🧑‍💻 How to become a newsletter pro?

👋 Hey!

This week's packed with AI breakthroughs, platform power moves, and real creator wins that'll transform how you run your newsletter. From Substack's AI divide to ChatGPT automation workflows, we've got actionable insights to help you work smarter, not harder.

Ready to transform better? Let's dive in! 👇

Substack publishers are divided on AI: 45% use, 53% avoid. The rapid split shows AI is transforming workflows, but ethical concerns keep half of creators on the sidelines. Newsletter operators must weigh productivity against authenticity.

6AM City acquires 350+ AI local newsletters. AI-fueled expansion adds 500,000+ subscribers, letting newsletter operators seed new markets fast with minimal editorial overhead.

Kit updates video embedding rules. Newsletter creators must now upload videos directly for GIF and playback support; URL links only show image previews.

Wired rolls out five new weekly newsletters, livestreams, and audio articles. Expanding formats gives newsletter creators new ways to build loyalty, boost retention, and add monetization streams.

How: Post on social media about what your newsletter covers 24 hours before it's sent. Tell followers, "My [topic] guide drops tomorrow in my newsletter," and include a signup link.

Why: Pre-CTAs make it easy to tell followers about your newsletter without being pushy. You're just sharing what you're writing about and asking interested people to subscribe.

Expected Result: Pre-CTAs consistently drive more subscribers than successful social media threads. One creator found them more effective than viral content.

Pro Tip: Post Pre-CTAs once a week consistently. If followers are interested in that specific content, they'll subscribe. 

See 20+ Pre-CTA examples here.

What Works:

Creator Quote:
"Without my full-time job, I would have never succeeded in my newsletter because all of those marketing ideas and the tactics and strategies that I come up with and send people every Friday, I do all of those myself in the full-time job that I have."

Dig into the full playbook and the six key lessons here.

Why You'll Love It: Visual campaign planning, instant insights, and powerful link analytics right inside Kit.

Best For: Newsletter creators who crave organization, actionable metrics, and a streamlined workflow.

Test: Reuters tested three different newsletter formats for their Daily Briefing relaunch.

Each format has varying lengths with different sections.

Result: Over 300 readers participated in their survey. A short and concise news overview won over prototypes that had more background information or deep dives into specific stories.

Takeaway: When revamping newsletters, test different formats with your actual audience through surveys before committing. Short, digestible content often beats lengthy deep dives for broad audiences.

Before: Stuck slogging through blank-page syndrome and slow content creation every week.

After: Use ChatGPT prompts with a Google Docs template to outline and draft your entire newsletter in minutes.

Result: Save 3+ hours per issue—speed up your workflow, reduce burnout, and never run out of ideas.

Try the workflow.

When you're torn between using AI to write your newsletter in 10 minutes or spending 3 hours crafting the "perfect" human-written issue...

Thanks for reading,

Eren Daskesen

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