Why it's so important to build a newsletter

as a Sales Creator

Writing one (ore more) newsletter weekly is the ultimate test of consistency. Most sales creators I meet know they should have a newsletter, but they have either tried and given up, or they keep telling themselves they should start one, but they never manage to.

I’ve been writing a weekly newsletter for 3,5 years, and it has been pivotal to my business. The relationships I was able to build with my readers turned into hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue, which I would have never made without it.

Here are 3 reasons you should build a newsletter, and why you should start right now:

Reason 1: Social networks and their algorithms

If you’re a sales creator, or working to become one, you’re most likely actively posting, commenting, and starting conversations on LinkedIn. That’s where everything happens.

But if you’ve been posting on LinkedIn for a while, you know we’re all at the mercy of the algorithm. I’ve been posting every weekday since December 2019, and I’ve seen creators become superstars in months, and then disappear as fast as they emerged. They couldn’t figure out a way to adapt to the algorithm changes, and they lost everything.

When you build a newsletter, you create an asset that is not controlled by algorithms. If you do your homework (not spamming your readers, double opt-in, domain hygiene, etc.), most of your emails land in the inbox of your audience, no matter what.

It’s the concept of rented real estate versus owned real estate. We’re all renters on LinkedIn’s turf, while a newsletter is yours.

Reason 2: Depth of content

If you’ve been scrolling on LinkedIn and started feeling like you were on Facebook or Instagram, you’re not alone. LinkedIn is a social network, and they make money by turning our attention into money.

And like every other social network, content that generates a strong emotional response is what performs best. That’s why you see wild claims, viral drops, and drama taking over. It simply performs best and makes LinkedIn more money.

That’s why I love the concept of Discovery Platform vs Relationship Platform from Jay Clouse. LinkedIn is a platform where people hear about you, engage with your content, and become followers. A newsletter is a platform where they deepen their relationship with you.

On LinkedIn you need to follow templates, trends, and polarizing content to get people to pay attention. But if you convert that attention into newsletter subscribers, they will pay attention to long-form content. For example, I share weekly tactical content on my newsletter, The Remote Sales Playbook, and this is where I convert subscribers into customers.

Reason 3: Upsell opportunity

Finally, when you build a newsletter, you add an additional channel you can monetize. This is a great opportunity for brands to reduce their risk, and to access a qualified, engaged audience.

I’ve been monetizing my newsletter for while through sponsorships (even though I’d like to monetize it more), and I made tens of thousands of dollars that I would simply not have made without a newsletter.

Down the line, you can also consider selling your newsletter. For example, 30 Minutes to President’s Club has over 60,000+ subscribers, and they are on the way to making $5M ARR. If they decide to, they could easily make millions with an exit, where most sales creators can’t, because don’t have an asset they can sell (which is the case when you only build a personal brand).

And these are 3 reasons you should start a newsletter as a sales creator. It’s a great way to protect your brand from algorithm variations, it brings depth to your content, and it can be monetized.

Hope this helps.

Thibaut

PS... If you're reading this and thinking: “Ah, I'll wait until next month to start my newsletter, then will be the perfect time to launch...”

Please keep this in mind: There will never be a perfect time to start a newsletter.

For some reason, we always think we'll be less busy in the future, have more content ideas, or feel more "ready." And when that future comes, we find we are still just as busy and unprepared. So we put it off, again. And again. And again. Until finally we look up years later only to recognize we never built that owned audience asset.

Don't let that happen to you. Commit to finally start your newsletter this week—your future self (and bank account) will thank you.