Growth In Reverse: Newsletter & Email Growth

The #1 Thing These 3 Newsletters Got Wrong (and How to Fix It) — Newsletter Roasts Vol. 2

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Key takeaways

  • Identify your target audience clearly—avoid being too broad in defining who your newsletter is for.
  • Focus on the purpose and theme of your newsletter to ensure the content directly addresses audience needs.
  • Simplify content delivery and structure to prevent overwhelming your readers with information.
  • Enhance your welcome email to provide context and spark interest in your newsletter.
  • Utilize effective call-to-actions and engaging elements within your newsletter to boost subscriber interaction.

Summary

Introduction to the Newsletter Roasts

In this episode, the hosts kick things off with an exciting introduction about roasting newsletters, a follow-up to their previous roast where they only focused on one newsletter. They lay out their goals for this second volume, emphasizing the importance of constructive criticism and the value of sharing insights that can help every newsletter creator improve their content.

From Europe With Love: The Passion Project

The discussion begins with an analysis of Jacob's newsletter 'From Europe With Love.' The hosts note the lack of monetization and the casual nature of the newsletter, which features lesser-known European products. They critique its homepage for not adequately showcasing Jacob's experience or authority. They stress the need for a clear target audience and better focus in addressing what this newsletter aims to achieve, suggesting that potential readers may feel overwhelmed by the broad scope of product offerings.

AutoGPT: The AI Enthusiast's Dilemma

Moving on, the hosts dive into the second newsletter, 'AutoGPT,' run by Joey Mazzars, which promises to save users time using AI. While the the concept is promising, feedback centers around the overly broad target audience of 'AI enthusiasts.' Recommendations include refining the focus on a specific segment of users and ensuring the communication is aligned with the wide range of content that AutoGPT seems to be offering. The hosts express concerns about the newsletter's design and user engagement strategies.

The Curious Procrastinator: A Clever Name with Confusion

Next up is 'The Curious Procrastinator,' a duo-driven newsletter that aims to help readers work smarter while procrastinating better. The hosts find its branding clever but lament the lack of clarity regarding the content for potential subscribers. They critique the newsletter’s length, finding it overwhelming and disorganized. Suggestions for improvement include creating a more structured format with a clear theme, avoiding excessive length, and providing engaging welcome emails that better explain the newsletter's purpose.

Final Remarks and Key Takeaways

In their closing thoughts, the hosts reiterate the importance of having a clear focus for newsletters while encouraging creators to consider their audience more deeply. They share general advice on how all newsletter operators can benefit from simplifying their structure and messaging, putting emphasis on creating engaging introductory experiences for new subscribers.

Sponsors

  • Growth In Reverse Pro Community · Take your newsletter to the next level with GIR Pro.
  • Submit for a full-on roasting · Want to get your newsletter roasted? Submit it for a full-on roasting here.

Show notes

Get 30 proven strategies to grow and optimize your email list FREE >>

Three roasts are better than one!

Our first Newsletter Roast was last month, and we only roasted ONE newsletter.
Today we're bringing back the heat—but roasting THREE newsletters instead of just one.

These newsletters are all in different phases of their journey but all share one common problem (you'll have to listen to find out). In this episode, we review each newsletter's sign-up page, their welcome email & onboarding, and one edition of their newsletters. While you *can* listen to this one, you'll get much more out of watching it on YouTube (see YT link in the show notes below).

Why newsletter roasts?

We're doing these roasts as a way to give back to our listeners—especially those who leave this podcast a rating & review—and to help every listener improve their newsletter by learning from the mistakes others have made.

Want to get your newsletter roasted? Submit it for a full-on roasting here 🔥

→ Take your newsletter to the next level with GIR Pro >>

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • Why we chose three newsletters from the same platform.
  • FIRST: From Europe With Love – beautiful products, but who is it for?
  • The missed opportunity to showcase credibility.
  • Gated content woes and how that hurts signups and trust.
  • Breaking down the welcome email—and why it almost works.
  • SECOND: AutoGPT – again... what’s the focus?
  • Trying to find the audience avatar (spoiler: “AI enthusiasts” is too broad).
  • Smart monetization tactics... but maybe too much happening at once?
  • THIRD: The Curious Procrastinator – clever name, but what’s it about?
  • The dangers of trying to do too much.
  • Tips for creating a more engaging welcome email and onboarding flow.
  • Final 3 takeaways that all newsletter operators can learn from.

LINKS MENTIONED

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Subscribe & Leave a Review:

If you found this episode valuable, take a second to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! It helps more newsletter creators find the show. Plus, if you submit a review, you’ll get priority for your own newsletter roast!

Thanks to Tim Forkin for editing these episodes.

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