> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.ashambirge.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# 45% More Subscribers This Week! Here's What I Did
- URL: https://www.ashambirge.com/45-more-subscribers-this-week/
- Published: 2026-09-10T18:38:13.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-10T18:38:13.000Z
- Author: Ash Ambirge
- Tags: #affiliate, AI, Newsletters & Email

LOOK AT THIS BEASTLY SCANDAL. 👀

Just one week after launching [my new site](https://www.ashambirge.com/), I'm seeing these kinds of (banana milkshake! 🍌🥤) results:

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/16/e5/16e58068-cf89-457e-a7c9-2fae65c69386/content/images/2026/09/Screenshot-2026-09-08-at-2.36.13---PM-1.png)

Let's break that down one mo' time:

- **45%** *more new subscribers* this week than last week
- New subscribers are opening at **65%**—6pp higher than my established audience

Those are excellent numbers.

Here's what's making the difference:

1. **A fast, modern publishing site** that doesn't look like Uncle Buck designed it from the back of sedan in his underwear in '98\. (I used [Ghost](https://ghost.org/?via=ash-5cdab4&ref=ashambirge.com) and I am never, ever going back.)
2. **Having Claude Code re-build** my entire [backlog of essays since 2009](https://www.ashambirge.com/essays/), making it obvious that I'm not some fly-by-night rando life coach who just started spewing sugary advice to "design your life on your own terms!" (I hate that phrase. Have hated it since 2009.) This was *huge*. Claude Code pulled alllllllll my old Wordpress posts, all my old newsletter broadcasts, my current [Kit](https://partners.kit.com/13kwhb?ref=ashambirge.com) newsletter broadcasts, and my Substack posts, and consolidated it allllllll together in one place, and then formatted them all, and then updated all of my links, and then categorized + tagged every single post, and then added in my new affiliate links (and replaced any old ones), and then added disclaimers to posts with affiliate links. I MEAN. This used to take my assistant and I *weeks* to do. Months, even. Even just *thinking* about having to manually re-format thousands of posts will prevent you from doing it ever at all.
3. **The super sticky sidebar opt-in.** ([See here](https://www.ashambirge.com/).) I'm currently testing which forms are converting the highest, and sticky sidebar is winning 🏆 so far. It's persistent, so it's there all the time. Sort of like the dishes in my sink.
4. **The new lead magnet:** *Notes on Professional Independence*. I'll send you a copy when it's released on the 18th. But, thank you, Claude Design, for the sweet matching cover!
5. **Getting hyper clear about the fact that I don't want to attract mentally flabby, gassy, full-of-air tire kickers**. I want people who are interested in building cool businesses and projects on the internet. Who have ambition and drive. Who are curious and engaged. And who are self-directed and disciplined. Which means that you need to say the kinds of things that attract those kinds of people. No more fluffy, pink-cloud "design life on your own terms" (even if I wouldn't have said it, anyway, lol).
6. A**nd, um, of COURSE this line is doing some work:** *"This is not a newsletter about fish."* ⬇️ (See below.) It's a signal. It's an identity marker. It says: "Subscribe if you are my people." And, that is why we [learn how to write with personality](https://www.ashambirge.com/creative-writing-school/). Because now, personality will convert more than ever. Because anyone can [make a site like I did](https://www.ashambirge.com/). But not everyone will still sound like they care.

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/16/e5/16e58068-cf89-457e-a7c9-2fae65c69386/content/images/2026/09/Screenshot-2026-09-10-at-2.21.28---PM.png)](https://www.ashambirge.com/)