Growth In Reverse: Newsletter & Email Growth

Check out Gannon's Growth Lever here: growthinreverse.com/gannon-manychat-flow/

Get 30% off ManyChat: growthinreverse.com/manychat (affiliate link)

Join 30 Days of Growth here: 30daysofgrowth.co

Join 30 Days of Growth here: 30daysofgrowth.co

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

[This is a replay from our conversation with Sam Vander Wielen from September 2025]

“All roads point to the email list." — Sam Vander Wielen, Sam's Sidebar

In this episode, we interview Sam Vander Wielen—a lawyer-turned-creator who has sold over $9M in legal templates with a 50k-subscriber newsletter. 

Sam shares how her motto of "All roads point to the email lis...

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

If 30 top creators handed you their best newsletter growth tactic, for free, would you take it? Of course you would!

I'm excited to share that we are launching 30 Days of Growth (Part 2!) on April 20th. If you missed last year's event, you don't want to miss it again. Each day I'll be sending you 1 tip you can use to improve or grow yo...

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

NOTE: This is a rerun of an episode we published in September 2025. But just because it's a rerun doesn't mean it ain't still a banger 💥

--------------------------------------

“One of the worst things you can do is send new subscribers to a dead-end thank you page. That kills engagement immediately." — Chenell

We're breaking down the most overlooked (yet critical) part of growin...

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

Get the Growth Levers Library FREE >> growthinreverse.com/growth-levers-library

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

Get Chenell's step-by-step breakdown of Jonathan Goodman's Lead Magnet Strategy: https://growthinreverse.com/jon-content-loops/

We start the next round of 30 Days of Growth on April 20th, you can join to get access when it's live here: https://30daysofgrowth.co/?source=youtube

***

Lead Magnet Episode (Part 1) >> 

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

Get the slides + the awesome bonuses → growthinreverse.com/nms-2026/

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

Get the Happy Subscribers Formula for more newsletter opens, clicks AND replies → growthinreverse.com/happy-subscribers/?ref=podcast-shownotes 

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

Get the Collaboration Playbook and resources here → https://growthinreverse.com/collab-playbook/

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

Get the FREE Lead Magnet Guide >> growthinreverse.com/leadmagnet

Get Instant Access to the Growth Vault now >> growthinreverse.com/vault

***

“Lead magnets definitely still work. I think they’re having a resurgence right now.” — Chenell Basilio

It took 60 episodes.

But we finally dedicated a full episode to lead magnets — what they are, what’s actually worki...

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

Get Instant Access to the Growth Vault now >> growthinreverse.com/vault

***

In this episode of the GIR Podcast, we're airing "cross-published" episode originally featured on Jay Clouse's Creator Science podcast.
Check out the Creator Science podcast here >>

***

“If someone can Google what you wrote and get the same thing elsewhere, it’s not differentiated.” — Chenell Basilio

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

Get the FREE Growth Levers Library: growthinreverse.com/growth-levers-library/

***

“Most people underestimate how long it takes for anything meaningful to happen.” — Matt Paulson, MarketBeat

Matt Paulson is the founder of MarketBeat, one of the largest independent financial media brands on the internet. What started as a scrappy side project eventually turned into a multi-newsletter business serving millions of investor...

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

This is a clip from the FULL GIR episode with Tom Orbach:
SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3LiScMzoSsoyASlymH8vC6
YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vD-xde5kQ4Q

***

How do you launch a paid Substack newsletter earning $50,000—without a long pre-launch, teaser campaign, or complicated funnel?

And all this while working a full-time job?

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

Get Matt's 1,000 Email Subscriber Formula: https://growthinreverse.com/matt-yt-download/

***

"The way to monetize a small, niche audience is not sponsorships — it’s higher-ticket services." — Matt McGarry, GrowLetter

Matt McGarry has helped grow some of the largest newsletters in the world — including The Hustle, Milk Road, and 1440 — to millions of subscribers. But in this conversation, he makes a contrarian case: you do...

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

The Growth Vault is LIVE: Chenell's brand-new offer for newsletter creators is here—filled with newsletter templates, growth strategies, and real examples you can implement at your own pace.

--------------------------------------

“Creators overinvest in subscriber count and under-invest in content quality.” — Chenell Basilio 

We went live on YouTube for the first time and opened up the floor for a full...

