Send & Grow by SparkLoop

SparkLoop
  • 5.0 (7)
  • Marketing
  • Semimonthly

Discover how the best media brands and solo operators are winning at newsletter growth & monetization. Hosted by SparkLoop's cofounder Louis Nicholls and SparkLoop's newsletter nerd, Dylan Redekop—we take you behind the scenes and share the strategies, trends, and tactics you need to know to build your email audience and revenue. Featuring exclusive interviews with the smartest media experts and operators out there today. Including from the Hustle, Morning Brew, Workweek, The Pour Over, and more.

  1. 2d ago

    How to Turn Readers Into Buyers Using Buyer Psychology | Katelyn Bourgoin | Send & Grow 2.0 Ep. 8

    How do you turn an engaged audience into customers who actually want to buy? In this episode of Send & Grow, Hunter Kallay sits down with Katelyn Bourgoin, entrepreneur, marketer, and buyer psychology expert. Katelyn is the creator of Why We Buy, a newsletter with 60,000+ readers, and is now building Unignorable. Katelyn shares how she discovered marketing, what buyer psychology can teach us about communication, and why having a strong, “ownable idea” can help a business stand out. They also dive into one of the biggest challenges for newsletter creators: having readers who open, click, and engage — but don’t buy. Katelyn explains how to build an audience around a commercially valuable problem, use Jobs to Be Done to understand what people actually want, and create content that can ultimately support a real business. Find Katelyn at beunignorable.com, LinkedIn, and X. ABOUT SEND & GROW: Send & Grow explores the people, strategies, and stories behind some of the most interesting newsletters and media businesses in the world. Subscribe for more conversations about newsletter growth, audience building, monetization, marketing, and the future of digital media. 00:00–00:10 — Intro00:10–01:23 — Katelyn’s unconventional path into marketing01:23–02:48 — From PR school to falling in love with marketing02:48–04:21 — Katelyn’s life outside of work04:21–05:38 — Family, food, and life in Quebec05:38–07:18 — Why Katelyn considers herself “unemployable”07:18–07:36 — Has studying psychology ruined shopping?07:36–08:28 — The psychology of negative social proof08:28–10:03 — Why psychological tactics still work on Katelyn10:03–11:43 — Why entrepreneurs need to become better communicators11:43–12:12 — How to communicate a billion-dollar idea12:12–13:19 — What is an “ownable idea”?13:19–15:27 — Cody Sanchez, James Clear, and the power of an idea15:27–16:19 — Failing 12 times before finding success16:19–17:47 — Why you should figure out what you actually want17:47–18:09 — Don’t chase a success that feels like failure18:09–19:06 — Why engaged newsletter readers don’t always become buyers19:06–20:18 — How to turn an audience into customers20:18–21:18 — Jobs to Be Done and understanding what people want21:18–22:29 — Building a newsletter around a commercially valuable problem22:29–23:13 — Why attention doesn’t always equal monetization23:13–24:07 — Where to find Katelyn24:07–24:17 — Outro #NewsletterGrowth #EmailMarketing #BuyerPsychology #CreatorEconomy

    How to Turn Readers Into Buyers Using Buyer Psychology | Katelyn Bourgoin | Send & Grow 2.0 Ep. 8

  2. Oct 29

    How to Increase Newsletter Conversions From 7% to 35% | Marketing Max | Send & Grow 2.0 Ep. 7

    How do you turn a newsletter into a thriving media business? 📈 In this episode of Send and Grow, Hunter Kallay sits down with Max, better known as Marketing Max, to unpack how he went from working on Wall Street to building a marketing agency, growing a newsletter business with hundreds of thousands of subscribers, and acquiring other newsletters. Max shares the strategies behind his growth, including how he increased a newsletter landing page's conversion rate from around 7% to 35–40%, why your opinions can be your biggest advantage as a newsletter creator, and how to make more money from the audience you've already built. Whether you're launching your first newsletter or looking to scale an established media business, this conversation is packed with actionable insights on growth, monetization, and building a newsletter people actually want to read. Follow Max on X: Marketing Max  Website: https://marketingmax.io Send and Grow explores the people, strategies, and stories behind some of the most interesting newsletters and media businesses in the world. Subscribe for more conversations about newsletter growth, audience building, monetization, and the future of digital media. #NewsletterGrowth #EmailMarketing #CreatorEconomy

