11 creative newsletter promotion ideas and examples to fuel your subscriber growth

In a world dominated by social media, it may come as a surprise that people actually spend more time in their inboxes than swiping through social.

To be exact, people in the US spend 321 minutes checking personal and business emails and only 123 minutes on social networks.

Even though some social networks are growing at a pedal-to-the-floor pace, email is still the best way to reach your audience.

If you’re a creator looking to promote your email list, these 11 newsletter promotion ideas will help.

1. Get recommended by other creators

Word of mouth is a powerful way to promote your newsletter.

In fact, 37% of people will try something new based on the recommendation of an influencer, according to IZEA.

So why not have other creators advertise your newsletter for you?

Newsletter promotion example using recommendations

Baker and author Maurizio Leo grew his list by 598 subscribers in one month using Kit’s Creator Network.

And psychologist Corey Wilks grew his email list by 585 new subscribers in only one month:

Corey notes how challenging it can be to grow an email list when you’re first starting out:

When you have a smaller audience across social media platforms, it can be really difficult to get more eyeballs on what you’re doing. To get 585 subscribers, it took me nine months on my own.

– Corey Wilks

But with the Creator Network, you can grow your list faster, even with a small following.

How to market your newsletter using recommendations

The easiest way to get other creators to recommend your newsletter is with our Creator Network.

Here’s how.

Head to Grow > Creator Network.

Next, click on the Discover tab and search for creators in your niche. You can search them by name (if you know some already) or filter creators by “type” and “topic” to find ones in your niche.

Then, choose which ones you’d like to recommend by clicking the Recommend button on their profile. (You need to recommend at least one creator before you’re added to the directory.)

Now, when someone signs up for your email list, they’ll be directed to a prompt that displays the creators you recommend. They can choose which ones to subscribe to.

And when creators add you to their recommendation list, they’ll see the same, but with your name and email list recommended.

2. Introduce a referral program

Newsletter referral programs are another great way to market your newsletter.

These programs reward prizes to your subscribers—like coupons or freebies—whenever they get someone to sign up for your list.

Email newsletter promotion examples via a referral program

Daily newsletter Morning Brew used referrals to catapult its list of subscribers from 100,000 to 1.5 million subscribers in just 18 months.

They rewarded people with branded swag like shirts, stickers, and coffee mugs. The more sign-ups someone got, the bigger prize they received.

But it’s not just big brands that benefit from referral programs.

There are plenty of creators who watched their subscribers explode as a result of referrals.

And one of those is Jay Clouse—an entrepreneur, author, and host of the Creative Elements podcast.

After seeing huge success with his weekly newsletter “Work In Progress,” he launched a paid newsletter called “Life In Progress.”

Jay leveraged a referral program to build an audience for his new newsletter. Any reader who referred three subscribers got access to the monthly newsletter—for free.

How to promote your newsletter with referral programs

The biggest task in building referral programs is determining which rewards are meaningful to your audience.

Survey them to find out what they’d like. Consider things like:

• Cash
• Discounts
• Free products
• Exclusive content
• Early access to courses and other digital offers

Then, to set your referral program in motion, upgrade to a Creator Pro account. You’ll get free access to SparkLoop—a newsletter referral software—where you can incentivize people to recommend your newsletter.

SparkLoop offers free setup calls to get you up and running.

3. Leverage the power of giveaways

Email giveaways never go out of style.

And since your followers on social media are already interested in what you do, they’ll be more likely to sign up for your email list.

Newsletter promotion example using a giveaway

To celebrate their one-month business anniversary, Pippi—a newsletter for book lovers—gave away a highly sought-after prize in the reading community: a shiny new Kindle Paperwhite.

To enter, people had to follow, comment, and subscribe to Pippi’s newsletter.

How to boost your newsletter with giveaways

For your giveaway to work, you need to pick a prize that relates to your audience (like Pippi’s Kindle for her audience of avid readers).
Then, make sure one of the requirements to enter the contest is to sign up for your email newsletter.

Create a dedicated landing page to keep track of entrants and choose your winner.

4. Partner with influencers to increase sign-ups

Partnering with influencers lets you access a relevant and established audience.

It’s an easy way to promote your newsletter since you don’t need to do much (other than find influencers to work with and brief them on your campaign).

