How to Get the Most out of Twitter to Grow Your Newsletter
Why it still matters
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Why Twitter Matters for Newsletter Creators
As a creator studying other newsletter creators, it has been clear to me from the beginning:
I had to choose one social media platform and create content consistently.
I used Twitter to connect with like-minded creators, outreach via DM to newsletter enthusiasts and learn from others.
However, I deprioritized posting regularly.
Despite this, Twitter became my 3rd biggest growth source on my way to the first 1,000 subscribers.
This awakened my curiosity.
What would happen if I stayed active as other creators do?
It’s been only three weeks since I started my Twitter challenge. Based on this, I post 4-5 times a week and I already saw promising results.
But, there is a finding that is even more important:
Subscribers coming from Twitter is high-quality.
I have 53.1% avg. open rate and 19.4% avg. click rate for subscribers coming from Twitter.
These are higher compared to the total avg. open rate and total avg. click rates, which are 47% and 11.6%, respectively.
It is normal when you think about it. They read your content, find it useful, click that subscribe link and leave their e-mail. This is not a short journey to complete.
Despite being relatively saturated, Twitter still holds great potential for creators.
Let’s explore how to use it better to convince your followers to turn into your subscribers.
1. Publish “relevant content” consistently
Here comes the famous consistency again. I’m sorry but this one is the most critical. Without the content, what’s the point in talking about anything else?
There is a balance that you need to build between consistency and the quality of your content to make it more clear:
Post consistently with patience.
Let the quantity create momentum and lead to improved quality.
But, don’t post just for the sake of posting. Similar to your newsletter, make sure your social media content resonates with your audience.
Your posts don’t have to be perfect but they should be consistently relevant to your audience.
2. Set a posting objective
If we agree on consistency again, here is the basic yet powerful tool to stay on track.
Define a posting objective to stay on track. It can be daily, weekly or monthly. start what is achievable for you and raise the bar higher over time.
Andrew Petcash grew his social media following (108K on Twitter) by putting out high-quality threads on sports business and athlete investments consistently with a plan.
One post to Twitter every day, two threads a week.
LinkedIn thoughtful post 6x a week.
Two podcasts a week, which become video content for IG, YT, and TT.
My belief is that a plan + consistency + thoughtful content = followers over time.”
Andrew Petcash
In order not to break the chain, find a way to keep yourself accountable either on an online or offline channel as Jamie Northrup (aka The Minimalist Hustler) does.
Another method is finding an accountability buddy. This is what I do. Knowing that I have to share any failure along the way at the end of each week with my buddy keeps me motivated for not breaking the chain.
3. Teaser posts (Pre-release)
Pre-release Twitter posts work surprisingly well for many creators.
Don’t miss the chance to create curiosity among your followers, stay on top of their minds and gain new followers with this strategy that is easy to implement.
4. Announcement posts (Post-release)
One of the biggest mistakes I’ve made was to wait so long to announce each issue after the release. I wasn’t publishing anything until I convinced myself that I’ve crafted the most comprehensive and the most well-structured thread summarizing the full issue.
Leaving this mindset was the greatest shift I’ve had. Some short announcement posts get the highest clicks!
Announcement posts serve two purposes:
Remind some current subscribers to go and check their inboxes
Gain new subscribers among followers
Moreover, this strategy works great regardless of the size of your lists. Arvid Kahl has 128K followers and this is still one of the most important parts of his distribution process.
“In the beginning, I made sure to engage my blog readers through social media to encourage them to sign up for my newsletter.
Whenever I wrote a new article, I would post about it on Twitter, and then attach a tweet encouraging people to sign up to the newsletter as a delivery mechanism for more articles like this.
Here is the copy I still use for that:
If you want insights like this in your inbox every week, I invite you to subscribe to my no-bullshit newsletter. Every Friday, one article, including one interview & several interesting links from our community, and that's it. Feel free to check it out: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/newsletter/
It works like a charm and attracts new readers from Twitter.”