    How to Increase Newsletter Conversions From 7% to 35% | Marketing Max | Send & Grow 2.0 Ep. 7

  3. Oct 15

    How Fresh Cup Grew Its Newsletter 45% in One Year | Garrett Oden | Send & Grow 2.0 Ep. 6

    What does it take to revive a decades-old publication, grow its newsletter by 45%, and turn a niche audience into a sustainable media business? In this episode of the Send & Grow Podcast, Hunter Kallay sits down with Garrett Oden, owner and publisher of Fresh Cup (https://freshcup.com/join-the-newsletter/), a media brand serving the coffee industry. Garrett shares how he brought Fresh Cup back to life in 2022 and transformed it into a growing business with newsletters, resources, courses, and services for coffee professionals. They dive into the challenges of monetizing a niche publication, why going deep and staying human matters more than ever in the age of AI, and how Fresh Cup is building revenue streams beyond sponsorships—including Roaster Link, a matchmaking service connecting coffee roasters with potential wholesale customers. Garrett also breaks down the strategies behind Fresh Cup’s newsletter growth, from engaging social media carousels to targeted Meta ads, and shares his hot take on why coffee businesses shouldn’t feel guilty about doing what it takes to make money. 00:10-01:19 – Introduction: Garrett Oden of Fresh Cup01:19-02:58 – Garrett’s go-to coffee order02:58-05:31 – Ranking the biggest coffee chains05:31-07:59 – Garrett’s favorite coffee shops around the world07:59-09:43 – How Garrett became a coffee marketing consultant09:43-11:32 – Why Garrett brought Fresh Cup back to life11:32-13:02 – The challenges of relaunching a legacy publication13:02-14:31 – Why monetizing a niche media brand is difficult14:31-15:40 – Fresh Cup’s sponsorships and welcome box15:40-17:21 – How to build a successful niche publication17:21-19:22 – Operator Notes: Turning industry expertise into useful content19:22-21:00 – Why personal opinions and experience matter in the age of AI21:00-23:06 – Hot take: Why coffee businesses shouldn’t feel guilty about making money23:06-26:35 – Roaster Link: Connecting coffee roasters with new customers26:35-27:57 – How Fresh Cup grew its newsletter by 45%27:57-29:11 – The role of social media and multiple growth channels29:11-30:39 – Using Meta ads to acquire newsletter subscribers30:39-31:44 – Newsletter creators Garrett recommends following31:44-32:31 – Final thoughts: Be friendly to somebody

    How Fresh Cup Grew Its Newsletter 45% in One Year | Garrett Oden | Send & Grow 2.0 Ep. 6

  4. Oct 1

    Everyone Went Digital. She Started to Send Fans Letters | Kim Nunley | Send & Grow 2.0 Ep. 5

    What happens when a newsletter creator sees a gap in the media landscape — and decides to fill it herself?  In this episode of Send & Grow, Hunter sits down with Kim Nunley, founder of 30 Second Timeout, a daily women’s basketball newsletter that helps fans keep up with the biggest stories in under three minutes.  Kim talks about building a media business around her passion for women’s basketball, growing an audience across social media and email, and why she decided to take things one step further with the Post Up Club (https://thepostupclub.com/)— a monthly snail mail membership where fans receive personal letters, basketball stories, and physical surprises in their mailbox.  Subscribe to Send & Grow 2.0 for more conversations with the people building, growing, and powering the newsletter industry.

    Everyone Went Digital. She Started to Send Fans Letters | Kim Nunley | Send & Grow 2.0 Ep. 5

  5. Sep 17

    Your Newsletter Might Be Going to Spam and Here's Why | LB Blair | Send & Grow 2.0 Ep. 4

    What actually determines whether your newsletter reaches the inbox or quietly disappears into spam? In this episode of Send & Grow 2.0, Hunter Kallay sits down with LB Blair, an email business and technology expert who has worked with some of the world's biggest email senders. LB breaks down the often-misunderstood world of email deliverability, from sender reputation and list hygiene to infrastructure, authentication, traffic patterns, and the spam filters deciding whether your email gets through. They also talk about some of the worst deliverability advice floating around online, why open rates don't tell the whole story, how AI is changing the spam ecosystem, and what newsletter operators can actually do to protect their lists. If you send email, deliverability isn't something you can afford to ignore. Subscribe to Send & Grow 2.0 for more conversations with the people building, growing, and powering the newsletter industry.

