Sticky

Newsletter Glue
  • 5.0 (1)
  • MARKETING
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Sticky helps you build a must-subscribe, must-read newsletter through actionable case studies and playbooks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episodes

  1. 11/13/2023

    Newsletter monetization techniques with Louis Nicholls

    In this episode, Louis shares how to effectively monetize and scale your newsletter business. He also talks about diversifying revenue streams beyond ads and subscriptions, calculating lifetime subscriber value, and aggressive paid acquisition tactics used by the largest newsletters. Key timestamps: 00:27 - Intro to Louis Nicholls and Spark Loop 02:45 - Louis talks about the payback period and subscriber lifetime value and how they interplay. 06:51 - What are some common ways to decrease the payback period? 11:44 - The 2x2 matrix for revenue streams 13:12 - How do huge subscriber lists under-monetize? 16:30 - Would you encourage having both donations and subscriptions? 19:57 - How do you categorize different revenue streams? 23:08 - The difference between donations and tips vs subscriptions? 25:14 - Intermission questions 28:41 - What are some products or services newsletter operators sell that you've seen really take off? 37:04 - Do you think publishers should diversify into more products/services? 41:41 - How would you monetize the top 1% of a publisher's audience? 45:50 - How is newsletter advertising different from website advertising? 47:18 - Best practices for optimizing and getting more revenue Show Notes SparkLoop Upscribe Chiz Media James Clear Techcrunch Vox Clearbit Why We Buy Substack Guest Louis Nicholls - Twitter SparkLoop Host Lesley Sim Twitter Lesley Sim Website Stay in touch Apple Podcasts Spotify Twitter Sticky.fm Website Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    59 min

  2. 10/30/2023

    The challenges of growing a newsletter in big companies - Naomi West

    In this episode, Naomi provides insights into Invoice2go's efforts to grow their newsletter program. She shares learnings from experiments with segmenting their audience and testing different approaches, as well as the real-world limitations and challenges in executing tests and getting buy-in. Key timestamps: 00:53 - Naomi discusses her role at Invoice2go and the goals of using email to drive activation and monetization 02:15 - Inheriting an existing email program and getting a "blank slate" for an overhaul with the rebrand 09:17 - Three pillars of the customer life cycle 15:18 - Starting a segmented newsletter strategy for different audiences 17:40 - Testing content performance but unable to find statistical significance 20:32 - Changing no-reply to actual email for a two-way communication channel 24:55 - Intermission questions 29:33 - The three newsletters Naomi picked for Invoice2go 35:07 - Successful testing of personalized outreach from faux personas 38:46 - Call to action versus call to value test. 43:35 - Doing list hygiene for the Later newsletter 45:00 - Steps taken to turn engaged subscribers into paying customers 47:13 - Key learning from the time at Later Show Notes Parcel Invoice2Go Braze Cordial Amplitude Customer.io Later Bridget Casey EcoSend Guest Naomi West - Twitter Naomi West - Instagram Naomi West - Website  Host Lesley Sim Twitter Lesley Sim Website Stay in touch Apple Podcasts Spotify Twitter Sticky.fm Website Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    57 min

  3. 10/16/2023

    A peek inside Litmus’ newsletter building process with Carin Slater

    In this episode, Carin Slater provides behind the scenes at Litmus as she and her team plan, design, develop, test, and analyze the company's 4 newsletters. She outlines their Agile Marketing process, creative freedom, and focus on engagement and accessibility in each newsletter they produce. Carin also discusses the extensive research and work that went into fully redesigning their flagship newsletter, Litmus News. Key Timestamp 00:42 - Overview of the 4 newsletters Carin produces at Litmus 01:11 - Carin's role in building Litmus' newsletters 02:08 - Process for planning the Litmus News newsletter 03:08 - How the team collaborates on newsletter copy and content 10:35 - Using Jira for project management and tasks 11:03 - The Litmus team's agile marketing process 16:24 - Process of building the Litmus weekly email 25:04 - Adding UTM codes for tracking 26:23 - Using the Litmus and Marketo tracking pixel 27:53 - Using checklist for auditing 30:35 - Optimizing QA testing for top email clients 35:14 - Tracking and analyzing link click rates 40:17 - Having fun with newsletter production 43:24 - Intermission questions 49:34 - Reason for redesigning the Litmus newsletter 53:18 - Incorporating user feedback into design 57:45 - Challenges with personalization 1:05:28 - What determines if the redesign was a success? 1:13:16 - Where to find Carin and subscribe to her newsletter Show Notes Litmus JIRA Agile Marketing Slack Asana Google Doc Figma Marketo UTM Codes Apple MPP- Apple Mail Privacy Protection Litmus Scope Linktree Guest Carin Slater/@carinslater Carin Slater Linktree Host Lesley Sim Twitter Lesley Sim Website Stay in touch Apple Podcasts Spotify Twitter Sticky.fm Website Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 14m

