“I know what I have to do, but I don't know if I have the strength to do it. “
That is how I recently opened one of the newsletters that I sent to my mailing list, which, by the way, you can join over at [streamlined.fm/join.] And I'll tell you right at the top of the show that this is about my newsletter, though I could never resist a good Star Wars reference.
I've been thinking a lot about my newsletter and why it's not growing the way I think it should. And this is not like a self-indulgent, I do good things, so people should be joining. It's a, hey. I've been at this. I get a lot of great feedback, but people aren't signing up as often as I would like. And there's probably a few tactics that I could employ a little bit better but, I think there's one major thing holding me back, and that's what we are going to talk about in today's episode.
Hey, everybody. Joe Casabona here. This is another solo show. And I'm gonna talk about what my newsletter is and what it's about, why it isn't growing, and the changes that I need to make in order to grow the newsletter. So you should look for these top takeaways.
I need to find focus.
I need to talk to my audience. And;
I need to introduce a new format with a better call to action.
I'm gonna walk through all of that in this episode. And if you want even more about the tools for writing that I'm using in Streamlined Solopreneur Accelerated, the members-only portion of the show, I'm going to talk about my recent conversion to Obsidian, how I'm using it, and some of my favorite bits about it as I am about a month in as I record this episode. So, you can find all of the show notes, all of the links, and everything I talk about in the description for this episode as well as over at [streamlined.fm/427]. But for now, let's get into the intro and then the episode.
Welcome to the Streamlined Solopreneur, a show for busy solopreneurs to help you improve your systems and processes so you can build a business while spending your time the way you want. I know you're busy, so let's get started.
All right. So, let's start off with this. What is my newsletter?
Well, the main place where I send people for my newsletter despite telling you a different URL in the intro, is actually over at podcastworkflows.com/join. And I think this is where the first major disconnect comes in. Because my podcast, or my newsletter is all about podcasting, improving your podcast workflows. And this show where I have one of my biggest audiences is not directly about podcasting. And I'll get more to that disconnect in a minute. But if we go to [podcastworkflows.com/join], you'll see the headline, are you ready to make your podcast work for you? And then I talk all about how, you know, knowing that podcasting can be an important part of your business for relationship growth and income. And the value proposition is to what insights into podcast automation, growth tactics, monetization, and a behind-the-scenes look at how a popular niche podcast is produced, sign up below. Then I tell my personal stories about why I started Podcast Workflows, and I introduce another value prop, which is what would you do with an extra 10 hours per week, join the Podcast Workflows mailing list basically, so you could find out.
So, you sign up for my newsletter. You get a welcome sequence that drives that home. Right? I tell you what I'm about. I tell you my story. I tell you clients that I've helped. And then you get the first, one of the first broadcasts. Right? Depending on when you sign up, you might get the Wednesday newsletter first, but you're going within a week of you signing up, you are going to get the Monday broadcast as well. And right now, as I wrote this episode at least, the Monday broadcast is promoting the latest episode of this show. And if you're a longtime listener, you'll know that I don't only talk about podcasting. In fact, I rarely talk about podcasting and how you can improve your podcast.
The Monday newsletter has specifically been for promoting Streamlined Solopreneur. It's an excuse to mention the sponsors in the newsletter. And then at some point, I did add a section to the newsletter called a behind-the-scenes look where honestly, it's a little bit ham-fisted. I try to include a podcasting tip in there, but that's not the focus or the purpose.
And when we think about why my newsletter is not growing, which is the issue, by the way. That's the main issue I said that at the top. I think there's a lot that lies in there. Because I want you, I had to do this. I took a step back and thought about the experience my newsletter subscribers are having.
I'll also recognize that some people do sign up, like, if you go to [streamlined.fm/join], which I think is the newsletter page. It could be “slash” subscribe. They should both go to the same spot, which they do. If you go there, there's also some mixed messaging here. Right? Actually, (/join} is just for the membership. If you go to (/subscribe}, there's a simple subscribe box, and it says get episodes behind the scenes content and tips delivered right to you. So if people are signing up on this form, they're still going to the same welcome sequence. But then they're getting 1-2 extra emails a week that they didn't think they were signing up for. And so I am trying to split the baby or have it both ways or whatever. I'm trying to have a newsletter that this show builds for a different audience. Right?
I guess the best way that I could put it is recently, I took my daughter to see Inside Out 2. And as you know, when you go to the movies, there's like, there's, like, 20 minutes of ads. But one of the ads at Inside Out 2 was for A Quiet Place Day 1. And all I could think during that trailer as my 7-year-old daughter sat covering her eyes nestled up next to my wife was why would they show this very scary and upsetting movie right before a kid's movie? Right? Inside Out 2 is Rated PG. A Quiet Place? Okay. It's rated PG-13. So, it's not like it's Rated-R, which, by the way, we also saw a Deadpool trailer, and that is Rated-R. There's a good, there's a lot of movies, there's a lot of good movies coming out this year. But the point is, there's a disconnect in that audience. Right? People who went to see Inside Out 2, especially the small children are not going to wanna see A Quiet Place. Right? And like, I get that parents are there and they're probably appealing to those parents, but I, as a parent of small kids, just got kind of annoyed that they would play that. You know, there were again, disconnects.