Newsletter promotion example by influencers

Content creator HilLesha O’Nan is an influencer who partnered with a shoe company to promote the company’s newsletter:

Notice how she offers a coupon incentive for everyone who subscribes. This sweetens the deal and makes it worthwhile for people to sign up.

How to market your newsletter with influencers

Finding influencers relevant to your niche is key.

This way, you can fill your list with high-quality subscribers interested in the digital products or services you offer.

You can find relevant influencers who match your budget and needs by:

• Searching relevant hashtags on social media to see who is posting the content with the most engagement
• Googling terms related to your niche to find bloggers who rank on page one
• Use freemium influencer marketplaces to get matched with influencers right away

To keep track of which influencers bring in which subscribers, give each influencer their own landing page and tag subscribers who sign up through the personalized landing page.

5. Offer email courses

Email courses are a powerful way to give new subscribers a taste of your value. These mini-courses build trust, rapport, and are a great way to showcase your expertise.

Plus, after warming up your subscribers, they’ll be more willing to buy your big offer.

Newsletter promotion example using an email course

Email courses helped David Perell build his list to more than 40,000 subscribers.

His courses included a five-day X/Twitter course, a seven-day writing course, and a 50-day writing course—all of which he delivered by email using Kit.

In these email courses, David provided each lesson in a separate email to target a specific topic that keeps readers excited for new emails.

How to popularize your newsletter with email courses

Instead of putting all your course lessons out at the same time, email courses let you drip lessons over time.

This allows your audience members to digest each lesson at their own pace.

If you’re not sure how to start, we’ve created a step-by-step guide on creating an email course.

6. Create a dedicated landing page

Using a dedicated landing page for your newsletter makes it easy to encourage people to subscribe.

On your landing page, you can discuss the benefits of your newsletter, overcome subscriber objections, and provide social proof.

Newsletter landing page promotion examples

Writer Khe Hy prompts visitors to subscribe to his newsletter by emphasizing the number of subscribers already on board (currently over 35,000!).

He also shares readers’ testimonials that give people a sneak peek of what they can expect from the newsletter. Highlighting his list size along with testimonials provides powerful social proof.

And musician Noa Kageyama gives readers six reasons to subscribe right on his newsletter landing page.

Noa answers all the questions his audience might have before they subscribe, including what they get and how he keeps user data safe.

By addressing objections, Noa alleviates concerns and builds trust, ultimately making the decision to subscribe easier for potential readers.

How to promote your newsletter through your landing page

Research your audience to uncover what unique challenges they face and how your newsletter can solve them.

Then, address those points on your landing page.

Consider adding social proof, testimonials, and subscriber count to further reassure potential subscribers that they’re in the right place.

Understanding what your readers need from you is your ticket to their inbox.

7. Take full advantage of your website

Your website can generate plenty of subscribers.

All you need is clear messaging and a single call-to-action (CTA) that tells visitors to sign up for your newsletter.

Newsletter promotion example on a website

The first thing you notice when you open Austin Church’s website is a call-to-action that encourages visitors to subscribe and get a free course.

He uses a short, powerful message that tells visitors what they get from the course. And beneath the copy, he has a simple opt-in form with a single CTA.

How to advertise your newsletter on your website

You can promote your newsletter on your website in a few different easy ways:

1. Add a call-to-action above the fold: The “above the fold” area on your site is what visitors see without scrolling. Adding a CTA here promotes your newsletter to 100% of your visitors. You don’t need to worry that people won’t see the CTA because they didn’t scroll down far enough.
2. Strategically place opt-in forms throughout your site: Add opt-in forms throughout your site in blog posts, sidebar, and footer.
3. Create a newsletter archive: A newsletter archive is a page on your site where subscribers can get a preview of your past newsletters. This lets potential subscribers read your newsletter to see if they want to sign up.
4. Create an exit-intent popup: Exit-intent popups activate right before someone’s about to leave your site. They’re the perfect way to encourage someone to sign up for your list before they leave your site for good.

8. Repurpose content to cross-promote across social media

Creators often find themselves in a vicious cycle of creating new content rather than dedicating time to promoting it.

But you can—and should—repurpose the content you already have. Even Disney uses a repurposing approach with its animations.

Repurposing content is a smart way to make the most out of the content you’ve already created (and can be used to drive email signups, too!)

