Want a free newsletter onboarding course?

Here’s a tip:

→ Sign up for celebrity newsletters.

You might find some gold nuggets with onboarding, content strategy, and monetization you wouldn’t have found otherwise.

That’s exactly what happened when I signed up for Mark Manson’s newsletter a few days ago.

(You remember Mark, right? The writer who, subtly, gives zero f*cks?)

And I was pretty stunned by the way he approached subscriber “onboarding” aka the welcome sequence.

Let me break it down.

Here’s what I learned signing up for Mark Manson’s newsletter.

#1 - Mark’s landing page focuses on transformation instead of branding

What’s the most common thing you see on every newsletter sign-up page — other than the email form itself?

The name of the newsletter. Often the face of the creator.

Not Mark.

He doesn’t mention the name of his newsletter (‘Your Next Breakthrough’) in the headline or subheadline. It’s not until the body copy of his landing page that he mentions it.

He knows the name is irrelevant if the transformational promise isn’t persuasive enough.

So when designing and writing your landing page, lead with the transformation or outcome your readers should experience.

That’s what they care about. That’s what’s in it for them. Not the name of your newsletter.

The rest should be an afterthought.

#2  —  Mark uses Double Opt-In, but differently.

99.9% of confirmation emails say the same thing:

“Thanks for subscribing. Please click here to confirm your subscription.”

[[insert basic ‘confirm’ button]]

Like this 👇

They all do this because that’s the conventional advice: simple, to-the-point.
But that’s boring.

And Mark — as he’s known to — practices the subtle art of not giving a f***. So he does it differently.

I’m going to lay out exactly what he does shortly, and how you can replicate it.

But what he does first in that confirmation email is most important.

#2.1 → He includes a Context Block

People forget how/when/why they subscribe.

To jog your memory, Mark adds a text bubble at the beginning of this email that does 3 things:

✅ explains why you’re getting this email (“because you signed up for…”)
✅ gives you an ‘out’ by doing nothing or unsubscribing
✅ uses a ‘micro commitment’ hook to entice you to read (“5 minutes that might change your life.”)

Adding this Context Block is really important — especially if you’re using recommendations/referrals.

Why?

Because that referred subscriber might have off-handedly signed up for your newsletter and 5 others in a recommendations widget. So remind them why they’re receiving your email, or risk going a spam complaint.

Nobody wants a spam complaint.

#3 — Mark’s 6-part Framework to Convert

A confirmation email like this is the ultimate fork-in-the-road moment for onboarding a subscriber.

Ultimately, you’re holding up a sign that says, “Subscribe or beat it.”

You want to make it 100% clear to a new subscriber they need to explicitly opt in or get out.

I analyzed how Mark did this and created a free resource for you to replicate his email.

You can grab these FREE double opt-in email templates here >>

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Wrapping Up

"But wait, there's more!" 

There's more to Mark's new subscriber onboarding sequence that I want to share—but I'll be sending that out in my newsletter.

If you don't want to miss it, subscribe here >>

Bonus 👀

One other super smart thing Mark Manson does? He and I both use Kit to send our newsletters.

As we've covered, he's kind of crushing the double opt-in feature built into Kit. And protecting his list with ONLY those who really really want to subscribe.

Doing this on your own is doable, but Kit makes it way easier.

Trust me. I’ve tried all the major ESPs.

Kit offers the most user-friendly and customizable features for creators like us. I’ve been using Kit for over 3 years and recommend it to everyone — and not just because I’m an affiliate. I sincerely love their team, product, and vibe.

Get a FREE Kit plan that includes your first 10,000 subscribers →

More stuff from me.

→ Check out my brand new podcast about newsletters with Chenell from Growth In Reverse👇

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→ FREE 5-day email course to help you get your first 1,000 newsletter subscribers
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