“Keep an open heart. Dare to imagine what lies ahead.” ❤️ ~Morgan Harper Nichols
Last week I celebrated the 300th issue of #jesspicks (🎉) and shared a bit about how the newsletter came to be, how it has changed over time and my process for putting it together.
This week I want to share a little more behind-the-scenes, including subscriber growth, how I make money, and the tools I use.
Tools I Use
I’ve used Revue for my newsletter since the beginning because it makes the process easy to do a curated newsletter. Once you add links, it automatically pulls in descriptions and images that I can edit. As a result, I don’t have to spend a lot of time formatting. It also has an inbox where you can save articles you want to pull into the issue.
For content creation (this is mostly for my intro note)
Email Marketing Membership for sparking ideas for things to write or giving me fun experiments to try (like this one)
Apple Notes for drafting ideas, thoughts about the intro note
Grammarly - my editor sidekick to help with sentence structure, curly quotes, and tone
For content curation
Feedly to pull in feeds from some of my favorite blogs
Other folks’ newsletters. I subscribe to many on this list.
Upnext, for saving articles/videos/podcasts to read/watch/listen to later
Readwise for resurfacing helpful book quotes
For getting tips and donations
Buy Me a Coffee for folks to give one-time or monthly donations/financial support (this is the one I promote most).
Patreon for folks to provide monthly support
For sponsorships/ad opportunities
Other tools
Canva for graphics
Curious Karen for doing reader surveys and feedback forms (it is like a fun chatbot)
How #jesspicks gets subscribers
A friend asked me how my subscriber count for issue 300 compared to issue 100, and here is the breakdown:
Issue 100: 261 subscribers
Issue 200: 510 subscribers
Issue 300: 1520 subscribers (omg, what - ~3x growth?!)
There was a shift for me in 2020 (around issue 200) where my focus shifted to making my newsletter the priority.
At that point, I also had more of a sense of what I was building with #jesspicks and the value I was providing, and I wanted to double down on making “subscribing to my newsletter” my main call to action for anything I was doing. So if I was on a podcast, at an event, or did a workshop, my parting words became: “please join my #jesspicks newsletter.”
There is a saying about what you focus on, growing. So that made a big difference in seeing those subscriber numbers grow.
Other things that have worked are:
Shoutouts from other creators (having others talk about my newsletter). If Josh Spector mentions my newsletter, I easily get 25-50 new subscribers).
Relatedly, putting out a good product. Consistently writing a valuable newsletter gets people on the list. Then they subscribe and recommend it to others. Word of mouth is 🫶🏾.
Getting listed on newsletter directories like these. Folks are always looking for newsletters to follow. I have seen subscribers trickle in from these as well.
Bundles! The other thing that has given me about 750 subscribers in the past couple of years is participating in bundles—this one in particular.
Promoting newsletter content on social media. Surprisingly, being helpful in groups and Reddit subthreads has led to people checking out my site and becoming subscribers.
How #jesspicks makes money
#jesspicks makes money directly in three main ways:
1. Advertising/Sponsorships
I have two offerings here:
Sponsored ad at the top of the newsletter for $75
Classified ads at the end of the newsletter for $25
Most of my requests have been inbound. As a result, I may have to think of ways to do more sponsor outreach in the future.
2. Tips/Donations
People can buy me a coffee or contribute monthly if they so choose. I love this; it gives folks an easy way to support me. And it helps keep this newsletter free as well.
3. Affiliate Marketing
I love recommending products, courses, and even other newsletters that I’ve found helpful to my audience. Then in some cases, I can make some money from those recommendations through commissions.
I don’t have a lot of things in mind for plans, but I’ll share some thoughts on that next week.
On to the picks!
Note: This email may contain affiliate links. If you click through my link and make a purchase, I may receive “thank you money” at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products that I use and love.
#loves 😍
📺. Watching: One of Us is Lying. 5 teenagers end up in detention, then one ends up dead. Dun dun dun. Think The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars. It’s twisty-turny in the best way. It is a book-turned-TV show, and this week I found out there was a season 2. Suffice it to say; this is next on my watch list.
📚. Reading: Daisy Darker. This definitely has Agatha Christie, “And Then There Were None” vibes. Daisy and her family meet at their family house for Nana’s 80th birthday, where she reads her will. Before long, Nana is found dead and another family member an hour later. I’m about a third of the way through and loving it!
#reads
7 Ways to Find Readers and Subscribers When No One Knows You Yet — copyblogger.com
“You’re not going to get a zillion visitors in the early days. But if you can spark and maintain solid relationships with the ones you do get, you’ll start to pick up momentum.”
I especially love #2 - where you answer every question you’ve seen, read, or heard about for your topic. And create a bunch of Q&A posts. This will help you for SEO purposes and give you some content on hand if you sometimes struggle with what to write about, like me.
#icymi
😍. Last issue’s top picks were: 30 One-Sentence Mindset Tips for Side Hustlers and How to Start a Side Hustle While You're Working Full-Time.
🤝. Want to connect with other #jesspicks readers? Fill out a profile and get an introduction as soon as next week.
#classifieds 🗞
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#lifevibes
#supporters ☕️
Thank you Krista, Jessica, Annetta, Constance, Tunde, Jen, Michelle, Emile, Bex, Kim, Angela G., Lauren B., Chelsea, Amy, Ricky, Kirsten, Vin, Julie, Nicole, Humza, Greg, Kristin, Kirstyn, Jess, Cheryl, Krysta, Adrena, Vidya, Kristyn, Danielle, Keryn, Terry, Vanessa, Meredith, Lauren, Meg, Maria J., Chivon, Kim, Luciano, Colie, Chasity, Laurie, Latienda, Collette, Anne, Kristen, Liz, Katherine, Monale, Betsy, Melissa, Lindsay, Jennifer, Kayla, Madison, Rae, Stephanie, Christine R., Christine M., Frances, Hannah, Chris, Brandy, Mea, Kristian, Maria K. Avery, Adam, Barbara, Shenee, Desiree, Lisa, Kandice, L’Oreal, and LaVerne for being #jesspicks supporters!! ❤️
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