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I love Twitter.
Why?
I saw someone tweet about starting a blog and thought, “why don’t they start a newsletter instead?”
So I tweeted it out.
The tweet went mini-viral with some excellent engagement (take a scroll through the replies). Lots of support — but also a lot of people hating on the idea.
But here’s the thing…
What the haters missed was one word: “START.”
Look — I get the purpose and value of a blog. It’s a proven method to build a business. Don’t hear what I’m not saying. I did not say “NEVER start a blog” — that’s not it at all.
BUT I firmly, strongly, desperately believe if you’re at the starting line deciding what to do: START A NEWSLETTER FIRST.
Here’s why.
Starting here is key. If you read no other points below — please read this one: starting a newsletter leapfrogs whatever you will do with a blog at the beginning:
» » » Collecting email addresses is [quite often, almost always] the point.
Everyone starts with zero newsletter subscribers. But you publish, you promote, you get a few subscribers. You’re off to the races.
Your blog will also start with zero readers. You will publish, promote, and get a few eyeballs. But then what? They poke around and bounce. They’re gone and you may never get them back. Wouldn’t it have been awesome to get their email address so you could nurture that relationship with a newsletter — oh.
Worth repeating: Collecting email addresses is [quite often, almost always] the point.
Most email newsletter platforms offer a blog-style content feed. Your past newsletter editions become your blog. If you’re concerned about SEO, migrate your newsletter content to a hosted domain. But start with a newsletter.
You can sign up + write + publish your first newsletter in less than an hour. Platforms like ConvertKit, Substack, and Revue make this possible.
Starting a blog can be costly if you want to buy a domain, get hosting, pay for a theme etc, etc. Again, I’m not saying “don’t do this,” but I am saying don’t start here.
Related: I created a 20-page guide to help you set up a Substack account and get publishing quickly. Check it out here.
A blog is passive. Think of it like opening a coffee shop. You flick on the “Now Open” sign and crickets (I’ve done this — it sucks.)
A newsletter is like Uber Eats. People intentionally sign up to get your words delivered to them (I’ve done this — it’s awesome.) They signed up for that inbox delivery.
Hell, if it’s good enough, they’ll pay you for it. If that’s not signal, I don’t know what is.
How’s that blog Adsense revenue coming along? Those $3.77 Adsense checks aren’t quite covering your hosting costs, hey? With ConvertKit or Substack, you don’t even need to pay for hosting. You can — but you don’t have to. Win.
AND, once you hit a few hundred subscribers, you can attract sponsors or advertisers on platforms like Swapstack, Paved, or Letterwell.
The more niche your newsletter, the more you can charge for ads relevant to your reader demographic. It will take you a lot longer to get there with blog traffic ad revenue.
Affiliate blogs are great. Tons have made $$$ there. But again — takes a lot of time, effort, visitors…
But curating relevant links in your newsletter is going to get you traction a lot faster. Especially if you’ve built up credibility and trust with your readers.
Careful though: don’t be surprised if you’re flogging any affiliate link you get your hands on and unsubscribes follow. Trust and credibility take time to earn and disappear in an instant.
Be strategic with your affiliates. Only promote products & services _you actually use and love_ and you will see traction a lot faster.
You might not be. That’s totally okay.
But I’m standing firm: starting a newsletter is more productive than starting a blog. You’re killing two birds with one stone. The software is there to help you. And you can turn your content into a blog with ease.
What’s stopping you?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.
Reply to that tweet above or send me an email with your thoughts and/or questions. Let’s build some newsletters!
It might be tempting to rapidly grow your email list with paid subscriber acquisition. But make sure you consider these 3 things first.
My Growth Currency⚡ newsletter just added ~1000 subscribers in March. Here's how I—and many others are growing their newsletters faster than ever.
Make your newsletter work for you — not against you.