2 builders who never spoke to each other

Treat list growth as the leading indicator

Buyers arrive through a slow escalation, reading first, subscribing next and purchasing months or years later, so subscriber growth predicts revenue in a way traffic never does. Traffic spikes do not repeat while subscribers accumulate, which is also why buyers get exported into the list and a viral post is judged on the addresses it left behind.

The method

1. 01

   Expect buyers to arrive through a slow escalation - they read your work, then join the list or follow you, and only later buy - so measure list growth as the leading indicator.

2. 02

   Build an audience so you stay in contact with people across the months or years between their first exposure and their purchase.

3. 03

   Treat the list as the asset the business actually rests on, not the code, the copyright or the site

4. 04

   Prefer email to other traffic sources for the same reason you prefer subscriptions to one-off sales: subscribers accumulate predictably where traffic spikes do not repeat

5. 05

   Email everyone who bought your first product and invite them onto a regular list, then publish on a fixed weekly schedule.

What it returned

• 33%

  Subscribers rose 33% over the year from 9,085 to 12,115 and Twitter followers 38% from 7,672 to 10,653; most of Justin's customers came from the mailing list.

• 7,053

  His main list stood at 7,053 subscribers growing 400-500 a month, and he and Brennan Dunn independently named their readers as their most valuable asset

• 2011

  A large traffic spike in November 2011 was followed by nothing the next month, while the list grew every month that signups exceeded unsubscribes

• 1,000

  Sacha Greif converted about 1,000 buyers of his first ebook into subscribers and reached roughly 4,000 in ten months, sending one email every Sunday.

Sources

• Going independent (2016 year in review)Justin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · Growing my audience · undated
• Play the long gameJustin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · What this means for marketers · undated
• Self-Publishing Hangout highlightsJustin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · Promotion · undated
• How I use email for marketingNathan Barry · nathanbarry.com · 2013-06-28
• My Experience Selling With GumroadNathan Barry · nathanbarry.com · 2012-10-31
• 15 minutes of famePreetam Nath · preetamnath.com · Sunday Coffee ☕️ Newsletter · 2020-07-07