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

Get 30 proven strategies to grow and optimize your email list FREE >>

This week, we're playin' the hits!

Let's rewind the clock to December 2024. This episode was the very first episode we published—and it's been our most popular episode to date! In this very first episode, we dig into the 3,000+ hours of research Chenell has done into creators and uncovered some...

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

The Growth Vault is LIVE: Chenell's brand-new offer for newsletter creators is here—filled with newsletter templates, growth strategies, and real examples you can implement at your own pace.

--------------------------------------

“I think you are being financially irresponsible if you do not have a newsletter.” — Nathan May, The Feed Media

The GIR Podcast is approaching it's 1st anniversary of publish...

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

The Growth Vault is LIVE: Chenell's brand-new offer for newsletter creators is here—filled with newsletter templates, growth strategies, and real examples you can implement at your own pace.

--------------------------------------

“The quiz brings them in, the newsletter builds the relationship, and the community closes the loop.” — Milly Tamati, Generalist World

This week on Growth In Reverse, we sat down w...

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

The Growth Vault is LIVE: Chenell's brand-new offer for newsletter creators is here—filled with newsletter templates, growth strategies, and real examples you can implement at your own pace.

--------------------------------------

“Organic needs to be your biggest channel if you want a real audience that feels connected to you.” — Sean Griffey, Industry Dive

You might not have aspirations of buildin...

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

The Growth Vault is LIVE: Chenell's brand-new offer for newsletter creators is here—filled with newsletter templates, growth strategies, and real examples you can implement at your own pace.

--------------------------------------

“People think automation sounds hard. But If you do automatic bill pay, direct deposit, an email autoresponder, you're automating.” — Joe Casabona, casabona.org

Chances are all of us writing...

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

The Growth Vault is LIVE: Chenell's brand-new offer for newsletter creators is here—filled with newsletter templates, growth strategies, and real examples you can implement at your own pace.

Quick note: We ran a 30-day Social Growth Challenge that we opened to the public for a $100 fee to join.
But all purchasers of The Growth Vault were able to join for FREE...

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

The Growth Vault is LIVE: Chenell's brand-new offer for newsletter creators is here—filled with newsletter templates, growth strategies, and real examples you can implement at your own pace.

--------------------------------------

“If you’re not exceptional at one of the Big 3 — it’s impossible to build a content business.” — Dylan quoting Matt McGarry

We're sharing the biggest stories, trends, and less...

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

The Growth Vault is LIVE: Chenell's brand-new offer for newsletter creators is here—filled with newsletter templates, growth strategies, and real examples you can implement at your own pace.

--------------------------------------

“Stop wasting time picking the ‘perfect’ newsletter tool. Just start publishing. You can always switch later." — Dylan

We're breaking down the most common mistakes newsletter creators make in the early...

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

The Growth Vault is LIVE: Chenell's brand-new offer for newsletter creators is here—filled with newsletter templates, growth strategies, and real examples you can implement at your own pace.

--------------------------------------

“I sent this short email—and got over 200 replies—when I usually get maybe 8 to 15. It was wild." — Chenell

In this episode, we're digging into the art (and science...

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

The Growth Vault is LIVE: Chenell's brand-new offer for newsletter creators is here! The Growth Vault is filled with newsletter templates, growth strategies, and real examples you can implement at your own pace.

--------------------------------------

“One of the worst things you can do is send new subscribers to a dead-end thank you page. That kills engagement immediately." — Chenell

We're...

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

The Growth Vault is LIVE: Chenell's brand-new offer for newsletter creators is here! The Growth Vault is filled with newsletter templates, growth strategies, and real examples you can implement at your own pace.

--------------------------------------

“Sometimes less is more. Cut the clutter and highlight the one thing that matters." — Chenell

It's newsletter roast time 🔥🔥 We're putting the spotlight on Hobby Car...

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

Get 30+ video lessons and ideas for optimizing your newsletter: https://growthinreverse.com/vault

--------------------------

“All roads point to the email list." — Sam Vander Wielen, Sam's Sidebar

In this episode, we interview Sam Vander Wielen—a lawyer-turned-creator who has sold over $9M in legal templates with a 50k-subscriber newsletter. 

Sam shares how her motto of "All roads point to...