    Your Newsletter Might Be Going to Spam and Here's Why | LB Blair | Send & Grow 2.0 Ep. 4

  6. Aug 27

    How to Build a Newsletter Business That Actually Works | Jakub Chodounský | Send & Grow 2.0 Ep. 3

    What does it actually take to build and run a successful newsletter business?  In this episode of Send & Grow 2.0, Hunter Kallay sits down with Jakub Chodounský, who runs four curated newsletters, to talk about the realities of building a newsletter business—from keeping content fresh and managing a relentless publishing schedule to finding ways to step away without everything falling apart.  #Newsletter #NewsletterBusiness #EmailMarketing #NewsletterGrowth #creatoreconomy They talk about the challenges of running time-sensitive newsletters, how Jakub approaches growth, what he's learned from building multiple publications, and what it really takes to keep a newsletter business going week after week.  Follow Jakub's newsletters: C# Digest (https://csharpdigest.net/), React Digest (https://reactdigest.net/), Programming Digest (https://programmingdigest.net/) and Leadership in Tech (https://leadershipintech.com/)  Hunter's newsletter: FryAI (https://www.fry-ai.com/)

    How to Build a Newsletter Business That Actually Works | Jakub Chodounský | Send & Grow 2.0 Ep. 3

  7. Aug 13

    Everything Works in Marketing. That's the Problem. | Dave Gerhardt | Send & Grow 2.0 Ep. 2

    In this episode of Send & Grow 2.0, Hunter Kallay sits down with Dave Gerhardt, founder of Exit Five and former CMO at Drift, to talk about building a modern media and community business around B2B marketing.  About Send & Grow: Send & Grow is a podcast about the people, strategies, and businesses behind today's most interesting newsletters. We talk to newsletter operators and creators about how they build audiences, create great content, and turn attention into sustainable businesses. Subscribe to Send & Grow for more conversations with the people shaping the newsletter industry.

    Everything Works in Marketing. That's the Problem. | Dave Gerhardt | Send & Grow 2.0 Ep. 2

  8. Jul 30

    Building a Newsletter People Love with Matt Gross (Shut Up N' Eat)

    🍔 What's the secret behind one of the most engaging food newsletters?  In this episode of Send & Grow, we sit down with Matt Gross, the creator behind Shut Up N' Eat, to talk about what it really takes to build a newsletter people actually look forward to opening.  We dive into: 📬 Building a newsletter readers love 🍔 Turning a passion into a thriving publication 📈 Growing without losing your voice ✍️ Creating content people can't wait to read 💡 Lessons every newsletter creator can apply  Whether you're just starting your newsletter or looking for your next growth breakthrough, this conversation is packed with practical insights and honest stories from someone who's done it.  👇 Let us know in the comments: What's the #1 lesson you've learned from growing your newsletter?  🎙️ About Send & Grow Send & Grow is the podcast for newsletter creators. Every episode features conversations with the operators, founders, and marketers behind today's best newsletters, sharing actionable strategies to help you grow your audience, improve your content, and build a sustainable newsletter business. Subscribe for new episodes featuring the people shaping the future of email.  #Newsletter #EmailMarketing #CreatorEconomy #NewsletterGrowth #ContentMarketing #EmailNewsletter #Podcast #Marketing #Substack #beehiiv

    Building a Newsletter People Love with Matt Gross (Shut Up N' Eat)
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
7 Ratings

About

Discover how the best media brands and solo operators are winning at newsletter growth & monetization. Hosted by SparkLoop's cofounder Louis Nicholls and SparkLoop's newsletter nerd, Dylan Redekop—we take you behind the scenes and share the strategies, trends, and tactics you need to know to build your email audience and revenue. Featuring exclusive interviews with the smartest media experts and operators out there today. Including from the Hustle, Morning Brew, Workweek, The Pour Over, and more.

Information

  • Creator
    SparkLoop
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    55
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 SparkLoop
  • Show Website
    Send & Grow by SparkLoop

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