'LetterLand What everyone gets wrong about newsletter growth — with Matt Paulson, Marketbeat
Dec 16, 2025
Matt Paulson, founder and CEO of MarketBeat, shares insights on building a multi-million dollar media empire. He emphasizes that focusing too much on subscriber costs can hinder growth. Instead, he advocates assessing ROI and tracking revenue at the subscriber level. Matt reveals how SMS marketing can generate significant revenue and warns against chasing vanity metrics that could harm deliverability. He also presents a contrarian view, suggesting pursuing larger markets over niching down. Tune in for fascinating strategies to supercharge your newsletter growth!
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Measure Channel ROI Not Cost Per Signup
- Focus on ROI per channel over cost-per-subscriber and measure monthly cohort payback.
- Increase spend on channels that break even within your acceptable payback window.
Acquisition Strategy Depends On Business Model
- Your acquisition approach must match the type of business and what you want subscribers to do.
- Diversified media companies can buy cheaper leads because they monetize through many channels.
Use Multi-Channel Funnels Before Monetizing
- Capture email and optional phone on landing pages and route new leads through a conversion funnel.
- Monetize via ads, upsells, and subscriptions over time rather than expecting day-one purchases.