7 tips to grow your business through a newsletter with David Tintner

David Tintner, co-founder of Hacking UI and the Side Project Accelerator

Newsletters have made a comeback. From TheSkimm to Hacking UI, the explosion in newsletters that aren’t just marketing channels but are products in their own right is a new trend that shows no sign of stopping anytime soon. 🚀 And that’s why we invited David Tintner of Hacking UI to join us on Crowdcast Talks this month.

Hacking UI started 3 years ago as a resource for developers and designers and has become a brand with a podcast, online courses, and a newsletter with thousands of followers today. The newsletter, says David, is the “glue” that holds it all together and builds the brand’s reputation, audience and income.

Here are the top tips David shared with us on how to build a newsletter that actually stands out and grows your business.

1. Build trust, not income. Hacking UI became a profitable side business because David focused on building trust with his audience first and foremost. Only after he built a reputation for outstanding content did he start to allow ads in his newsletter. Yes, it’s hard to turn down money in the beginning—but playing the long game, he reassures, will definitely pay off.
2. Even when things feel slow, keep going. In the early days of Hacking UI, David says there wasn’t a lot of positive feedback. In fact, they could have just stopped. But they persisted and eventually the business took off. The lesson? Your list will grow slowly in the beginning but you have to believe it’ll work. Keep putting in the time. It will make you money down the road if you’re providing the right value to the right people.
3. Your email list is your capital.💰 Why? Because this is the asset that can help your business grow from a few readers to a dedicated audience as long as you provide them with truly and consistently interesting content while respecting their time and attention.
4. Segment your list! Don’t just send the same things to the same people. To do this you can divide your list by what actions readers have taken or by what they’ve already read on your site. Hacking UI segments their audience into three groups: developers, designers and entrepreneurs. This, says David, is something he wishes they’d done earlier to send people the most relevant content to keep them engaged.
5. Live online events are powerful for list-building. In fact, one of David’s Side Project Accelerator course students tripled their list overnight with just one Crowdcast event (cue our happy dance!🎉).
6. Don’t go overboard with A/B testing. You can test every little thing — from button color to headline tweaks. But in the end they’re just minor changes. Focus your time instead on packing everything with value and making the experience of being part of your newsletter ✨magical.✨
7. The right niche is the one you’re interested in. Don’t worry too much about picking the right topic for a newsletter. Growing one is a lot of work, so the most important thing is to pick a niche topic you love enough to keep working on. Chances are if you’re interested in it, there are enough people out there who are, too.

Like this these tips? Watch the replay.🎥

If you want more insights from experts and thought leaders, follow Crowdcast Talks here.