Arvid Kahl
Don’t let the perfectionist mindset hold you back.
Let the world learn what you create!
5. Be ruthless in sharing and repurposing your newsletter content
It is surprising, but not everyone following you knows that you have a newsletter.
Jamie Northrup talks about his newsletter and building newsletters, in general, all the time. Despite this, 29% of the respondents are not aware that he has one!
In addition to teaser and announcement tweets, continuously repurpose your newsletter content with relevant CTAs.
Tip 1→ Running a poll like Jamie doesn’t only reveal this brutal fact but also help increase awareness by itself. Simple yet clever.
Tip 2 → You can use a tool like TweetHunter to auto-plug your newsletter link after a post reaches at least 20 likes as Matt McGarry does. This way, the algorithm supports your tweet at a certain level. If you don’t have a big audience yet, you can add it manually.
6. DM to all followers
Your Twitter followers are low-hanging fruits.
They already showed an interest in your content so they have high probability to subscribe your newsletter.
Dylan Redekop focused on Twitter as his main platform to gain initial subscribers of Growth Currency.
In addition to regular posting about his newsletter, he sent DMs to each and every new Twitter follower, to thank for the follow and introduce his newsletter.
“It might have felt a little “pushy,” but most people politely replied and some of those DMs turned out to be great connections I still DM 2 years later.”
Dylan Redekop
Yong-Soo Chung also mentioned that Twitter plays an important role in his newsletter growth and he automized the process of welcoming new followers in DMs.
7. Tweet at the right time
I have experimented with this one a lot recently.
What I found out is that my morning tweets don’t perform as well as my evening Tweets. Because I’m Istanbul-based, but more than 70% of my newsletter readers are U.S.-based. Considering that newsletter business is a highly attractive topic in the U.S. as well, I assume most of my Twitter followers are from that region. They probably sleep when I tweet early in the morning.
Know your audience profile, track your tweet performance and don’t let time zone differences jeopardize your social media efforts.
8. No Brainer: Optimize Your Profile
Anyone who comes to Twitter for some content shopping will first check what is on the display glass. So, keeping your Bio updated is important despite it sounds cliche. Accordingly;
Clearly mention what you write about for whom.
Why they should follow you/subscribe your newsletter
Ensure to include a reason to believe and any information that creates credibility.
Add your newsletter link and a CTA
Design your banner in line with your brand language.
Be creative while polishing your Bio. You can add your sign-up page as a Location like Tony Dinh.
9. Pinned Tweets
People check the pinned tweet, so use this spot cleverly. Here are two different ways to use it:
1. Be direct: Add all relevant links that you want people to see
2. Add one of your well-performing tweets directed to your newsletter
3 MORE PRO TIPS
→ Work on your opening sentence. Create a hook that fits into 160 characters that is visible.
→ Add Caption to your videos (28% longer view time) and Alt Text for media posts.
→ Add your favorite Tweets to “Highlights”
There are also other strategies, such as giveaways, unconventional CTA placements, scheduling tools and various types of content repurposing. Do you want me to go deeper on this topic?
Hit reply and let me know.
X Algorithm Update Explained (Aug’23)
Twitter Algorithm Update (Aug’23)
Replies > Retweets
Push creator content with a subscription
Image tweets get boosted (Use 3-4 images)
Tweets with video content (long form, short form, and GIFs) get boosted
Pushing the “For You” Tab instead of Retweets and Likes
No out-of-network URLs (Links to other tweets are OK)
The first 24 hours is critical for tweet performance to reach a wider audience
Author replies > Normal replies → Reply comments, ensure engagement
Focus on bookmark-worthy posts that resonate with your current audience
👉 Do you want to reach 1,700 newsletter creators & enthusiasts?
That’s all for today. Thanks for reading.
See you next week.
Ciler
📌 P.S. I’ve switched from Substack over to Beehiiv (here). But don’t worry; you don’t need to do anything; I will manually add you to my Beehiiv list if you subscribe here. This is just for you to know :)
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