Katelyn Bourgoin has amassed over 63k subscribers and earned $1M in revenue—in 2024 alone!

She runs the popular newsletter Why We Buy. It's my favorite newsletter when it comes to buyer psychology.

And in this deep dive walkthrough, I'm giving you a rundown of how she's built and monetized her newsletter. And then later this week, Dylan and I have Katelyn on the show talking all about how she's pivoting her consulting business to a full-on newsletter business.

Get 75+ Growth Levers used by top newsletters: https://growthinreverse.com/gll/
Join a community of others building their newsletters: https://growthinreverse.com/pro/

***

LINKS MENTIONED

• Katelyn on LinkedIn
• Katelyn's Newsletter
• Katelyn's GIR Deep Dive
• Check out ALL the Growth In Reverse Deep Dives → https://growthinreverse.com/archive/

***

Connect with Chenell:
→ Chenell on LinkedIn
→ Chenell on Bluesky
→ Chenell on Twitter
📬 https://growthinreverse.com

What are the most popular revenue streams for newsletters?
And how many revenue streams do most newsletters have?

Chenell & Dylan review the revenue stream stats from the 66 Deep Dives that Chenell's published for Growth In Reverse. They reveal what the 3 most common revenue streams are—but then they unearth the lesser-known revenue streams that newsletter creators are sleeping on.

→ Take your newsletter to the next level with GIR Pro >>
→ Get free access to 75+ newsletter Growth Levers here >>

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The top three revenue streams from 66 newsletter case studies
• Why courses are the natural next step for many creators
• The genius of paid guest posts: The triple-stack approach
• How software tools can be powerful lead magnets and revenue streams
• Flipping newsletters for profit
• The secret paid newsletter model that generated $50K from 471 subscribers
• ...and more!

DEEP DIVES & LINKS MENTIONED

• CJ Gustafson Deep Dive
• Dan Runcie Deep Dive (Trapital's industry reports)
• Nathan Barry's Secret Money Newsletter
• Justin Moore Deep Dive (Asynchronous sponsorship coaching)
• Dan Koe Deep Dive
• Kortex: the second brain for creators (by Dan Koe)
• The Cultural Tutor Deep Dive
• Growth In Reverse PRO Community
• Check out past Growth In Reverse Deep Dives: https://growthinreverse.com/archive/

FOLLOW ON SOCIAL

• Chenell: Twitter | LinkedIn | Bluesky
• Dylan: LinkedIn | Bluesky

OUR NEWSLETTERS

• growthinreverse.com
• growthcurrency.net

Subscribe & Leave a Review:

Love what you’re hearing? Make sure to subscribe, and if you found this episode helpful, leave us a rating & review on your favorite podcast platform!

Thanks to Tim Forkin for editing these episodes.

What happens when an established newsletter hits a growth plateau?
And can anything be done to revive it?

Chenell & Dylan sit down with Ben Collins of BenLCollins.com and his Google Sheets Tips newsletter.

When Chenell researched & wrote her GIR Deep Dive on Ben last year, all appeared to be going well for Ben and his Google Sheets Tips newsletter. But when we invited Ben to join us on the podcast, he was apprehensive: "Are you sure you want me to come on? Growth has been very flat." So we took this as an opportunity to flex our growth strategy muscles and provide Ben with some newsletter growth coaching.

→ Take your newsletter to the next level with GIR Pro >>
→ Get free access to 75+ newsletter Growth Levers here >>

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• How Ben's grown his newsletter to 55k and his recent growth plateau
• The impact of burnout and shifting business models
• Growth Strategy #1: Could a ChatGPT-powered tool be a game-changer for growth?
• Growth Strategy #2: The untapped potential of YouTube and short-form content
• Growth Strategy #3: Why LinkedIn could be a goldmine for audience engagement
• Growth Strategy #4: The power of a content flywheel
• Growth Strategy #5: Collaboration and partnerships: The power of teaming up
• Growth Strategy #6: The hidden power of Reddit
• Growth Strategy #7: Customizing and creating a powerful referral program
• How to convert more subscribers to community members
• Balancing creating vs. selling as a content creator
• Ways to promote Ben's paid membership
• Ben's final decision on our growth strategies

