Growth In Reverse: Newsletter & Email Growth

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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 list" has helped her earn over $9M in total revenue since starting her business in 2017. And she's done it with a small team and a replicable funnel strategy most creators could copy. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS
Why she decided to walk away from strategies that “should” work — and what happened after
The $100k turning point that reshaped how she runs her business
How she blends storytelling with practical education to keep readers engaged
How her newsletter fuels her entire content ecosystem
What creators misunderstand about legal protections (and how to fix it)
Why she believes the boring stuff is actually the growth engine
The platform she almost abandoned — and why she came back stronger
Her advice for creators chasing growth but ignoring long-term sustainability
LINKS MENTIONED
Sam's website
Sam's book: When I Start My Business I'll Be Happy
Sam's Socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube
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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 your newsletter.
In this episode, I break down why cross-promotions are one of the most underrated newsletter growth strategies, share the real numbers from last year's 30 Days of Growth (3,714 signups, 1,757 new subscribers, 77% open rates), and announce what's coming for year 2 - including the creators, the prizes, and how to get in.
Sign up for free at 30daysofgrowth.co
Creators featured this year include Dave Gerhardt, Katelyn Bourgoin, Justin Welsh, Sam Vander Wielen, Daniel Bustamante, and many more.
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