And so as I think about my newsletter, I might think if people are signing up via Podcast Workflows or any of my opt-ins, which are all podcast process related, then they're probably getting the newsletter on Monday going, why do I care about this? I'm not a solopreneur. I'm trying to run a podcast. I'm actually full-time employed, or I work for an agency, or I work for a big organization, and I've been tasked with running their podcast, I don't care about being a solopreneur.
And then the people who sign up via [streamlined.fm] get the Wednesday newsletter and the maybe Friday newsletter. Right? Fridays are optional. They get those and say, I don't, I'm not a podcaster. I don't care. And when actually, when I sent out that email, I got some good responses from people who are like, hey. If you, like, kill the Monday Streamline's Entrepreneur newsletter, I'll probably unsubscribe because I don't care about podcasting.
And that's what I want. That's what I want because my newsletter is designed to sell my services and my products while also giving good advice. Right? I'm trying to offer a ton of value for free so that people when they are ready, hire me. Right? Like, I don't think I'm saying the quiet part out loud here.
And so I wanna get into, I've started to talk about it already, but already. (Already. My New York accent came out a little bit there.) I started to talk about this already, but I wanna get into more kind of why I'm not growing, why it's important for me to make this change, and why I'm a little scared to make the change. But first, we are going to hear from our sponsors.
Okay. And we're back. So why isn't the show growing? There's a disconnect between what I'm sharing and the value proposition. And I talked a lot about this. I'm promising two different things to two different audiences, and I'm delivering both. And so, this is more of an annoyance to people who have subscribed. They subscribed for one reason, and now they're getting a bunch of other stuff. Right? It's kinda like how you, like, call to cancel your cable, and then they spend 15 minutes trying to convince you not to cancel. Or when you try to cancel a subscription to a popular SaaS and they take, they make you go through like 8 screens. Like, this is gonna make you reconsider and be like, oh, you know what? Actually, this is a really good brand, and I wanna stay with them. No. It’s for me, it confirms that I should cancel because they are being annoying and all they care about is money. Right?
So, there's a disconnect between what I'm sharing and the value prop. And because of that, I think people don't know why they should recommend my newsletter. Right? People who are getting the newsletter on Monday because they wanted the Monday newsletter, like, this is great, but then I get an email on Wednesday I don't care about and vice versa. And so no one's really going, you need to sign up to Joe's newsletter because every newsletter he sends is a home run. It's not a home run. Right? It's, I mean, some of them are. If you sign up for podcast tips, the Wednesday, Wednesday one probably is, but the Monday one definitely isn't. And I do get the most unsubscribes from that newsletter from the Monday newsletter. Right? If I let you bring the receipts on that. If I look at the newsletters that I have sent for the past month.
Let's see. So:
Tools For Getting Feedback From Listeners, 0 unsubscribes.
How to Get Feedback From Your Podcast, 3 unsubscribes.
I Know What I Have To Do, But I Don't Know If I Have the Strength To Do It. (That's what this episode's about). 6 unsubscribes. I'm like, hey. I'm changing my newsletter and people like, I'm out.
How Do You Decide What to Automate? Not related to podcasting really. 5 unsubscribes,
Podcast episode 3 unsubscribes.
Should You Stop Doing Interviews On Your Podcast? 5 unsubscribes.
So, I guess it's like around the same. I got 7 from a recent podcast episode, so, I guess that was like a bigger disconnect than normal or maybe just more people tend to get it.
If we look at open rates, all right, they're around 44, 42, 43, 42, 34 for the, I Know What I Have To Do, But I Don't Know If I Have the Strength To Do It. And then 42 for How to Get Feedback From Your Podcast.
So, it's probably like a little bit mixed, but I definitely get the most responses from like, podcast-related. And I should also say, like, if I'm not, that's really bad. Right? Because that's what my newsletter is supposed to focus on. So, if I look at some good newsletters that grow fast that have grown fast, one is my friend, Chenell Basilio, she does Growth in Reverse, which is an excellent newsletter. It goes out once per week, usually on Sundays, Mondays if she's traveling, and she does a deep dive into how someone grew their newsletter quickly. So, I mean, not only is she like, proving these tactics, but it's really focused. People sign up for a thing and they get that thing in every email.
Kate Burgoyne does this really well. Right? She has a newsletter that's basically, like, marketing psychology, and every email she sends is something like that.
Justin Welsh, Justin Moore. All of these people have big newsletters, and they are focused newsletters. Because with Justin Moore, it's like, hey. Do you wanna know how to get sponsors? Join this new like, this is the newsletter you need to be on. With Chenell, it's like, do you wanna grow your newsletter quickly? This is the newsletter you need to be on.