LINKS MENTIONED

• Ben's website: benlcollins.com
• Ben Collins' GIR Deep Dive: Article || Video
• Growth In Reverse PRO Community
• Check out past Growth In Reverse Deep Dives: https://growthinreverse.com/archive

FOLLOW ON SOCIAL

• Chenell: Twitter | LinkedIn | Bluesky
• Dylan: LinkedIn | Bluesky

OUR NEWSLETTERS

• growthinreverse.com
• growthcurrency.net

Subscribe & Leave a Review:

Love what you’re hearing? Make sure to subscribe, and if you found this episode helpful, leave us a rating & review on your favorite podcast platform!

Thanks to Tim Forkin for editing these episodes.

Ben Collins has built a successful business and a newsletter with over 50k subscribers that earns him a comfortable living. Later this week, Dylan and I talk to Ben about how he can continue to grow the newsletter and get over the growth plateau he's currently facing.

Get 75+ Growth Levers used by top newsletters: https://growthinreverse.com/gll/
Join a community of others building their newsletters: https://growthinreverse.com/pro/

***

LINKS MENTIONED
• Ben's newsletter and website: https://www.benlcollins.com/
• Ben's deep dive: https://growthinreverse.com/ben-collins/
• Check out ALL the Growth In Reverse Deep Dives → https://growthinreverse.com/archive/

***

Subscribe to the Podcast 👇
• See all podcast episodes: https://growthinreverse.com/podcast/
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/growth-in-reverse/id1781118823
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5jVjX6RUEFy3vlfr8RGxlF

***

Connect with Chenell:
→ https://www.linkedin.com/in/chenellco/
→ https://bsky.app/profile/growthinreverse.com
→ https://x.com/chenellco
📬 https://growthinreverse.com

Could these small changes have a 10x impact on your newsletter's success?

Chenell & Dylan reveal 15+ little newsletter changes you can make today that could have massive results.

→ Take your newsletter to the next level with GIR Pro >>
→ Get free access to 75+ newsletter Growth Levers here >>

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The minimalist landing page tip that can help boost conversions
• 9 small ways to improve your welcome email—and increase engagement
• The missed opportunity with “almost there” & "thank-you" pages
• Referral programs: a simple way to make them work
• Cross-promotions without the hassle: a set-it-and-forget-it approach
• Smart ways to monetize, even with a small audience
• Retention strategies: keep your subscribers engaged and coming back
• ...and more!

DEEP DIVES & LINKS MENTIONED

• Jake Carrol's newsletter
• Dru Riley
• Growth.design
• Mark Manson's 'Subscribed' page
• CJ Gustavson (Mostly Metrics)
• Ali Abouelatta
• David Elikwu's The Knowledge
• Subject line ChatGPT Bot
• Headline & Subject line analyzer
• Growth In Reverse PRO Community
• Check out past Growth In Reverse Deep Dives: https://growthinreverse.com/archive

FOLLOW ON SOCIAL

• Chenell: Twitter | LinkedIn | Bluesky
• Dylan: LinkedIn | Bluesky

OUR NEWSLETTERS

• growthinreverse.com
• growthcurrency.net

Subscribe & Leave a Review:

Love what you’re hearing? Make sure to subscribe, and if you found this episode helpful, leave us a rating & review on your favorite podcast platform!

Thanks to Tim Forkin for editing these episodes.

"Collaborations are not optional. They’re the fastest way to grow a newsletter.” — Aakash Gupta, Product Growth

Chenell & Dylan sit down with Aakash Gupta of the Product Growth newsletter in this episode.

