Andy Austin - Scaling Newsletters and Consumer Businesses

In this episode, we sit down with the founder of The AI Journal, a leading B2B tech and AI newsletter boasting over 100,000 monthly readers and 2 million monthly social views. With four years of newsletter-building experience, our guest takes us through the evolution of The AI Journal—from its early vision to its current success. We explore the strategies behind gaining the first 1,000 subscribers, navigating monetization challenges, and standing out in a sea of AI content. Discover the biggest lessons learned about growth and revenue, how to avoid common newsletter pitfalls, and what’s next for this thriving publication. Where to find Tom:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-allen-515058b7/?originalSubdomain=uk• Twitterhttps://x.com/tom_aijNewsletter: https://t.co/pdscwAcbVF—Where to find Andy Austin:Newsletter Growth Agency:Adsora.com• X: https://x.com/andyaustinads• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyaustinadsora/• Newsletter: https://positiveuniteconomics.com/subscribe—For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email: [email protected]

Join us for an insightful conversation with Adriana Tica, a marketing strategist with over 18 years of experience and one of Semrush’s Top 100 Content Marketing Influencers. In this episode, Adriana shares her journey of running “Strategic AF,” a newsletter crafted for business owners seeking sustainable marketing strategies that deliver lasting value—no hacks or bro marketing here! We dive into her secrets for consistently publishing every week for 100 weeks, growing and monetizing her newsletter, and spotting future-proof marketing trends for 2025. Where to find Adriana:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrianatica/• Twitterhttps://x.com/adriana_ticaNewsletter: https://www.adrianatica.com/newsletter/—Where to find Andy Austin:Newsletter Growth Agency:Adsora.com• X: https://x.com/andyaustinads• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyaustinadsora/• Newsletter: https://positiveuniteconomics.com/subscribe—For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email: [email protected]

Chirs Miquel sent billions of emails and deliverability is his thing.  Over the past 13+ years, Chris has been building a List Growth agency that helps media companies grow their subscribers Launched the media company Daily Trends Media in 2018 which currently has 12 brands in its portfolio and counting. Where to find Chris: • LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrismiquel/ • Twitter https://x.com/miqchris Newsletter:https://insights.audiencebridge.io — Where to find Andy Austin: Newsletter Growth Agency: Adsora.com • X:  https://x.com/andyaustinads • LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyaustinadsora/ • Newsletter:  https://positiveuniteconomics.com/subscribe — For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email: [email protected]

Louis Nicholls is co-founder of SparkLoop— a platform that helps newsletters grow by thousands of subscribers per day and make millions of dollars by referring their subscribers to other newsletters. Sparkloop is used by the world’s best newsletters like TLDR, The Hustle, Tim Ferris, and more.  Where to find our guest: • LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/louisnicholls • Twitter https://x.com/louisnicholls_ • Newsletter:  https://www.growmynewsletter.com/ Growth and monetize your newsletter with Sparkloop: https://sparkloop.app/ Where to find Andy Austin: Newsletter Growth Agency: Adsora.com • X:  https://x.com/andyaustinads • LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyaustinadsora/ • Newsletter:  https://positiveuniteconomics.com/subscribe For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email: [email protected]

Where to find Dan Barry: • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-barry... • Twitter https://x.com/DanBarry27 • Website: https://adsalesasaservice.com/ Dan’s newsletter: https://www.revenews.co/ — Where to find Andy Austin: Agency: Adsora.com • Newsletter: https://growthcatalystclub.com/ • X: https://x.com/andyaustinads • LinkedIn:   / andyaustinadsora   — For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email: [email protected] In this episode, we sit down with Dan Barry, a cold outreach and newsletter ad sales expert who has sold millions in newsletter ads. Formerly the Director of Sales Partnerships at The Daily Upside (1M+ subscribers), Dan now runs Revenews and AdSalesAsAService.com, helping newsletters secure more sponsorships and revenue. Key Highlights Background & Starting Ad Sales As A Service: Dan shares the inspiration behind founding his companies, offering insights into what drove him to focus on newsletter sponsorships. Subscriber & Partnership Basics: Ideal subscriber count to start seeking sponsorships. Beginner strategies for finding and securing partnerships. Niches & Targeting: Niches that perform best in cold outreach. Challenges with specific industries and how to overcome them. Cold Outreach Strategies: Common mistakes in securing sponsors. Identifying the right contacts within organizations. Effective cold outreach channels and email structuring tips. The importance of case studies, metrics, and strong subject lines. Tools to streamline outreach. Measurement & Optimization: Benchmarks for open rates, response rates, and conversions. High-impact tactics for improving cold email performance. Managing Leads & Building Relationships: Turning one-off sponsorships into long-term partnerships. Key advice for newcomers in the newsletter sponsorship space. Personal Insights: Dan’s biggest disagreement with traditional cold outreach practices. His highest ROI activity in the past year. Book recommendation: Surrounded by Idiots.

In this episode, we dive into newsletter growth strategies with Brad Smith, whose team is achieving phenomenal results using X (formerly Twitter) ads. They’ve helped: A men’s health and faith newsletter grow by 192.3% week over week at $1.11 per subscriber. A trade school business newsletter grow by 13% week over week at $0.72 per subscriber. Brad shares the secrets behind their success, with subscriber acquisition costs as low as $1 and ~80% open rates. Key Highlights Background & Getting Started: Brad explains the origins of his company, Automation Links, and how they began running X ads specifically for newsletters. Why Choose X for Ads: What sets X apart from platforms like Google or Meta for newsletter growth. Types of newsletters that perform best on X. Advertising Strategy on X: Brad provides an in-depth overview of his approach to building successful ad campaigns on X. Key Elements of Success: The essential ingredients for running profitable X ad campaigns for newsletters. Ad Creatives That Work: Insights into the best-performing ad creative formats and styles on X. Metrics & Campaign Optimization: Industry-specific benchmarks for cost per subscriber and other critical metrics in the U.S. market. Tools and Resources: Brad’s recommended free tools for newsletter owners starting with X ads, including the Social Database Chrome Extension. Common Mistakes to Avoid: Frequent errors brands make when advertising on X and strategies to avoid them. Advice for Newsletter Owners: Practical tips for scaling newsletter audiences using X advertising. Personal Insights. Timestamps: 0:00 - Overview of Twitter Ads Strategy 3:21 - Targeting and Audience Building 7:21 - Creative and Ad Sequencing 24:34 - Budgeting and Scaling 38:49 - Recap and Resources

Yaroslav Sobko is the founder of Cyber Corsairs, the AI productivity newsletter. Yar also provides growth services for newsletter operators. Yar has 20 years of experience, developing and executing marketing strategies in the USA and Eastern Europe. Recognized as a marketing professional of extraordinary ability in the family entertainment industry. Built teams that grow businesses with copywriting, digital marketing, content marketing, social media marketing, e-mail marketing. Where to find Yar: • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yaroslavsobko/ • Twitter https://x.com/SobkoYaroslav • Website: https://www.cybercorsairs.com/ — Where to find Andy Austin: • Newsletter: https://growthcatalystclub.com/ • X: https://x.com/andyaustinads • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyaustinadsora/ — In this episode, we cover: Newsletter content, monetization, growth, and industry trends. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email: [email protected]