Because I'm basically sending two different types of emails to the same people, I don't think anybody thinks my newsletter is the newsletter to be on, and that's what I want to change. So, you know, I'm sharing this podcast in this newsletter even though 99% of people aren't signing up for it. They want podcasting tips, and that's what I plan to deliver.
So, how am I fixing this right now that I've talked about the problem a bunch? What do I need? Well, you know, what is it? I know what I need to do, and I don't know if I have the strength to do it. It's stop sharing this podcast in the newsletter. Like it has to be that because this is, there's not a lot of overlap. If I wanna share this to listeners, I should start a different newsletter or segment my list more, and I don't wanna do that. Right? There are ways that you can get this without being on my newsletter. And if you are interested in the ins and outs of podcasting, then you can join the newsletter.
So that's what I know I need to do. And I'm giving myself the strength to, you know, I ran this by a few people, and they're like, obviously, the new format which I’m testing that before is introduce some topic. I'm easing into it because the episode that released as I record this that I'm trying it with is called, How to Get Good Feedback for Your Podcast. Great topic. People have that question all the time. And then I have a, this week on Streamlined Solopreneur, why you need to time track. And this is the episode where I asked for feedback and got good feedback. So, I'm easing my way into this. But pretty soon, it's going to be introduce a topic, and really that's it on Mondays. Maybe I'll have like, a section like, hey. If you're still here, you might be interested in this particular episode of the Streamlined Solopreneur but, it won’t always be the latest one because that's not why people are signing up for my newsletter.
On Wednesdays, I will dig into a specific area of that topic. So I am recording this on Wednesday, and the newsletter I sent out is Tools For Getting Feedback From Listeners. Right? So how to get feedback, one of the things I said was make it easy. Wednesday, it's like, hey. Here are some tools to make it easy. By the way, I'm doing a live stream tomorrow, Thursday, where, I'm gonna look at some of these tools and talk even more about this topic.
And then Fridays will be optional, but I will, it's optional because if I have this asset, I'll share it. Share some asset from the livestream. Maybe I create an automation. Right? And maybe I share that to the newsletter because then I have a product, my automations library that I could upsell if people are interested. And so this engine I just signed up for Jeremy and his email engine. Say that 10 times fast. Jeremy and his email engine. And I suspect I haven't taken it yet because I signed up for this morning. But I suspect that course is going to reinforce a lot of what I'm thinking and probably give me a little bit better insight on how I can do this the best. But that's what I'm thinking.
And then I will have a better call to action at the bottom. I always say don't ask, don't get. I tell my kids. I tell my clients. I tell anybody who goes to my YouTube channel who are like, how do I do this? How do I get this? You gotta ask for it. I’m not asking people to share the newsletter. So, I'm going to add a call to action tothe bottom of the newsletter asking people to share it. I might try my friend Chenell, Growth in Reverse, shared a tactic from Harry Drey about how he basically publishes the gist of the newsletter on Twitter and then links to the Twitter thread in the newsletter and asks his people to share it. And so, I might try that. Social media is not my, the place for me like, it's just not. Long-form content is the place for me. So I'm definitely putting the articles on my blog and then sharing them in the newsletter, and maybe that's the way to go. But I definitely want people to share the newsletter, but I'm not asking.
And then something I have under consideration, I have in my notes under consideration here, and this is how we'll wrap. Making the newsletters public. You know, with ConvertKit, you can do that really easily, but I'd rather have people go to the website. And so, I probably won't do this. I will make the blog post separately. And the nice thing about ConvertKit's WordPress plugin is that when you publish, you can create a broadcast automatically. Though their templating system is a nightmare for some reason, you know, I think that that's a really nice feature. And if I can, I'll probably update my template a little bit with this, and it'll be less of a nightmare.
So, what I'll probably actually do is write the post and publish it on WordPress, create a blog post using a template, and then I should optimize the opt-in on each blog post. Right? And maybe that's like a little bit of extra work for me. Hey. Do you want more tips about this? Sign up here. Or it could be more generic, but that's really what I need to do. So, I'm still experimenting here. And if you wanna see how it's playing out in real-time, you can go to podcastworkflows.com/join. That's, I'm breaking like my multiple, no multiple calls to action rule, but, you know, this is directly relevant to this episode.
So, I would say if you're not interested in podcasting, this is not a newsletter for you. But if you wanna see me experiment more with my newsletter and do some of the things I've talked about here, then you can sign up, and unsubscribe when you've gotten enough. No hard feelings.
Okay. So, as a reminder, in Accelerated, I'll be talking about Obsidian. Those episodes are ad-free and extended for members. You can sign up over at [streamlined.fm/join]. All of the links I talked about will be in the description for this episode in whatever podcast player you're listening to. Or over at [streamlined.fm/427]. But thank you so much for listening. Thanks to our sponsors. And until next time, I'll see you out there.