When Chenell researched & wrote her GIR Deep Dive on Aakash last year, he had just hit 100k subscribers. He's now grown to over 150k subscribers, publishes multiple times per week—and started a new podcast this past August. Aakash shares how he's grown his newsletter, where he focuses his energy, and how he manages the massive amount of content he's publishing.

→ Take your newsletter to the next level with GIR Pro >>
→ Get free access to 75+ newsletter Growth Levers here >>

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Aakash’s intentional strategy for creating a durable business that he loves—why he’s in it for the long haul
• The surprising role of collaborations in newsletter growth (and what Twitch creators taught him about success)
• How Aakash is "optimizing for the internal share" and why he's doubling down on the strategy
• Growth experiments: How sending more content affects paid subscriber growth
• Launching a podcast while managing a newsletter: The trade-offs, lessons, and unexpected benefits.
• Mastering SEO basics: How Aakash ensures his content stays discoverable (and what role backlinks play).
• The paid newsletter promise: Why Aakash guarantees 10x ROI—or your money back.
• What Aakash has planned for growth and product in 2025.

LINKS MENTIONED

• Aakash's Product Growth newsletter
• Aakash's website
• Aakash's Book (Amazon.com)
• Aakash Gupta GIR Deep Dive: Article || Video
• Growth In Reverse PRO Community
• Check out past Growth In Reverse Deep Dives: https://growthinreverse.com/archive

FOLLOW ON SOCIAL

• Chenell: Twitter | LinkedIn | Bluesky
• Dylan: LinkedIn | Bluesky

OUR NEWSLETTERS

• growthinreverse.com
• growthcurrency.net

Subscribe & Leave a Review:

Love what you’re hearing? Make sure to subscribe, and if you found this episode helpful, leave us a rating & review on your favorite podcast platform!

Thanks to Tim Forkin for editing these episodes.

In 3 years, Aakash Gupta went from 0 to over 300k followers, 105k email subscribers, and $624k in annual revenue. This is a walkthrough of a deep dive I wrote into his growth story, which you can read here: https://growthinreverse.com/aakash-gupta/

On Wednesday, we're releasing the full interview with Aakash Gupta here, so stay tuned!

"I made $2,000 with a newsletter list of only 3,000 subscribers."

In this episode of the Growth In Reverse podcast, Chenell & Dylan sit down with Justin Moore and discuss how to nail brand sponsorships. Justin is the founder of Creator Wizard where he coaches creators to earn more with their brand deals. He has also written and pre-launched his book on the same topic called Sponsor Magnet.

→ Take your newsletter to the next level with GIR Pro >>
→ Get free access to 75+ newsletter Growth Levers here >>

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Justin's journey: From YouTube husband to sponsorship expert.
• A lesson in newsletter nurturing: How Justin lost 97% of his email list.
• Unscalable tactics that worked: Personalized outreach with a twist.
• The power of niching down: Why Justin pivoted to sponsorships exclusively.
• How to send more emails but limit unsubscribes: advice for Justin's newsletter churn issue.
• Justin's secret to long-term newsletter growth.
• How Justin landed a $2,000 newsletter sponsorship—with only 3k subscribers.
• Justin's A.R.C. framework for building creative sponsorship packages that sell.

LINKS MENTIONED

• Justin Moore GIR Deep Dive
• CreatorWizard.com
• SponsorMagnet.com
• Sponsor Audit Tool
• 10K Book Presale Challenge
• Sponsor Games (Live Event)
• Growth In Reverse PRO Community
• Check out ALL the Growth In Reverse Deep Dives: https://growthinreverse.com/archive

FOLLOW ON SOCIAL

• Chenell: Twitter | LinkedIn | Bluesky
• Dylan: Twitter | LinkedIn | Bluesky

OUR NEWSLETTERS

• growthinreverse.com
• growthcurrency.net

Subscribe & Leave a Review:

Love what you’re hearing? Make sure to subscribe, and if you found this episode helpful, leave us a rating & review on your favorite podcast platform!

Thanks to Tim Forkin for editing these episodes.