“If you spend 80% of your time making incredibly good content, you probably only have to spend 20% marketing it."

In this special episode, we’re bringing you Chenell’s conversation with Darrell Vesterfelt, VP of Growth at Mighty Networks, for a recent Creator Summit.

In the chat, Chenell talks about why she started a newsletter — and why she chose a newsletter — way back in December 2022.

Chenell and Darrell also dive into the art and science of growing a newsletter from scratch — from picking a topic you’ll never get bored of, to building relationships that fuel growth, to deciding when and how to monetize. If you’re looking for a behind-the-scenes look at how one of the most well-known newsletter growth strategists thinks about audience building, this episode is loaded with ideas you can apply immediately.

>>Get 30+ video lessons and ideas for optimizing your newsletter: https://growthinreverse.com/vault

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Why passion for your newsletter topic is a wildly underrated growth lever
How Chenell leveraged “content-led growth” to get early traction
The commenting strategy that landed her first subscribers
Why treating your social profile like a landing page matters
The balance between high-quality content and active marketing
How to use “cryptic teasers” to generate curiosity before publishing
The biggest mistake she made with social posting frequency
Why she didn’t run Facebook ads for Growth In Reverse (and when she would)
The simple poll that landed her first paid sponsor
How she would structure a paid newsletter if starting today

LINKS MENTIONED

Mighty Networks
Darrell Vesterfelt on LinkedIn
Chenell's first Deep Dive on Mario Gabriele @ The Generalist
Ask us a question or submit a podcast topic idea: growthinreverse.com/questions
Get Chenell's brand-new course: The Growth Vault — newsletter templates, growth strategies, and real examples you can implement at your own pace.
Growth In Reverse PRO Community
Want your newsletter roasted? Submit it here.
Check out past Growth In Reverse Deep Dives: https://growthinreverse.com/archive/

FOLLOW ON SOCIAL

Chenell: Twitter | LinkedIn | Substack
Dylan: LinkedIn | Bluesky

OUR NEWSLETTERS

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.

A Lords washout but lots to look forward to