What Newsletter Creators Are Doing Differently To Grow To 50,000 Subscribers (feat. Chenell Basilio)
Jun 27, 2023
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Chenell Basilio, a prolific writer behind the newsletter 'Growth in Reverse,' shares her insights on how top creators achieve 50,000+ subscribers. She discusses her unique content creation strategies and the importance of visual appeal. Chenell reflects on her writing process, the tech tools she uses, and lessons learned from analyzing other creators. She highlights common mistakes for beginners and emphasizes the value of authentic engagement in the creator community. Listeners will love her advice on maintaining momentum and producing compelling content.
Chanel Basilio emphasizes the importance of thorough research and community engagement in effectively building a newsletter's subscriber base.
She shares critical lessons on consistency and quality content creation as essential strategies for sustained audience growth.
Deep dives
The Origin of Growth in Reverse
Chanel Basilio shares the inspiration behind her newsletter, Growth in Reverse, which stemmed from observing others' success with email lists and product sales. Her initial exposure to lucrative solo creators sparked curiosity about their audience-building strategies, compelling her to reverse engineer their growth paths. In just six months of starting the newsletter, she has focused on analyzing creators who gained significant email subscribers in recent years, avoiding well-established names whose methods may not apply today. This determination to understand the intricacies of audience growth is central to her newsletter's vision and the insights she aims to provide to her readers.
The Intensive Research Process
Chanel emphasizes her commitment to thorough research, dedicating 30 to 40 hours on average for each newsletter edition. She listens to podcasts, interviews, and related episodes while walking several miles each day, allowing her to absorb information and take notes via voice-to-text technology. This approach not only aids in gathering diverse perspectives but also ensures that she captures valuable insights from various creators. By compiling this data, she creates visually engaging newsletters that provide her subscribers with in-depth analyses of successful audience-building strategies.
Building Relationships in the Creator Space
Chanel underscores the role of relationship-building in her journey as a newsletter creator, noting that connections within the community have led to increased visibility and growth. She believes that taking time to engage with others in the space, be it through social media or direct communication, is crucial for mutual support and learning. These interactions have resulted in recommendations to her newsletter, acting as valuable endorsements that bolster her subscriber base. She recognizes that fostering these connections not only adds to her knowledge but also contributes significantly to her overall growth.
Lessons Learned from Newsletter Creation
Chanel reflects on several critical lessons she has learned since embarking on her newsletter journey, one being the importance of consistency. She warns that even a brief hiatus can disrupt momentum and hinder growth, emphasizing the need to maintain regular communication with subscribers. Additionally, she highlights the significance of creating quality content that resonates with readers, as it is essential for establishing authority and engagement. Ultimately, Chanel believes that patience and persistence are key, as significant growth often requires time and a commitment to honing one's craft.
Welcome to another episode of the Build In Public Podcast.
Today's episode features Chenell Basilio, the prolific writer behind Growth in Reverse, a newsletter that reverse engineers how top creators go from zero to 50k+ subscribers.
In this interview, Chenell and KP unpack an array of perspectives and a few tips on topics such as: ● What ‘Growth in Reverse’ newsletter is ● How Chenell came up with the concept ● Which content she reviews when writing about a creator ● The secret behind the aesthetic graphics of ‘Growth in Reverse’ ● Inflection points in Chenell’s career ● What stood out to her when starting in her current niche ● Chenell’s tech stack as a writer ● Her writing regimen/process ● 3 lessons and reflections on newsletter growth ● The responses Chenell had from people she made a deep dive on ● Which of Chenell’s deep-dives ○ took the longest ○ made her an instant fan ○ most underrated ○ got her the most attention ● Mistakes beginner content creators could avoid ● Most energizing aspect of writing newsletters ● How Chenell formulates her teaser tweets ● Chenell’s responses to interesting audience questions ● Finding like-minded people in the creator world ● What’s up next for Chenell in the next 6 months
Build In Public Podcast is an interview show where KP chats with ambitious startup founders, CEOs, and top Internet creators to unpack their stories, insights, and lessons.