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

The Growth Vault is LIVE: Chenell's brand-new product —The Growth Vault— is here. Filled with newsletter templates, growth strategies, and real examples you can implement at your own pace.

--------------------------------------

“If content is king, AI is storming the castle." — Darren Vesterfelt, Mighty Networks

Chenell was just in Cleveland for the annual CEX conference. And she wasn't *just* in attenda...

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

Join our September Social Growth Challenge: https://growthinreverse.com/social

--------------------------

“You have to be first—or you have to be best. That's how you win at paid content." — Nathan May, The Feed Media

In this episode, we interview Nathan May, founder of The Feed Media. 

Nathan shares how he turned a small, private newsletter into a $1M ARR...

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

>> Join the 30-Days of Growth Social Challenge: https://growthinreverse.com/social

--------------------------------------

“The first 6 months taught me that consistency beats everything — even if you’re not perfect."

In this episode of the Growth In Reverse podcast, Dylan and Chenell rewind the clock to when Chenell was just starting her newsletter. She breaks down the two strategies that fueled her earl...

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

“If you spend 80% of your time making incredibly good content, you probably only have to spend 20% marketing it."

In this special episode, we’re bringing you Chenell’s conversation with Darrell Vesterfelt, VP of Growth at Mighty Networks, for a recent Creator Summit. 

In the chat, Chenell talks about why she started a newsletter — and why she chose a newsletter — way back in D...

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

The Growth Vault is LIVE: https://growthinreverse.com/vault

----------------------------------------------------------------

“During my last year as a CFO, I made more money from my newsletter and podcast than my full-time job."  — CJ Gustafson, Mostly Metrics

We sit down with CJ Gustafson, former tech CFO and now full-time creator of two newsletters—Mostly Metrics and Looking For Leverage—and a podcast cal...

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

The Growth Vault is LIVE: https://growthinreverse.com/vault

----------------------------------------------------------------

“You don’t need to create for everyone. You need to create for the people who value you most — and they’ll carry your newsletter further than you think."  — Matt Johansen, Vulnu.com

We sat down with Matt Johansen, creator of the Vulnerable U newsletter (nearly 30,000 subscribers), to unpack how he...

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

The Growth Vault is LIVE: https://growthinreverse.com/vault

----------------------------------------------------------------

“This is the underrated growth strategy every newsletter should be using.”

What if every subscriber could turn into 10 more?

In this episode of the Growth In Reverse podcast, Dylan and Chenell unpack one of the most underrated newsletter growth levers: referrals.

They explore how to tur...

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

“I waited to launch my paid newsletter until I had a solid strategy and felt like I’d earned it.”  — Tom Orbach, Marketing Ideas

Tom Orbach of MarketingIdeas.com — which recently crossed 44,000 free subscribers and over 500 paid subscribers in just the first few days after launching his paid tier — joins Chenell & Dylan to share the exact playbook he used to grow his newsletter and...

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

“$250k is when growth changes. It’s when you need systems. You usually can’t do it solo.”  — Matt Gira, The Quarter

Matt Gira joins Chenell & Dylan — in person — to share how he went from building underwater drones to launching The Quarter: a newsletter that deep dives into how founders grow bootstrapped businesses to $250K. This is an interview, but also an impromptu coachin...

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

“I love unsubscribes. Don’t be here if you don’t want to be here.”

It is insanely easy to subscribe to a newsletter—and even MULTIPLE newsletters all at once.

But is that a good thing? Should newsletter creators be more choosy when determining who signs up? We're diving into one of the most overlooked and under-discussed aspects of newsletter g...

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

“The real value wasn’t in the keynotes—it was the dinners, the hikes, the casual connections.” – Dylan Redekop, first-time C+C attendee

Dylan and Chenell reflect on their time at Kit's Craft + Commerce email newsletter conference for creators in Boise.
 
But this episode isn’t just a recap — it’s a deep dive into what made the conference unforgettable: the people, the ide...

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

"Every time I try to be an expert, I lose readers. When I’m just me, they stick around." – Jesse J. Anderson, Extra Focus newsletter

For the first time ever, Chenell & Dylan have recorded LIVE, in-person podcast episodes!  

Coming at you in-person from Kit Studios in Boise ID, Chenell & Dylan connect with Jesse J. Anderson—better known online as ADHD Jesse—to...