What's the "Ash Ambirge" Method for Growing a Newsletter in a Meaningful Way?

…Got this question in the ol’ inbox from our friend and fellow subscriber Sigute—hi, Sigute!—and so of course I was immediately like:

SOLD. LET’S TACKLE THIS!

Because man, do I love me a newsletter. In fact, if you’re new to these parts, I’m in the process of building a company entirely comprised of nothing but newsletters. In the past, they used to be just a way of marketing your product: today, they are the product. *Cue ominous thunder roar*

But then the big question always comes: how. How, Ash? How do I do a newsletter? How do I grow a newsletter? This is SCARY. So scary, in fact, that I’m convinced half the reason people don’t start them is because they’re convinced that no one’s going to subscribe. Right?! And then it’s like, Oh, well, why bother?!

But, what if I told you that people would subscribe.

What if you knew that as a fact?

What if it were a 100% sure thing that you’d get at least 2,000 subscribers on your list by next month?

What would that change for you?

Would you go for it? Would you take it more seriously? Would you revamp your entire business model?

^ Hey, it happens! Sometimes you realize you are only doing things because you aren’t confident that other people would buy your other thing. Your REAL thing. Your passion project. The thing you really want to be doing with your time. But, what if your newsletter proved you wrong? What if the people came? What if you didn’t have to worry that people wouldn’t be interested? What if the only worry you had was: are you doing the damn thing, or not?????

This is how I want you to think. I want you to assume you’ll be a wild, ranging successful with your newsletter. Because the minute you start second-guessing yourself and the results, you know what happens? You start giving less. Start investing less. You pull back. Don’t want to waste a bunch of time if it’s not really going to pan out. And then you know what happens?

A self-fulfilling prophecy happens.

Your newsletter does end up sucking, but only because you didn’t really believe it was going to work in the first place. (And therefore didn’t really commit.) Know what I mean? You didn’t do the things you would have done otherwise, had you actually believed that THIS WAS GOING TO WORK, NO MATTER WHAT, SO HELP YOU CINNAMON TOAST CRUNCH.

So, step one for growing a meaningful newsletter: believe in the fucking newsletter.

Put yourself in the mindset that “Yes, this is a sure thing, so long as I hold up my end of the bargain.” Because newsletters are a way safer bet than, say, the lottery. Or, god forbid, jobs. HA! But for most people, it’s still kind of this alien-like thing: What do I write? How often do I write it? What if I’m not a good writer? How do I sell my stuff with it? And, do I need to do this forever and ever, until the end of eternity? Because that seems exhausting.

See how much we shoot ourselves in our own feet when it comes to this stuff? Like, you might already have 100,000 subscribers if you had taken it seriously last year. You might have already had 100,000 subscribers if you didn’t worry about what’s next, and instead, just worry about what you had to do to get to that 100,000.

Oh, god! Look at me layin’ it on thick today! But that is my Monday mood, and I am HERE FOR IT.

Step Two: Mix one part inspiration + one part advice.

This is hands-down the best combination for a successful newsletter: the one that inspires with ideas, and also offers advice on how to realize ‘em. Think: Emily Henderson’s wildly popular interior design newsletter that contains not just pretty photos of interiors, but offers advice on how to achieve all sorts of different looks, overcome all sorts of different challenges, and DIY your own design.

Or, think about The Skimm, which is basically The News written in a way more engaging format, that not only inspires you to learn about current affairs & the world we live in, but also gives you advice for things like how to vote, how to adult, how to make a difference.

The Middle Finger Project, my flagship newsletter, has always followed that formula—one part storytelling and one part advice—and only because it felt natural to do so. But, turns out, it was a good move!

The bottom line is, sometimes newsletters fall flat when they’re too focused on the writer (“here are all the updates on our business!”) and offer nothing of use to the reader (i.e. inspiration and advice).

Step Three: Decide on bi-weekly, 1x/week, 3x/week, or daily.

These are the only options. A monthly newsletter is too sporadic to create any real relationship with your audience—by the time you’re sending it out again next month, people will have forgotten who you are, so you lose all the momentum and favorable feelings you gained when they read your last email. I’m 100% against a monthly newsletter simply because I don’t think they work unless you’ve already got an invested community elsewhere. But if you’re using your newsletter to grow your community and your business, then you need to commit to doing it well. And that means bi-weekly, 1x/week, 3x/week or daily. (And I even hesitate on the bi-weekly, but have seen it done successfully…but only if you’re a good writer and can tell a good enough story that’ll make an impact.)

