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How to grow your newsletter (a soil based framework)

Growing newsletters, the video stylings of New York mayoral candidates, and the job search arms race.

How to grow your newsletter (a soil based framework)

👋 Welcome to new subscribers Keely, KC, Lydia and Andrew. Also sending greetings to Sarah, Jayde, Susan, Jerimiah and Gerardo. Amazing to see you all. And hello Ann, Joe, Elizabeth, Meris, Jay, Emma, Kelley and Meris. And, of course, greetings to Justin, Tina, Sylvia, Vinicia and Alyssa.

It's great to have you here. Hit reply if I can answer any questions or if you want to chat about content, community, or work in this space. Maybe we'll see you at Newsletter Nerd Club later today.

To Do

  • There are around 40 new roles listed below.
  • Looking for a job? Know someone who is? Want to share job search ideas and support? A few of us are hosting Job Searching: From Chaos to Calm on Thursday, July 17th. It's a free online gathering. I hope you'll sign up.

How to build a newsletter

If you want a plant to grow fast, dump on the fertilizer. If you want a plant that thrives day after day and year after year you need to tend to the soil.

People and organizations building newsletters or even just email lists have a few common questions. One is "how do I get people to subscribe?" First, you need consistent and useful content that provides value (or at least entertainment) and builds trust. If you don't have that you can build a list but you'll just churn through emails.

Beyond that, growth strategies need to be grounded in understanding the type of newsletter you have, your goals and needs, your cost/revenue equation, timing, and your audience (are they already "your people" or are you going into new groups and niches?).

Clarity on these questions lets you walk into the growth tactic shop with a sense of purpose and confidence. That's important because there are so many ways to grow a list. Some slow. Some fast. They all cost something.

Check out Nonprofit Newsletter Growth Strategies for a framework that helps ground your approach to growth and the tactics you'll use.

Bright Ideas

Thoughts, good gatherings, and resources you can use.

Sure. Why not lead with Zohran Mamdani. Everyone else is talking about his campaign and what it means for candidates, especially democrats.

I can't not mention his campaign's use of video and how well it connects storytelling to community. Even the title of this post primary day video–What we won–acknowledges the shared values and goals that have grounded everything the campaign has done and said.

Look, any candidate or organization can go out and spend a lot of money on video. And Mamdani's success with it is enough to convince me that many more should.

But most will mimic. Anyone can write scripts that show them walking down the street. But the hard work of telling inclusive, community building stories only works when those are values held by the organization, not just taglines. And political campaigns, especially those centering charismatic New Yorkers (waves to AOC and, sigh, Trump) are different beasts.

AI has created a job search arms race

Is the use of AI in job screening keeping people from getting a fair look? And can you get around AI screeners? Maybe/probably and who knows. Is AI helping people find and apply to far more jobs than ever? Certainly.

This story is wild. And a reminder that no matter how hard and frustrating and isolating job search can be, especially in this ugly hiring environment, human connection, not AI, is a superpower.

The résumé is dying, and AI is holding the smoking gun
As thousands of applications flood job posts, ‘hiring slop’ is kicking off an AI arms race.
Ars TechnicaBenj Edwards

Quick Notes

  • Sophiana is a new app that helps you turn your blog posts, reports, case studies, even notes into a short vertical video ready to go on your favorite social network. By and for journalists but totally accessible and useful to nonprofit communicators. [via Nieman Lab]
  • The Disappearing Art of Maintenance connects care, for machines and each other, to conservation, climate action and resilience. Probably the best thing I've read the past few weeks. [ht Japhet Els]
  • Communications and organizing means tradeoffs between potential impact and the rules and/or problems of corporate platforms. In Substack We Trust: Navigating the Tension Between Powerful Tools and Platform Dependency has reasonable people having a reasonable conversation about Substack. They cover a lot of useful ground.
  • Join the Fabriders Session Design Lab in July for their Holding Space in Uncertain Times program. Dirk Slater and his network are invaluable resources for those who want to convene and facilitate.
  • Tracking AI Innovation in European Newsrooms offers a peek at all kinds of ways AI is being used for dashboards, analytics, decision guidance, reporting support and more.

1,000 amazing people read Future Community. I know a lot of them personally.
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