Chapter 1: The Start of My Newsletter Adventure

Launching my newsletter has been an exciting yet challenging experience over the past five months.

I initiated my newsletter in December, filled with enthusiasm. The aim was to share two insightful pieces about side hustles every week, directed from creators to creators. In the initial two months, my subscriber count surged past 100. However, growth soon plateaued, leaving me stagnant at around 180 subscribers.

I closely monitor each subscription's origin—whether it's from Medium, lead magnets, or social media. However, the unsubscribes weigh heavily on me. Each time someone opts out, I feel a pang of disappointment. I try not to take it to heart, yet I yearn to understand their reasons.

The common feedback often lacks depth: "I no longer wish to receive these emails." But I find myself questioning, "Why not?"

By the way, here's the [1-Minute Creator newsletter](#). If you're interested, feel free to join and share your thoughts!

Despite knowing that unsubscribes can enhance open and click rates by refining my audience, I can't shake off the discomfort. It has prompted me to reflect: Should I increase my frequency, or would a weekly newsletter be more beneficial for my readers and me?

How do you approach growing your newsletter? What feedback do you gather from your audience, and how do you respond to it?

Thank you for taking the time to read!

-Robin

P.S. This account is part of my April writing challenge, where I aim to write 30 stories. This is story number 25 out of 30. Check out my other works.

Section 1.1: Lessons Learned From Subscribers

In my journey, I've discovered that understanding subscriber behavior is key.

Chapter 2: Strategies for Improvement

To gain insight into overcoming hurdles, I recently came across some valuable videos.

The first video, Ellen Hyslop - Turn Your Pain Points Into a 400K Subscriber Newsletter, delves into transforming challenges into opportunities for subscriber growth, offering practical advice for newsletter creators.

The second video, Psychosomatic Pain Symptoms | Can Your Mind Make You Feel Pain?, explores the psychological aspects of pain, which can also resonate with the emotional journey of managing a newsletter and the impact of feedback on our mental state.