The Hungry serves up practical and actionable creative business information and insights weekly specializing in strategic messaging that helps turn your audience into buyers, and buyers into loyal fans.
I had another story planned for today, but something big happened this week that I felt compelled to share because it's a game changer. First, I have a question.
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This edition of The Hungry is in collaboration with PartnerStack.
How to get found by strangers and turn them into buyers quicker
It’s official; my #1 source of organic growth in the newsletter is now recommendations, but not from where I expected. Whenever I talk about recommendations with others, it’s almost always a function of connections on social media, but that has been a bit of a rough spot for me in the last year or so.
Admittedly, my social media audience is a bit of a mixed bag because of all the different pivots I’ve made in my career over the last decade. People on Instagram may not know why to recommend me anymore, and that’s my fault.
Instagram might even feel the same, not recommending my account to new people because of the identity crisis I’ve had for years. Occasionally, I’ll get some new people in the feed, and they find their way to the newsletter, but it doesn’t happen often.
Even Threads, where my message has been more finely targeted, isn’t a powerful tool for gaining new audiences through recommendations. It works a little, but it’s a prolonged burn. Legitimately, my social media strategy has never been great, and I blame that on not being enthused about spending time creating for those platforms.
However, as I said this week on Threads, I need to replace blame with give power to… because I’m the only one who can make a difference there.
But maybe I don’t need social media as much as they need my data. Maybe there’s a system where recommendations happen while I’m off doing other things like writing newsletters and filming videos for YouTube?
It’s possible because I learned that ConvertKit (soon-to-be Kit) is responsible for bringing in the most growth from recommendations I’ve seen since I left Substack last year.
Substack as a platform is fantastic for most publishers, and one of the best features is the network connectivity and internal recommendation engine. Even now, while I haven’t published to Substack since December of 2023 and purposely dissuade people from subscribing there, I still get a few new subscribers a month due to their recommendation system.
Recent Substack subscribers
When I considered moving away from Substack, I looked at several different ESPs and finally landed on ConvertKit because they have their Creator Network, which ties all members together. It’s similar but not identical to Substack’s network, and I soon found it wasn’t nearly as good at bringing in new people from the network. The lack of attention was so dissatisfying I ignored the Creator Network completely.
For the first eleven months as part of the Creator Network, I pulled in only eight new subscribers and decided I wouldn’t put my energy into something that wasn’t working for me. Then, a switch got flipped in August 2024, and now I’m getting found. In less than a month, I’ve already attracted 3x of the previous number of new subscribers, which is fantastic news, but now I have a new dilemma.
Prioritize people and optimize for their arrival
Imagine having an open house event over a weekend, and hardly anybody showed up on day one. All the freshly baked cookies and handmade lemonade practically go to waste. On day two, you put out the old and crumbly cookies and add more ice to the already watered-down lemonade, and still nobody shows up. You add some bourbon to the lemonade and drink yourself silly.
As you’re passed out on a lounger in the backyard, a busload of people show up, and you’re caught slipping into an alcohol-induced coma. That’s what I feel like now, knowing that people have been coming to my newsletter from the Creator Network and being completely unaware.
Now it’s time to shotgun two Red Bulls and get back to work, and the following is precisely what I would do to greet these new visitors.
1. Build a better profile
Every person using ConvertKit gets their own Creator Network profile where they can share their previous posts, links to social media and other essential sites, recommendations of other Creator Network members, and any digital products they sell through.
The most important thing I can do at this stage is to ensure they know exactly what they are signing up for before adding their email address to the form. I recently updated The Hungry’s creator profile, but I will research ways to make it more appealing to others in the network who visit.
2. Improve the welcome sequence
Having an automated welcome sequence in place helps you get people acquainted with who you are and how you can add value to their lives. Keeping that email sequence simple and providing immediate value will help you retain more of these new subscribers.
The Hungry has a welcome sequence, but I want to streamline it and make it more relevant to how things have changed for the newsletter in recent months. Whatever message(s) you put in your welcome sequence, it’s essential to lean into sharing value from the very beginning.
3. Follow up with referrals
I also want to set up an automation that goes specifically to anyone who joins through the Creator Network to make sure they know how appreciative I am for their attention. I believe it’s also a good idea to create a unique tag for anyone who joins to allow you to send them particular messages if needed.
A small collection of creative business owners in the Creator Network
Digging through the creator network and finding relevant publishers to share is a good idea. I don’t necessarily want to share all of my competition with readers. Still, if I can find people publishing similar or adjacent content that is helpful and comes with a unique voice, that’s better for my readers.
Once you’ve found a few to recommend, consider contacting them to let them know how you found them and that you’re not sharing their content with your readers through the recommendation system. Maybe that will inspire them to reciprocate and start recommending your publication.
It’s important to note that you do not need ConvertKit to use this strategy. Almost any ESP with an internal referral network is an opportunity to build a stronger connection with those who took a massive leap of faith to subscribe to your email list without knowing much about you beyond a name and a blurb about what you offer.
Lastly, be a good steward and stay on top of what’s happening with your list and what’s helping attract these new subscribers.
Side note: Substack may have one of the best built-in networks, but the app does not allow for automation sequences and deep segmentation of your list to enable you to share separate messages with different groups of people. It’s still a good place for building an audience, though not as much on your terms.
With most social media being more challenging to garner the attention of new eyeballs (let alone keep the ones we already have), it’s a good idea to look at alternative sources of audience generation. Internal devices like the Creator Network are now an exceptional way to bring those new eyes to your work.
By the way, if you're one of those fine folks who found me through the Creator Network, hit reply and let me know. I want to give you a virtual high-five! ✋
[Partner]
Here's a pain-free side hustle I recommend
A significant factor in keeping The Hungry operational is affiliate relationships with reputable companies. When I discuss ConvertKit, ManyChat, or Printify, it's because I use and trust those companies to deliver quality products and services.
And the company those businesses choose to use for their affiliate management is PartnerStack.
I have accounts with a few affiliate management services, and PartnerStack is hands down the most effortless and professional service I've used. If you are publishing content and looking for ways to add affiliate partnerships with companies you trust, PartnerStack manages hundreds of different companies in dozens of categories, and the list is continually growing.
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The Hungry serves up practical and actionable creative business information and insights weekly specializing in strategic messaging that helps turn your audience into buyers, and buyers into loyal fans.