The Green Eggs and Ham Approach to Getting Subscriptions [A Work in Progress]

Learning how to market a newsletter, by someone who does not like marketing

I do not like green eggs and ham.

I do not like marketing.

I do not like advertising.

I do not like selling of any kind.

I do not like “SEO” or “ROI.”

I do not like business-speak or any speak other than regular speak.

I like social networks in general. But I do not like “networking.” I do not like LinkedIn.

I like email. I like people who email. But I do not like having or growing an “email list.”

I certainly do not like spam.

I do not want to “build a brand.”

I do not want “strategies” or “tactics” to increase subscriptions.

I do not want to “convert” free subscribers to paid subscribers.

I’m not even sure that I want to know how other people/newsletters got their first 1,000 or 10,000 or 1,000,000 subscribers.

I’m sure there are other things I wouldn’t want to do to gain subscriptions. But I do not want to search for what those things are.

I do not like green eggs and ham.

But I'll try green eggs and ham if it's well done in my opinion.

There's a lot of advice on finding subscribers for your newsletter. I imagine much of the advice is good, at least for some people.

Just because I do not like it, doesn’t mean others won’t like it.

But much of the advice is lost on me. Even if I feel I should read it, my eyes glaze over. I try to finish it as soon as possible without really absorbing it. I don’t follow the advice.

I want to write and read. I want to interact with other people. I do not want to sell, learn how to sell, or do anything sell-y.

But there are posts on finding more subscribers that I could read, maybe like, and possibly even act on:

• Grow Getters (especially the posts from September and October 2020)

• How to Increase (Paid) Substack Newsletter Subscribers and likely other advice in Blogging Guide

I've started reading them. I don't exactly dislike them. I might even like them. They might even be the gateway to getting me to like more advice.

Maybe I just like the authors’ writing style or the way they organize their ideas. Whatever they’ve done, the authors are making me think that I could act on their suggestions.

So I'll try reading and even doing more about growing my newsletter. I'll let you know how well I do like what I’ve tried.

In the meantime, maybe you'll like these authors’ advice too. Or find what appeals to you. 💚🥚🥚🥩