things that matter.

I promote my paid offers in every email without forcing them on anyone. If someone is looking for the solution I have to offer, they’ll naturally be interested to check them out.

Sell, without “selling”.

A/B Testing Using Beehiiv:

One of my favorites features on Beehiiv is the A/B testing.

Similar to how we did this on X. Create two subject lines. Beehiiv will send both to a small part of your audience.

Beehiiv will track which one has a higher open-rate.

After 3 hours, Beehiiv will send the winning subject line to your remaining audience.

Utilizing Beehiiv Analytics:

Your newsletter analytics will be one of your best friends as you grow. Things to look at:

• Open Rate + Opens
• Clicks + CTR
• Unsubscribes (doesn’t matter as much - you’ll get them no matter what)
• Page Views
• Overall ROI

I’d highly recommend running polls, ask for feedback, and get genuine advice from your audience.

They are the ones reading your emails. They should be the ones giving feedback.

Consistently improve one thing every time you work on a new email.

Beehiiv Boosts:

This is one of the newest features I’ve tried out and overall have enjoyed so far.

There are two options:

• Boost your newsletter (pay per subscriber)
• Boost other newsletters (get paid per subscriber)

Whenever you get a new email sign-up on Beehiiv, a prompt will appear to subscribe to the “Sponsored” newsletters.

Each time someone subscribes to one of the featured newsletters that you’ve added to your page - you get paid per sign-up.

Keep in mind that some sponsors will pay more than others. I’ve had some sign-ups give me $2.00 every time, other times over $4.00.

An easy way to earn passive income - highly recommend adding this into your systems.

Effective Email Marketing:

You can write the best emails in the world.

But if no one opens the email, the content goes unseen. This begins with your email’s Subject Line.

The Subject Line Pitch:

Email has become more like a habitat than an application.

Every email you send should be treated like a pitch. You are working towards getting someone's attention and an invitation to engage.

There are two factors that get people to open your emails:

1. Curiosity
2. Utility

People are most likely to open your emails when they have uncertainty about the contents.

And they are also most likely to read your emails that directly affect their work/life.

Your email subject line should be one of the following:

• Be obviously useful (Found the Best & Cheapest AI Software)
• Mysteriously intriguing (An AI Breakthrough!)
• Don’t use both (ChatGPT is an AI Breakthrough!)

The third principle: Specificity.

Subject lines should be ultra specific.

• Bad Subject Line: Improve Your Streaming Skills.
• Good Subject Line: 4 Tips to Improve Your Streaming Skills this Evening.

Use all three: Utility. Curiosity. Specificity.

Based on the information I just shared, I’d write the following subject lines:

• 4 simple but proven ways to get your e-mail opened.
• Some weird things I just learned about email.

Depends on your audience, who they are, and what your usual topic of writing is.

Here’s a ChatGPT script you can use to write a converting subject-line:

The Subject Line Pitch:

Email has become more like a habitat than an application. Every email you send should be treated like a pitch. You are working towards getting someone's attention and an invitation to engage. There are two factors that get people to open your emails:

1. Curiosity
2. Utility

People are most likely to open your emails when they have uncertainty about the contents. And they are also most likely to read your emails that directly affect their work/life. Your email subject line should be one of the following:

• Be obviously useful (Found the Best & Cheapest AI Software)
• Mysteriously intriguing (An AI Breakthrough!)
• Don’t use both (ChatGPT is an AI Breakthrough!)

The third principle: Specificity. Subject lines should be ultra specific.

• Bad Subject Line: Improve Your Streaming Skills.
• Good Subject Line: 4 Tips to Improve Your Streaming Skills this Evening.

Use all three: Utility. Curiosity. Specificity. Based on the information I just shared, I’d write the following subject lines:

• 4 simple but proven ways to get your e-mail opened.
• Some weird things I just learned about email.

Depends on your audience, who they are, and what your usual topic of writing is. Based on the “Subject Line Pitch” I provided - give me an Email Subject Line for the following email content: [ Insert Your Full Email Here ]

Lastly, I find starting all of my emails with “How I” improves their performance.

Here are 6 emails I send in the last few weeks:

• How I Built a 365 Day Content Queue
• How I Built a Movement (Not a Brand)
• How I'd Grow an Audience in 2024
• How I Grow My Business Using 3 Levels
• How I Drive Results w/ 3 Types of Content
• How I Gained 6,000 Followers in 23 Days

Personalize your email subject lines.

The One Word Pitch:

People’s attention span is only getting shorter, to just a few seconds.

The ultimate pitch of short attention spans begins with a single word. The goal is to define what you want most associated with your brand/email topic. Then own it.

If someone thinks of you - they mention that word.

If someone mentions that word - they think of you.

What company comes to mind when I say “Search”? Google. What about “Enterprise”? Microsoft.

Focus on simplistic ideas, your one-word pitch shouldn’t take long to understand.

Now, you don’t want to use one word for your subject line.

BUT, at the start of an email, that’s a good place to start.

The One-Word Pitch: People’s attention span is only getting shorter - to just a few seconds. The ultimate pitch of short attention spans begins with a single word. The goal is to define what you want most associated with your brand/email topic. Then own it. If someone thinks of you - they mention that word. If someone mentions that word - they think of you. What company comes to mind when I say “Search”? Google. What about “Enterprise”? Microsoft. Focus on simplistic ideas - your one-word pitch shouldn’t take long to understand. Now - you don’t want to use one word for your subject line. BUT - at the start of an email - that’s a good place to start. For example - President Barack Obama built his entire strategy on the word “Forward”. Based on the “One-Word Pitch” I provided - give me a single word to use at the beginning of my email to capture my audience's attention for the following email content: [ Insert Your Full Email Here ]

The Question Pitch:

This is one of my favorites.

In the 1980’s - Ronald Reagon was running for president. There are a vast number of different pitches he could have made stating facts. But, this is what he decided to say:

“Are you better off now than you were four years ago?”

Statements tend to be received passively.

When you are asked a question, you respond, either aloud or silently if it’s a rhetorical question.

Making people think a little harder allows people to come up with their own reason for agreeing or disagreeing. If someone have a strong opinion on the matter, they’ll act on it.

A great way to pull your audience in, skip making statements, ask a question.

The Question Pitch: This is one of my favorites. In the 1980’s - Ronald Reagon was running for president. There are a vast number of different pitches he could have made stating facts. But - this is what he decided to say: “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?”

Statements tend to be received passively. When you are asked a question - you respond - either aloud or silently if it’s a rhetorical question. Making people think a little harder allows people to come up with their own reason for agreeing or disagreeing. If someone have a strong opinion on the matter - they’ll act on it. A great way to pull your audience in - skip making statements - ask a question. Based on the “Question Pitch” I provided - give me an Email Subject Line for the following email content: [ Insert Your Full Email Here ]

Your newsletter is how you OWN your audience.

If X or LinkedIn went down tomorrow… You’d still have your newsletter subscribers (emails). Grow your email list, keep providing weekly content for them, and promote your offers once in a while.

If you’d like personalized guidance - there are 2 additional ways I can help you:

1. Coaching Session w/ Alex: If you’re looking for most efficient way to take your online brand/business to the next level - 1:1 coaching is the way to go. Book a time that works for you and let’s take your business to the next level.

2. Personal Branding & Copywriting Services: I'll write your content, build back-end systems, grow your email list, and scale your online business allowing you to spend more time on the things that matter.