The two-part cocktail here is: relationship + momentum. You can’t build a relationship with someone if you never talk to them, right? You aren’t gonna be super close with your neighbor if you only wave to them once every month. Similarly, you aren’t going to be super close with your followers if you do the same. So, part of this is just basic relationship-building: in order to feel connected to you, they’ve got to hear from you.

Secondly, momentum: once your hard work starts paying off with positive feelings toward you and your work, then you’ve got to keep the party going. You can’t just here and there whenever the whim strikes and lose all of the momentum you’ve gained. A newsletter is a momentum POWERHOUSE…when you actually work to keep the momentum going. And it’s actually crazy when I think about it, but I’d actually wager that 50% of success with this is just about showing up again and again and again. Lose the momentum, you lose the benefits of the newsletter: which is the connection and rapport you’ve already established.

For the record, big news organizations who have put a ton of money into researching this since their entire business model depends on it—AKA digital subscribers—have determined that there is only one way to form a habit with your newsletter: you’ve got to send it 3x/week or more. That’s the threshold. So, I prescribe to that threshold with my own businesses, often preferring to run a daily newsletter. Firstly because it's obviously going to accelerate all of this, but secondly, because it's actually a lot easier for me to commit to something when I know I have to do it every day, rather than trying to adhere to a different schedule every day. That might just be me, but it works for me!

Step Four: Hold up your end of the bargain.

Don’t flake. Plan ahead. Write in batches, if you need. But don’t do the thing where you say you’re going to be in someone's inbox 3x/week, and then just disappear, only to resurface randomly months later and say, “Whoops, I was busy with X, Y, Z, but now I’m back!” This just makes you look unprofessional and uncommitted. UNLESS, of course, you’re publishing your newsletter deliberately as “Seasons,” so you can keep the novelty and enthusiasm high—and also give yourself scheduled breaks in between for sustainability. Does this sacrifice a litttttle bit of relationship building and momentum? Yes and no. Because it was done consistently for a substantial period of time, then I have achieved my goal with the newsletter during each “Season”: (a) Build relationships; (b) Spend time doing something I love; (c) Convince you to try my thing. Anything after that is a bonus. (So, this is a structure you might want to try!)

Step Five: Tell everyone you can.

If you think of your newsletter as a product, then you should be able to see a clear benefit of “using” that product, i.e. reading your newsletter. Whatever that benefit is??? (You’ll run farther, catch more bass, be able to DIY your next home renovation)…that’s what you talk about. You shout this from the rooftops. You pitch podcasts with this. Pitch magazines. Pitch blogs. Pitch your ideas. And you always, always, always link back to your newsletter. This way, you’re not just saying “Sign up for updates! I’m cool, I promise!” You’re promising a specific benefit they’ll get—and all they have to do is sign up. This is key. Do not think of your newsletter as a newsletter: think of it as a product. Why would someone want this product? What’s it gonna help them do? Look at your newsletter this way and refine the idea you had before about mixing inspiration and advice. What’s the end goal here? When you do this well, your newsletter won’t just be some random afterthought as a way to market your “real” business: it will become a business on its own. And then you open yourself up to soooo much more opportunity, from selling advertising to selling your digital products and more.

By the way, this last part is the hardest part. Because most people are shy about “promoting themselves.” But, when you engineer your newsletter to be helpful from the beginning, then it doesn’t feel like grabby self-promotion: it feels like giving people a gift that they really, really need. Imagine if someone was having a hell of a time growing tomatoes in the tropics (ahem). Or imagine if a person lacked confidence because of their weight, and therefore didn’t pursue the opportunities they should. Or imagine if someone could totally be lifted out of their depression if they just started knitting. Focus on the utility of your work; the real reason people engage with it; and how your newsletter can BE that for them. Then, you’ll feel so much more natural talking about it, asking people if they’d be interested in featuring it, promoting yourself: because you know it’s helpful. It’s not something you (barely) committed to, that is hit or miss, or that you don’t have a direction for. It’s SOLID. You are SOLID. And the way you help is SOLID. And the confidence that comes from just committing to a process is the real key to everything else.

But I will say this: sometimes the most important thing you can do is show up as the person you want to be 5 years from now, not the one you are today. Act as if you already ARE that person. Design your website accordingly. Brand yourself accordingly. Hold yourself accordingly. Talk about your work accordingly. It’s not about “what you hope to do someday,” but what you ARE doing, right now, as you begin this new project. And when you do that??? It’s going to get a lot easier to get over the “but I’m no one and don’t feel big enough to pitch myself” thing. Because your ideas will speak for you and they will do the impressing. You don’t have to do anything else but be a vehicle for them. And that’s kind of a relief, isn’t it???

I adore you.

I’m excited to read your newsletter!

Ash Ambirge
Founder, The Middle Finger Project