Issue #182 All About Email

Hi, friend. 👋

Welcome to Issue #182 of All About Email!

Last week, we started answering a reader’s question about newsletter monetisation approaching from an angle you might not have expected.

This week, we conclude our discussion of newsletter monetisation with some practical advice and tips on creating revenue streams.

Let’s go! 👇

A Little Reminder Before We Start

In case you missed last week’s newsletter, the key takeaways below help set us up for this week’s conclusion on monetisation:

• 🤦‍♂️ Don’t do extensive research and then let it gather dust for two years! (Lesson learned from personal experience.)

• 🙌 Not everyone wants to monetise their newsletter, and that's completely okay!

• 🤔 Starting is often the hardest part. Research alone won't monetise your newsletter. (Take action!)

• ⚠️ Your opinions are valuable! Someone always wants to hear what you have to say.

• 🎉 I've shared my own research document to help kick-start your monetisation journey. (You can copy or adapt it however you like.

• ⚡️ Partnerships and sponsorships can be great monetisation options (thanks, Louis Nicholls and Spark Loop!).

Now…on to this week’s content, and remember, you don’t need a big audience to monetise. 🎉

Ads/Sponsorship

Last week, I shared an article with you, friend, and it was one of the least clicked links in the newsletter, not this week!

What’s so good about this article is that it adds some meat to what we discussed last week. 👇

Don’t want to read it? Here are the cliff notes:

• Why Ads? Engaged, targeted audiences attract advertisers.

• Audience Size: Bigger is better, but niche newsletters can thrive even with smaller lists. 🎉

• Pricing: Typical rates: $20-$40 per 1,000 opens (higher for niche/B2B).

• Ad Formats: Native ads, banners, classifieds/job listings, sponsored sections.

• Metrics: Advertisers expect open rates, clicks, and engagement data.

• Tools: Platforms (Beehiiv, Paved) and tools (Sponsy, Glueletter) simplify ad sales.

• Mix Revenue: Ads can complement other models (subscriptions/memberships).

But There’s Something Missing Above 🤔

Programmatic Email Ads are not your regular Google Ads for email.

My most engaged newsletter was about this feature; you can read more in Issue #149.

Affiliate/Referral Links

Affiliate marketing may be more associated with the web rather than email.

🤮 Over the years, it has gained a mixed reputation due to SEO abuse and shady tactics by affiliates (which resulted in a clampdown from Google).

For a very long time, I shied away from affiliate marketing; honestly, it felt slimy. 🐍

However, over the last couple of years, I’ve slowly started increasing my affiliate marketing, which can be a very nice revenue stream for a newsletter.

🤑 Could I earn more money by being sneaky? Yes…but I don’t.

This is how I use referral links:

• Links are disclosed **

• I only recommend products I use (or have used in the past)

• I don’t run any dedicated affiliate sites.

** (Either inline, with a general disclaimer, or sometimes both.)

🚨There are other ways to earn a lot of money with affiliate revenue, but I will keep my ethics and moral compass intact, so we won’t discuss those here.

Newsletter Platforms for Monetisation

💡 Not all newsletter platforms are built for monetisation.

Depending on their features, you can use something like SparkLoop to add monetisation features to any newsletter platform (it is platform agnostic but owned by Kit).

Passionfroot is another option (it works differently than SparkLoop and is not as feature-rich).

⚡️ It’s been a while since I looked at Kit (formerly Convertkit) and Substack, but the former bought SparkLoop a couple of years back to help improve its monetisation features.

Beehiiv

🎉 For me, Beehiiv is the best newsletter monetisation platform!

I’ve been using Beehiiv for almost a year now.

🧠 It wasn’t the best platform for monetisation then, but it has added so much in the last year that it has changed my opinion.

Monetisation aside, whilst not a perfect ESP for everyone (is there such a thing?), it is a superb all-around platform, and I love it! ❤️

Quick Notes

Boosts (Recommendations)

Boosts by Beehiiv or “Paid Recommendations” from SparkLoop allow you to earn money by referring subscribers to other newsletters.

⚠️ It sounds simple, but in my limited experience, the revenue generated has been zero, and I don’t often have the opportunity to experiment with it.

If you have a larger audience, it is worth exploring.

📈 I’ve discussed Sparkloop’s “Upscribe” (Free and Paid) recommendations in detail. While things have changed slightly, you can read more in Mail Mondays (the old name for this newsletter) Issue #72.

Paid Newsletters

So, friend, I’ve not discussed “Paid Newsletters” as part of monetisation. I feel this topic deserves a newsletter (or two) on its own.

I also plan to test this myself over the next few months (and report back), so keep your eyes peeled.

But if you are wanting to look at running a paid newsletter, these platforms are worth exploring:

• Beehiiv (I use this) **

• Kit (formerly Convertkit)

• Substack

** This link gets you a 30-day free trial of Beehiiv and 20% off for three months.

Real Life Example

If you want a real-life example of how monetisation can change your life, check out this article about Anne-Kathrin Gerstlauer.

🤯 Anne built something bigger than a growth channel for her business. Anne expanded her newsletter with paid subscriptions, ads, and even a licensing business

That’s it for this week 👋

⏭️ Next week, it’s all about double opt-in after a LinkedIn post, and some comments caught my eye.

I’ll be sharing some real-world data from my own newsletters. It’s not to be missed.

See you next week! 😀

Sponsorship Opportunities

🚨 If you’re interested in sponsoring the “All About Email” newsletter, you can find all the details in this Google Doc. I currently have “Classified” slots and a Main Sponsor slot available.

Email Marketing News & Tips

This week's excellent and insightful email news & tips:

• Best in Class - 13 Newsletters Every Newsroom Should Launch. (Inbox Collective)

• Landing Page Checklist - Tick These 17 Items Off to Boost Your Conversions. (Email Tooltester)

• Newsletter Growth - The Key To More Newsletter Sign-ups That Beginners Always Miss. (Dylan Redekop)

• Top 10 - Overlooked Klaviyo Features That Will Improve Your Email Marketing. (Magnet Monster)

• Apple Mail vs. Outlook - Which email client should you choose? (Notion)

• Cooked! - Brutally Honest Newsletter Roast: What Works, What Doesn’t, and What to Fix. (Growth in Reverse)

• No To Lead Magnets? - No one cares about your "free PDF." (Tarzan Kay Kalryzian)

• Google’s Email Filtering - A Deep Dive into Authentication, Reputation, and Suspicious Content – It’s all about the reputation of the domain name.(Sarah Papadopoulou)

• What Do You Do? - Is double opt-in required? Generally, no, but use it anyway. (Email Toolester)

• Alt Text - How do you write it for animated GIFs? (Sarah Gallardo)

• I Can Always Complain - You know who else can always complain? Your recipients! (Alison Gootee)

• 🎧 Email Basics - John Walker had me on his podcast to chat about some of the basics of email marketing. (Vend Digital)

If you have a question about this email or email marketing, reply, and I will answer you as soon as possible.

I hope you have a great week! 👋