1,014 new email subscribers without using a lead magnet.
Hey Pod Pals!
This newsletter was lovingly curated (without the use of any AI) in real time on Thursday morning at 8:41am CST.
I got up early to make breakfast for the family, go for a walk, and now I'm slowly sipping my cold brew coffee and getting my brain waves firing.
Before we dive into this week's topic.... ⤵️
I'm doing a social media experiment right now on TWO platforms! 😱
It is Youtube vs Substack.....an epic battle!
My goal in life is to be on as FEW social media platforms as possible.
I've actually got a GREAT podcast episode coming out in a few weeks about why I disagree with the "be everywhere" strategy on social media.
With this experiment I'm going to post 20 Youtube videos where I break down growth tips for shows submitted by my audience. Like THIS.
On Substack I will be posting 3X per day with tips specifically for online business owners that want to use their podcast to get more clients. Like THIS.
At the end of this experiment I will choose ONE (or none) of these platforms to continue with....help me decide by checking out the content, following, liking, lurking, etc.
You can expect some future content where I break down the details from this experiment!
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This week we are going to talk about why I ditched ALL of my lead magnets this year... and how I'm getting much better email list growth results.
When I started my podcast and online business back in 2015 I invested in a course called Experts Academy from Brendan Burchard.
I learned this simple strategy:
✔️ 1. Build a lead magnet.
✔️ 2. Deliver value with the lead magnet.
✔️ 3. Create a "simple" email funnel.
✔️ 4. Leverage the email funnel to make an offer.
I used this formula for the next NINE years with some mild success.
Then this January I hired a guy named Mike Romaine to coach me on newsletters and he challenged me with this thought:
"What if your newsletter was your ONLY lead magnet?"
He supported his insane idea by stating that when someone opts into a lead magnet all they really want is the THING (mini course, PDF, checklist, etc).
👉 They probably aren't interested in getting your weekly newsletter, and they for sure aren't interested in being a part of a 94 email funnel so you can sell them stuff!
His closing argument was: When your newsletter IS your lead magnet, people are opting into your list because they actually WANT your emails....because that is the VALUABLE thing they are after!
You all know I'm always game for a good experiment so I called up all of my lead magnets and gave them the "It's not you...it's me" breakup talk!
All of the sudden I had simplified my entire lead generation strategy:
-No more lead magnets.
-No more email funnels.
It felt so.....refreshing!!!
Then I got another crazy idea....let's start running some FB/IG ads to promote my newsletter.
So I dialed up Matt Shields from Chimehouse Media and presented my idea........he immediately looked at his wife Megan and said something along the lines of "Hold my purse....daddy is going to put in WORK!"
Now normally FB/IG ads for email opt ins can be a really dicey game because these are considered "low quality" leads.
My thought was that if we run ads to my newsletter, and they are actually opting in because they WANT my emails...the quality of new subscribers will greatly increase.....and wouldn't you know it.......so far so good!
I'm getting new subscribers for $2.00-$3.00 per lead and they (YOU) are highly engaged with my newsletter content...I'm getting replies every week!
*NOTE: Running paid ads isn't necessary for the "newsletter as your single lead magnet" idea to work....it has just added rocket fuel to my list growth.
So...now that I've convinced you to give this idea a whirl, let's talk about two situations where most podcasters get it wrong when it comes to newsletters.
❌ 1. Most podcasters see their newsletter as just a promo email for their latest episode.
Pod Pals....for the love of John Lee Dumas.....please stop doing this!
Your newsletter, especially if you want it to be THE lead magnet, MUST be seen as a high value add piece of content.
Yes, you can still use it to promote your latest episode but that should be 10% or less of the content in your newsletter.
❌ 2. Most podcasters use the SAME topic/content each week for their newsletter AND their podcast.
I feel like this is a mistake because we are training our audience to think they only need to consume one or the other (podcast or newsletter) and not BOTH.
I realize that this is a gut punch for some of you because you really don't want to create a whole new piece of content each week with your newsletter.
By talking about different topics each week on my podcast and my newsletter I'm training YOU to at least be curious about consuming both....
and before you freak out about me telling you to create MORE content each week, here are a couple of content hacks to pull this off:
📌 1. If you have over 20 podcast episodes I would do this:
Go backwards about 12-15 podcast episodes and use those notes to write your weekly newsletter. This is exactly what I do!
Example: My podcast episode topic this week will become my newsletter topic in about 15 weeks.
📌 2. If you have less than 20 podcast episodes I would do this:
Map out your podcast content topics for the next 12-15 weeks/episodes.
Your next newsletter should be a topic from your list that is scheduled to be your podcast topic in 12-15 weeks from now.
This will create a content flywheel where you put out a newsletter this week and it becomes your podcast episode topic 12-15 weeks later.
Ok...hopefully we are still Pod Pals and you aren't mad at me anymore...LOL!
I want to close out this deep dive with some High Value Newsletter Pro Tips:
🎯 1. Create the newsletter that you love writing. If you don't enjoy creating the content, it will be really hard to stay consistent with it.
🎯 2. Shoot for weekly newsletters if you can! With my content tips that I gave you above, you can leverage your podcast notes to pull this off!
🎯 3. Name your newsletter....probably the same name as your podcast. Example: You are reading The Podcasting Business School Newsletter.
🎯 4. Don't get really salesy....but DO casually sell with hyperlinked text like this.
🎯 5. Use your P.S. section effectively. I forget the exact stat, but a very high percentage of your readers will read the P.S. section....even if they skim the rest of the email!
🎯 6. Try different types of newsletter content strategies until you find the one that feels good to you and works for your audience.
🎯 7. Be careful with A.I......make sure your newsletter has a human soul!
If you decide to declutter your marketing plan and make your newsletter your ONE lead magnet let me know!
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🤩 Client Testimonial of the week: My client Kim Parkinson has a show called Podcasting For Spiritual Women.
Check out what she has to say about working with me:
"I've purchased THREE programs from Adam so far. I've done his certification, Newsletter Bootcamp, and now the Online Business Academy for Podcasters. I've already made back the money that I invested in these programs and I just had my most profitable month of the year!"
➡️ Ready to get some help with your podcast launch, growth, or monetization strategy?
Hop on my Podcast Profit Potential Discovery Call Calendar.
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New Content for this week:
🎙️ Podcasting Business School EP 582: How I maximize podcast guesting opportunities.
In this episode I break down how I've been booked as a guest on hundreds of podcasts and what I do to maximize each opportunity as a guest.
If you have a goal of being a guest on at least one new show per month this episode is a must listen!
✍🏻 SuperThread Of The Week: In 2019 I replaced my income as a fitness facility owner and went full time as a podcaster and content creator. Here are FOUR things that I DON'T do that all of the podcasting gurus say you MUST do.....
🔬YouTube Podcast Growth Audit VIDEO: In this video I do a Podcast Growth Audit (about 8 mins) for the Hair What I'm Saying podcast.
📝 Substack article of the week: Three types of online business offers that podcasters can sell to their audience.
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❤️ If you have been enjoying my newsletter I'd really appreciate it if you would share it with one of your Pod Pals that might get value out of this content!
Just hit that FORWARD button and share it out! 😎
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Talk to you next week!
Your Pod Pal,
Adam
⭐️ P.S. Ready for some help with your podcast launch, growth, or with getting more clients from your podcast?⭐️
Sign up for a FREE Podcast Profit Potential Discovery Call.