The newsletter strategy guide for publishers.
Search and social are rented — gone in one algorithm change. Here are four ways to build the audience that’s actually yours, from the team that built and scaled WhereBy.Us.
- Why the only audience you own is the one you can email
- The four plays: personality, content, growth, and revenue
- How the best publishers ask for signups everywhere
- Building monetization in from day one
Free to read, free to download — no sign-up, no gate. Subscribe below for the latest reports, industry news, and tips.
Trusted by the publishers of 2,000+ newsletters — Condé Nast, The New Yorker, Townsquare Media, Techstars, and more.
The white paper
Read the whole guide, right here.
All 18 pages, no form in the way. Scroll through below, download the PDF, or take it full screen.
Trusted by the publishers of 2,000+ newsletters
The kind of results these plays drive
on existing newsletters, 90 days in
on monetized sends after 180 days
per edition, on average
What's inside
Four ways to build an audience that's yours.
Personality
People follow people. Put your team's names, voices, and expertise front and center — readers trust people, not faceless brands.
Content
Put your existing work to work. Your site and social feeds belong in every send — mix in a little original content and you've got something only you can offer.
Growth
Ask for signups everywhere — every page, every login, every product — then let a referral program turn the readers who love you into a growth engine.
Revenue
Build monetization in from day one. Design ad units up front and run direct-sold, self-service, and programmatic together. Don't wait for a magic audience size.
Owned, not rented
Search is rented from Google, social from Meta, and even your site can lose 40% of its traffic to one algorithm change. Email is the channel that stays yours.
The metrics that matter
90% of publishers say email is critical; only 22% say it's paying off. The guide shows which numbers actually predict a healthy program.
“We considered building the tech, but realized it was going to be too cumbersome and expensive. When we found Letterhead, we were thrilled. Now, we recommend each company we incubate use it to scale their business.”
— Aron Pilhofer, Executive Director, News Catalyst
Before you dig in
Is it really free?
Yes. Read the full white paper online or download the PDF — no card, no sign-up.
What's the newsletter?
Our weekly take on owned audience, media, and the business of email — the latest reports, industry news, and tips. Free, unsubscribe anytime.
Who is it for?
Anyone who runs newsletters as a real channel — media and publishing teams, agencies, and marketing teams who treat the newsletter as owned media.
Do I need to use Letterhead to get value from it?
No. The four plays are platform-agnostic. They're just easier to run on a system built for newsletters — which is the case we make at the end.
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