Building a loyal group of customers is key to success, and a great tool many entrepreneurs use is a well-made newsletter.
Ellen Donnelly, a business coach and content creator, has shown just how powerful a newsletter can be for business growth. With her newsletter, "The Ask," Ellen has attracted over 3,400 loyal subscribers. This newsletter has become the main force behind her successful six-figure coaching business.
Ellen Donnelly
In this article, we'll look at Ellen's journey, discover how she grew her newsletter, and learn the important lessons that other aspiring entrepreneurs can take from her success story.
Building "The Ask"
Ellen Donnelly started her own business in 2020. She had 10 years of experience helping startups find the right talent. She wanted to use this experience to help others navigate the changing job market.
Ellen launched a newsletter called "The Ask" to provide a platform where people could get help making decisions about their careers. She was inspired by the book "Content Inc." by Joe Pulizzi, which explains how important it is for businesses to build their own audience.
Ellen decided a newsletter would be the best way for her to share ideas and connect with her target audience.
Step-by-step growth strategies
One of the most fascinating aspects of Ellen's success story is her ability to grow her subscriber base strategically. Let's take a closer look at the step-by-step strategies she employed at different stages of her newsletter's growth:
1. 0 to 100 subscribers:
Ellen started by reaching out to friends and fellow coaches, leveraging her existing network to build the foundation of her subscriber base.
2. 100 to 500 subscribers:
Organic growth and word-of-mouth played a significant role in this phase. Ellen actively encouraged people to sign up for her newsletter, emphasizing the value it provides.
3. 500 to 1,000 subscribers:
This stage marked a pivotal moment in Ellen's growth journey. She made a concerted effort to reach the 1,000-subscriber milestone within a short period. To achieve this, Ellen created lead magnets, engaged in cross-promotions, and focused on producing high-quality, shareable content.
4. 1,000 to 2,500 subscribers:
Ellen's most rewarding growth strategy during this phase was organizing an online summit called "Talent To Money" in 2022. By investing in exceptional speakers and offering the event for free, Ellen added a substantial number of new subscribers to her list.
5. 2,500 subscribers to present:
The Substack referral network played a crucial role in growing Ellen's list to around 3,500 subscribers. However, in 2023, she made the decision to move from Substack to Mailerlite, which led to a slowdown in growth as she shifted her focus to expanding her coaching practice.
Organizing an online summit
Ellen organized an online event called the "Talent to Money" summit. This really shows how powerful these kinds of events can be for growing a newsletter.
In just a couple of months, the summit allowed Ellen to add 1,000 new subscribers to her newsletter. So it didn't just expand her reach - it also helped create a sense of goodwill and connection with people in her online community.
Ellen really emphasizes how important it is to look for growth strategies that give you multiple benefits. With the summit, she was able to:
- Grow her newsletter subscriber list
- Provide valuable learning opportunities for her audience
- Facilitate networking between participants
- Establish herself as an expert and credible voice in her field
Rather than just focusing on raw subscriber numbers, Ellen knows it's crucial to find ways to grow your audience that also build relationships, boost your reputation, and provide real value. The "Talent to Money" summit was a perfect example of that.
By organizing this kind of event, Ellen was able to achieve significant newsletter growth while also strengthening her overall business in many other ways. This multifaceted approach is something other entrepreneurs should keep in mind when planning their own growth strategies.
Lessons learned and future opportunities
Reflecting on her journey, Ellen acknowledges that each stage of her newsletter's growth has taught her valuable lessons. While she wouldn't necessarily change her approach in the early days, she recognizes that there are untapped opportunities for a newsletter like hers in the current landscape. As her focus has primarily been on serving her coaching clients, Ellen admits that she may not be fully capitalizing on the potential of her newsletter at the moment.
Leveraging the newsletter for coaching business growth:
One of the most remarkable aspects of Ellen's success story is how she has leveraged her newsletter to fuel the growth of her coaching business. By providing high-quality and relevant content to her targeted and engaged audience, Ellen has established herself as a trusted authority in her field. The newsletter has become a powerful tool for attracting potential clients and nurturing relationships with them.
Ellen says, "My newsletter has been how clients either first learn about me or deepen their understanding of what I offer and who I am, so that by the time we meet on a discovery call, they are often fully bought into the idea of coaching with me, which is great."
This statement underscores the immense value of a well-crafted newsletter in building trust, establishing credibility, and generating leads for a coaching business. By consistently delivering valuable insights and engaging with her audience, Ellen has created a pipeline of potential clients who are already primed to work with her.
The launch of a paid membership
As Ellen's newsletter has grown and developed, she's looked for new ways to monetize the content and provide even more value to her subscribers.
One of the key things she's done is launch a paid membership program. This allows Ellen's most dedicated newsletter subscribers to access exclusive content, resources, and support.
By offering this paid membership, Ellen is able to create a sustainable revenue stream for her business. At the same time, it helps her deepen the relationships she has with her most engaged audience members.
The paid membership provides subscribers with additional value beyond the free newsletter content. This could include things like:
- In-depth guides and tutorials
- Community forums and Q&A sessions
- One-on-one coaching or consulting
- Discounts on Ellen's other products/services
Launching this kind of premium membership allows Ellen to monetize her newsletter in a way that also strengthens the connection with her core audience. It's a win-win - providing more value to subscribers while also generating reliable revenue for the business.
The importance of proactive outreach
Throughout her entrepreneurial journey, Ellen has really emphasized the importance of being proactive with her outreach efforts. This has been a key part of how she's grown her newsletter and coaching business.
In the early stages, Ellen reached out to her friends and fellow coaches to help build her initial subscriber base for the newsletter. She didn't just wait for people to find her - she actively encouraged them to sign up.
This proactive mindset has continued even as her newsletter has grown. Ellen is always on the lookout for opportunities to collaborate with others, do cross-promotions, or partner up in ways that can expand her reach and provide more value to her audience.
By taking this hands-on, strategic approach to outreach, Ellen has been able to accelerate the growth of both her newsletter and her coaching business. She doesn't just sit back and hope people will find her - she's consistently putting herself and her work in front of new potential subscribers and clients.
This proactive attitude is a key part of what has allowed Ellen to build such a large, engaged newsletter audience and turn it into the foundation for a thriving coaching business. It shows other entrepreneurs the importance of being proactive with your outreach, rather than passively waiting for growth to happen on its own.
Conclusion
Ellen Donnelly's success story shows how a well-targeted newsletter can really boost business growth. With her newsletter, "The Ask," Ellen has attracted over 3,400 loyal subscribers and used this list to build a thriving six-figure coaching business.
She used various growth strategies, like tapping into her existing network and hosting a successful online summit. Ellen’s proactive, strategic, and adaptable approach has been key to growing her engaged audience. By consistently providing high-quality, relevant content, she's built trust and credibility with her subscribers, which has helped grow her coaching business.
As Ellen explores new opportunities, like launching a paid membership program, she inspires other entrepreneurs and content creators. Her journey shows the huge benefits of building a dedicated audience, nurturing subscriber relationships, and using a newsletter as a powerful tool for business growth.