  4. 10/02/2023

    Skyrocket your newsletter growth with Dan Oshinsky

    In this episode, Dan Oshinsky shares his insights on proven growth tactics for publishers and content creators. He breaks down strategies that work at different stages, from just starting out to having over 1 million subscribers. Dan provides tips on optimizing signup forms, using lead magnets, referral programs, contests, earned media, paid acquisition, and more. Key Timestamps 01:41 - Dan's epic guide of 52 ways to grow your email list 02:09 - What are some foundational principles of growth? 05:46 - Creating a compelling "why subscribe" message. 06:37 - Create a newsletter landing page. 07:30 - Publishers need signup forms in multiple places 11:41 - Adding signup form at 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% for long articles 15:24 - What are some of the best growth tips for a list with 10K people? 17:47 - Contests and giveaways to get signups and engagement from readers. 23:42 - Lead magnets work well for publishers of any size. 28:04 - Referral programs work best above 10-25k subscribers. 39:25 - Are there growth tactics that you’d like to share for publishers in the 10K to 100K range? 41:44 - How does using brackets work to grow your list? 48:39 - Let's go to one million subscribers. What tactics work at this stage? 55:53 - What's one uncommon growth tip you like that you wish you'd see more often? 58:15 - What's your favorite ESP and why? 01:01:20 - What's your favorite must-read newsletter? 01:02:09 - What's your favorite piece of advice for a new set of publishers? Show Notes Inbox Collective The New Yorker BuzzFeed 52 Ways to Grow Your Email List Nathan Barry Beehiiv  Substack Carrd OptinMonster Poptin WPForms Spark Loops Upscribe Madison Minutes Tone Madison Charlotte Ledger Berkshire Eagle AWeber ConvertKit Second Street Google Forms Typeform Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 6m

  5. 09/18/2023

    Building a scalable media publishing platform with Saeedreza Abbaspour

    Saeedreza Abbaspour discusses proven strategies for optimizing landing pages, maximizing conversions, and safeguarding subscriber integrity when building a high-traffic media publishing platform.  Key timestamps 00:25 - Who is Saeedreza Abbaspour? 01:24 - Discussion on optimizing the customer acquisition funnel for a site with 100k subscribers with a goal of reaching 1 million. 03:19 - What typically happens after a user lands on the landing page from an ad click? 04:14 - What do you do to optimize that landing page? 10:23 - How customizable are the landing pages you build? 14:35 - With the free subscriber journey, how long do the campaigns typically last? 18:51 - What should be on an optimized checkout page? 22:51 - Intermission questions 26:40 - Transition to scalability and security of a high-traffic platform. 28:06 - Using WordPress for flexibility, and developer availability. 37:10  - Do you use plugins that are available or build your own? 38:08 - What form plugins do you use? 41:57 - What hosting do you recommend? 42:55 - How do you deal with bot attacks? 46:43 - Double opt-in vs. reCAPTCHA? 53:52 - Using ChatGPT to detect spam subscribers 57:13 - How long of email inactivity triggers subscriber removal? 59:06 - What key mistake do rookies make in building publishing platforms? Show Notes Refact The Hustle  The Daily Upsight  Workweek Advance Custom Field reCAPTCHA Newsletter Glue Gravity Forms WPForms Cloudflare WPEngine Beehiiv Substack WooCommerce Cloudflare Turnstyle Guest Saeedreza Abbaspour/@IAmSaeedreza Refact Host Lesley Sim: Twitter / Website Stay in touch Apple Podcasts Spotify Twitter Sticky.fm Website Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 5m

