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👋 Hey!
This week is packed with moves that'll reshape how you grow, monetize, and protect your newsletter. We're breaking down why your welcome email might be leaving money on the table, how Apple just made life harder for Patreon creators, and new power moves from all platforms. Plus, we've got a growth hack that helps you optimize your CTAs.
Ready to level up? Let's dive in! 👇
😂 Meme of the Week
🔥 This Week's Hot Takes
Substack adds custom-themed publication views. This new feature makes your Substack feel like a branded site inside the app, improving discovery, engagement, and paid subscriber conversion without leaving the network.
Substack sees 45.4% audience growth in the UK, per Ipsos data. While legacy news brands declined month-over-month, Substack surged alongside the Daily Star (which doubled its audience). The lesson: independent publishers are winning the attention war.
Ghost improves paid-member analytics in the Growth dashboard. See monthly vs annual and tier splits, plus clearer change graphs and hover counts: faster, actionable insights to optimize pricing, tiers, and retention.
Buttondown enables survey responses from web archives. This makes polls shareable and accessible; readers can respond from the browser or social links, boosting response rates and cross-platform promotion.
Tumblr adds Staff badge and exclusion search. Signals official accounts; better search lets readers exclude spoilers/tags; iOS footer boosts conversation discovery and Queue use, helps grow engagement and trust.
Apple mandates 30% commission on all Patreon iOS subscriptions. Creators face a brutal choice: eat the fee, raise prices for iOS users, or push subscribers to web checkout. If you're running a paid newsletter with Patreon as a payment option, start prepping your audience for the shift now.
💡 Growth Hack of the Week
Put Your CTA Where People Actually Stop Scrolling
(Written by Des Brown, publisher of Email Advice in Your Inbox)
How: Instead of hiding the action at the bottom of the email,
Identify the single core action for the send.
Place your primary CTA just after the first meaningful paragraph.
Repeat the CTA at the end for readers who scroll all the way through.
Make everything else support that one action.
Why: Most people don’t read emails top to bottom. They skim, pause, and decide quickly. When CTAs live only at the bottom, a large portion of readers never see them.
Expected Result: Higher click volume without changing subject lines, design, or email length. In Email Advice in Your Inbox, strategic mid-scroll linking consistently supports 10–15% click rates, with some editions exceeding 20% when the placement and message align well.
Pro Tip: This works best when paired with “one email, one action.” Multiple competing CTAs dilute attention fast.
🤝 Deal of the Week
Grammarly: Polish your newsletter copy with AI-driven tone and clarity.
What the deal is: AI writing assistance that catches errors, fixes tone, and brainstorms subject lines, right where you draft. The Tone Detector keeps your voice consistent, and the Brand Style Guide ensures every contributor sounds on-brand. Your data stays private. Save up to $720 with 20% off for 1 year.
Who should take the deal: Creators who want every send to read clean and on-brand without the extra editing hours.
Spotlight: Creator Wizard by Justin Moore
What Works:
Niche focus: Justin doubled down on sponsorships and became the obvious go-to; 80%+ of his public messaging centers on brand deals, and his list sits near 35,000 subscribers.
Relationship-first growth: early 1-1 DMs, conference follow-ups, and saying "yes" turned tiny interactions into paid deals (he sold a $2k sponsorship when his list was ~3,000).
Product ecosystem: free newsletter feeds an event (Sponsor Games), a $1k+/month coaching tier (The Wizards Guild), and a book; each product primes the next and raises LTV.
Creator Quote: "Be shameless about helping people, double down on what you're known for, and the right sponsors will find you."
Your Takeaway: Read the full growth breakdown and tactics to swipe for your own sponsorship playbook.
🛠️ Tool of the Week
AdApt by HeyNews
Why You'll Love It: Transform generic sponsor copy into your authentic newsletter voice with AI, in just 3 clicks. No more awkward ads that sound like they were written by someone else. AdApt learns your tone and rewrites sponsored content so it flows naturally with your editorial style, boosting reader trust and click-through rates.
Best For: Newsletter creators who want sponsored content that doesn't break the reading experience. Early users report up to 50% more clicks on sponsored sections. No credit card required to start.
🧪 A/B Test of the Week
Test: Single welcome email vs. multi-email onboarding sequence for subscriber retention
Result: Based on aggregated industry data and the welcome email research, newsletters with 3+ email onboarding sequences see 35-50% higher 60-day open rates compared to single-email welcomes. The "orientation period" effect compounds, subscribers who receive consistent early value develop stronger open habits.
Takeaway: Your welcome email isn't a thank-you note; it's the first step in a relationship-building sequence. Map out what you want subscribers to know, feel, and do in their first two weeks. Then automate it once and let it run forever.
Newsletter Application: Audit your current welcome flow this week. If it's just one email, draft emails 2 and 3 this weekend. You don't need perfect copy, you need a sequence. Refine later based on engagement data.
Don't keep us a secret: Share HeyNews with a fellow newsletter nerd.
🔗 Quick Links
Questions? Just write a comment below. I read all the comments and respond to them.
Thanks for reading,
Eren Daskesen
BEFORE YOU GO
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