My experiment to grow this newsletter

This week, I'm kicking off a month-long experiment in growing this newsletter – and I'm sharing the whole thing (for free) with you.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [Creator Science]( Presented by [ConvertKit]() Hello my friend! Welcome to the 1,155 new subscribers since last Sunday! 🤯 In 2022, this newsletter averaged around 1,000 net new subscribers per month. So to top that in a single week is pretty cool! ​ And the timing is really great, because this week, I'm kicking off a month-long experiment in growing this newsletter – and I'm sharing the whole thing (for free) with you. There are two themes I want to double down on this year: - Public experiments - Actionable recommendations And they go hand-in-hand – by running experiments, I conduct my own firsthand research. The results of that research will become actionable recommendations for your own creator business. Last week, I asked which platform I should focus February's experiment on. And Email beat out LinkedIn by a slim margin: ​ So email it is! In [The Lab](), we have a dedicated Experiments space for members to all share the experiments they're running and the results they achieve. We have a simple 4-part template that I'll use during this experiment as well: - 🎯 Goal - 🤔 Hypothesis - 🧪 Experiment - 📓 Results So let's get started... 🎯 Goal The goal of this experiment is to have a record-high month of new subscribers in February. But to raise the stakes and make it even more specific, my goal is to break 20,000 subscribers by the end of February (starting point of 17,310). 🤔 Hypothesis To triple my monthly average for net new subscribers, I'll need to be really intentional about leveraging some of my most successful list-building strategies that I've discovered over the last couple of years: - Using discoverability platforms (social media) - Cross-promotion - Sharing a compelling lead magnet - Referral programs - Paid acquisition I have several ideas in mind and I intend to experiment with them each week, sharing the results here as I go. First Experiment and the results will be shared next Sunday! By the way, you may be wondering what happened THIS week to attract so many new subscribers. Well, it was bullet point #1 on the list above – namely, Twitter. I had a Thread get a lot of attention and it brought a lot of new readers from both Twitter AND LinkedIn over to the newsletter. That Thread is down below! But first, if you want to join me in this experiment... ​ ​ PRESENTED BY CONVERTKIT FREE CHALLENGE: Grow Your Audience (and your income will follow) This may not come as a surprise, but one of the best ways to increase your income as a creator is to grow your email audience. And ConvertKit is here to help. This very email was sent using ConvertKit because not only am I a major advocate, but I'm a power user. Join the #GrowYourAudience Challenge with ConvertKit and learn the strategies it takes to increase your engagement and get more subscribers. ConvertKit will send you 30 days of tips and tools to help you start building your list. Start the Grow Your Audience Challenge Today. [Join the free challenge]() ​ ​ CLICK WORTHY 🔥 Check these out 🗓️ [Join me at CEX 2023](=) – Join me and other creators at Creator Economy Expo this May in Cleveland. Amazing agenda (including a few sessions with me) and even better networking. Early bird ends 1/27. Save $100 with code CLOUSE100 --------------------------------------------------------------- 🛠️ [Grow your list with SparkLoop]( – One tool I'm using (and will talk about during this experiment) is SparkLoop. It's grown from a reader referral program into a tool that actually generates revenue every month through its [Upscribe]() feature. *Proud affiliate --------------------------------------------------------------- 📖 [The anatomy of a six-figure email course]() – This in-depth article by Brennan Dunn (email genius) was shared by a member in The Lab this week. ​ ​ [Featured Image]() OVERHEARD ON TWITTER If I had to start over as a creator, here's what I'd do I earn $40,000+ per month as a creator, but it took me more than 6 years to get there. This week on Twitter, I shared a step-by-step process for what I'd do if I was starting over again. The goal (of course) would be to get to where I am today – but faster. You can read my approach here 👇 [Keep reading (5 min) ↗]() ​ ​ LAST WORD 👋 Say hello to Winnie May Clouse This week, my wife and I welcomed home our second Golden Retriever puppy – a beautiful girl named Winnie. A year removed from getting Teddy, we may have forgotten just how much work (and how little sleep) puppies are! 😅 ​ Big, new commitments really force you to take stock of your priorities, make tighter plans, and be more efficient with your time. I wish I could take this feeling, bottle it up, and revisit it every now and then (without having to actually take on a new commitment)! I find that I'm thinking more and more these days about high-signal, high-quality work. Following my internal compass towards the things that feel more worthwhile – even if they're more difficult. I'm excited to share those things with you and with members of [The Lab](=) – I'm working on two big enhancements that I think make the membership a total no-brainer for professional creators...and the sooner you join, the better of a deal it will be. 🤫 Have a great week! Cheers, Jay --------------------------------------------------------------- [Photo of Jay Clouse]( Jay Clouse [Say hi 👋 on Twitter]() or [Instagram]( ☎️ [Book a coaching call]( Thanks for reading! Reply any time. [Edit your profile]( or [unsubscribe here](. This email was sent with [ConvertKit]() and designed using [Palladio](=). Want to work together? - [Work with me 1:1]( – book a coaching or strategy session. - [Sponsor this newsletter](=) – get in front of 15K+ creators (booking into January). - [Join The Lab](=) – my membership community for creators (<50 spots open). - [Courses & Workshops](=) – learn the essential skills to become a professional creator. Send mail to P.O. BOX 797, Worthington, OH 43085