  6. 09/11/2023

    How Tyler Channell helps local publishers generate $$$$

    In this episode, Tyler Channell reveals how his company Paywall Project helps small town news sites build subscription funnels that convert readers into paying subscribers. With real examples and data, he provides an actionable blueprint to implement key strategies like metered paywalls, free to paid content upgrades, and sponsorships. Key timestamps 1:41 - The problem small local news publishers come to Tyler to solve 2:10 - Publishers moving from platforms like Pico/Hype which lack flexibility 5:00 - Migrating off limiting SaaS platforms like Substack 7:18 -  Services that Paywall Project offers 9:04 - Example of a client earning $5k/month in a small town of 5,000 people 10:46 - Public notice revenue at risk, need for a subscription model 17:45 - Focusing on free signups over paid at first 21:01 - Typical subscription conversion rates Tyler sees 22:27 - Intermission questions 23:00 - Pricing strategy and how to determine subscription cost 31:45 - Newsletter sponsorships as an additional revenue source 33:43 - Range of rates that publishers charge for their ads 39:15 - How much should a publisher charge for a subscription? 44:50 - Tyler's recommendations for email service providers Show notes Paywall Project Hype Substack Newsletter Glue WordPress Stripe San Francisco Chronicle Sendy Amazon SES Slack Mailchimp ChatGPT Guest Tyler Channell Twitter/@TylerChannell Paywall Project Twitter/@paywallproject Paywall Project Host Lesley Sim Twitter Lesley Sim Website Stay in touch Apple Podcasts Spotify Twitter Sticky.fm Website Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    46 min

  7. 09/04/2023

    Going viral with thought leadership - Cedric Chin

    In this episode, Cedric Chin shares how “earned secrets” are at the core of creating viral, thought leadership content. He shares his process for writing long-form articles and stresses how consistently publishing on a schedule can help build readership. Key timestamps: 0:30 – Who is Cedric Chin? 1:45 – What is Commoncog about? 9:59 – Definition of “going viral” and thought leadership 11:07 - Four types of thought leadership according to Ryan Law 12:25 – Example of a viral “Yes, and” article Cedric wrote   15:14 – Example of a viral article challenging a truism 21:48 – The “ripple effect” of viral content  26:27 – Cedric’s most viral articles and how he identifies viral potential 36:08 – Cedric on why he aims to always share his “earned secrets”  39:38 – Intermission questions 44:30 – Cedric explains his process for writing long-form articles 52:09 – What beginners get wrong about writing high-quality thought leadership content  57:44 – Cedric recommending the Poynter writing tools course Show notes Commoncog blog Animalz blog post on thought leadership Hacker News Goodhart’s Law article Poynter 50 writing tools course ConvertKit Money Stuff newsletter by Matt Levine Guest Cedric Chin Twitter/@ejames_c Commoncog website Host Lesley Sim Twitter Lesley Sim Website Stay in touch Apple Podcasts Spotify Twitter Sticky.fm Website Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1 hr

  8. 08/28/2023

    Mastering deliverability with Alyssa Dulin

    In this episode, Alyssa provides valuable insights into various deliverability challenges faced by email senders and offers practical strategies to ensure successful email campaigns and maintain a positive sending reputation. Key timestamps 00:18 - Who is Alyssa Dulin? 01:38 - How to prevent email deliverability issues after a long break from sending newsletters. 04:23 - Tips for warming up your email list gradually to maintain a good sending reputation. 08:02 - Understanding the promotions tab in Gmail and dealing with emails going to spam. 10:40 - Steps to take if an ESP gets blacklisted. 18:49 - Intermission questions 20:58 - Challenges with business email addresses bouncing. 26:38 - Understanding email spoofing. 26:55 - DMARCIAN.com is recommended as a resource for information and guidance on setting up DMARC records. 31:16 - Addressing automatic opens and clicks. 35:33 - Handling open rate drops and spam issues after switching ESPs. 43:05 - Kickbox, a helpful email validation tool for checking email health Key links EmailTooltester MxToolbox M3AAWG Dmarcian Kickbox Alyssa Dulin Website Alyssa Dulin Twitter/@alyssa_dulin Alyssa Dulin Podcast - Deliverability Defined Host: Lesley Sim Twitter Lesley Sim Website Stay in touch: Apple Podcasts Spotify Twitter Sticky.fm Website Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    47 min

  9. SEASON 1 TRAILER

    Sticky.fm Launch Trailer

    This is a trailer for the launch of our new podcast called Sticky from Newsletter Glue. Sticky will feature interviews with newsletter experts on topics like growth, paywalls, and deliverability. The goal is to provide actionable advice to help media companies and newsrooms build successful newsletters. New episodes will be released weekly every Tuesday wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1 min

Trailer

About

Sticky helps you build a must-subscribe, must-read newsletter through actionable case studies and playbooks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    Newsletter Glue
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    9
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Lesley Sim
  • Show Website
    Sticky