Newsletter promotion example using social media

Monica Lent, who built Blogging for Devs—a newsletter and paid online community—uses X threads for newsletter promotion.

In her threads, she recaps her newsletters and includes a signup link at the end of the thread.

By repurposing this material into bite-sized, easy-to-consume posts, she gets extra mileage from existing material and gives readers a reason to join her list.

How to market your newsletter with repurposed content on social media

If you want to repurpose your newsletter content to grow your newsletter list for free, make sure to adjust the message to fit the channel.

Let’s say you want to use X threads.

Instead of copying and pasting whole chunks of newsletter text, focus on extracting the core concepts. Then, break down these concepts into bite-sized nuggets, each with a clear point or valuable tip.

9. Give new subscribers a free gift

A lead magnet is something you gift subscribers in exchange for their email address. Think of things like ebooks, printables, or resource libraries.

Everyone loves getting free things, which is why this strategy is so effective at promoting your newsletter.

Example of a lead magnet to promote a newsletter

Creator Anne-Laure offers a free welcome gift to promote her newsletter. When someone signs up, they’ll instantly get an actionable 22-page handbook that teaches readers how to set and achieve goals.

Her lead magnet has helped her add over 80,000 curious minds to her newsletter.

How to advertise your newsletter with a lead magnet

Your lead magnet needs a high perceived value from your audience.

If the incentive you give subscribers as an exchange for their email address doesn’t meet their expectations, they’ll feel frustrated (and may unsubscribe).

But if they love your free offer, they’ll stick around (and might even refer your newsletter to their friends).

Speak to your audience to find out what they want from you. Then, use that information to develop something irresistible.

10. Guest post on authority sites

Guest posting is when you publish blog articles on sites in your niche. And it can be an incredibly efficient way to promote your newsletter.

Guest posting rules differ from site to site, but generally, most will give you a link or two in your bio. Just like the link in Veronic Vargas bio on StartupNation:

Some may even let you promote a landing page within the guest post copy (if it fits the content).

Promotion example in an author bio

Writer Krissi Driver often uses her author bio to promote her newsletter.

In a guest post for Insider, she used her bio to link to her website (which promotes her newsletter).

On the day her guest post went live, she received an influx of subscribers who found her via Insider.

But she also shares a valuable lesson:

I made a mistake that limited my email signups. The link to my website fell below the fold in my bio, so readers had to click “more” to even see it.

Had it been visible without clicking, I may have gained more subscribers!

– Krissi Driver

Luckily, you can learn from Krissi’s mistake. Be sure to include any links in your bio near the top to avoid them getting cut off or truncated.

How to shine some light on your newsletter with guest posts

You first need to find a place to guest post.

The site you guest post for should be in line with your audience so you can promote your newsletter to more like-minded people.

To start, head to Google and search “your niche” AND guest post.

One quick search for guest posts in the crafting niche brings up a website that accepts pitches.

Sift through the search results and read each site’s requirements for pitching guest posts.

For example, some sites may want you to pitch a full article, while others only want a summary of what you intend to write.

Pro Tip: If your guest post submission is accepted, ask the site if you can link to your newsletter’s landing page within your article—it never hurts to ask.

11. Get interviewed on a podcast

Similar to guest posting, you can use podcasts to extend your reach.

Being a guest on a podcast lets you reach your ideal audience and advertise your newsletter in one fell swoop.

Newsletter promotion example as a podcast guest

Writer Lizzie Davey often does podcast interviews to promote her newsletter.

“I chose the podcast route because I feel like it’s a more personal way to connect with potential readers and starts us off with a good, solid connection,“ she tells me.

Lizzie notes that podcast interviews often give her high-quality subscribers because they’re already interested in what she offers.

How to use podcasts to your newsletter’s advantage

Start by identifying potential podcasts to be a guest. If you don’t know any podcasts, ask your audience which ones are their favorites.

This way, you can tap into an audience similar to yours through someone else’s podcast.

Then, at the end of your podcast interview, tell subscribers where to find you and how they can sign up for your newsletter to stay in touch.

Start growing your email list today with Kit

With these creative newsletter promotion ideas, you can blow past your subscriber goal months ahead of target.

And with Kit’s Creator Pro account, you can let your subscribers promote your list for you while you focus on other promotional strategies.

Ready to see for yourself? Get started today with a free Kit account.