Newsletter & Email Growth: Growth In Reverse

Get the Collaboration Playbook and resources here → https://growthinreverse.com/collab-playbook/

Get the FREE Lead Magnet Guide >> growthinreverse.com/leadmagnet
Get Instant Access to the Growth Vault now >> growthinreverse.com/vault
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“Lead magnets definitely still work. I think they’re having a resurgence right now.” — Chenell Basilio
It took 60 episodes.
But we finally dedicated a full episode to lead magnets — what they are, what’s actually working right now, and what’s quietly a waste of time.
In this episode, we break down the three lead magnet formats we see winning, why “quick win” matters more than length, and how tactics like comment-to-get and pop-up newsletters can create real growth flywheels. We also talk about when lead magnets don’t make sense (yes, that’s a thing) and the simple promotion step most creators skip that could double the impact of what they’ve already built.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The “Trojan horse” that beats the “Subscribe to my newsletter” CTA
Whether or not lead magnets still work
5 keys to a creating a successful lead magnet
The most critical lead magnet mistakes to avoid
The best types of lead magnets working right now  
Chenell's number #1 tip for lead magnets
LINKS MENTIONED
The Growth Vault → 
Sam Vander Wielen Episode → 
Growth In Reverse Pro 
FOLLOW ON SOCIAL
Chenell: Twitter | LinkedIn
Dylan: LinkedIn | Substack | Instagram
OUR NEWSLETTERS
growthinreverse.com
growthcurrency.net
Subscribe & Leave a Review:
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Get Instant Access to the Growth Vault now >> growthinreverse.com/vault
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In this episode of the GIR Podcast, we're airing "cross-published" episode originally featured on Jay Clouse's Creator Science podcast.
Check out the Creator Science podcast here >>
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“If someone can Google what you wrote and get the same thing elsewhere, it’s not differentiated.” — Chenell Basilio
Chenell Basilio joins Jay Clouse on Creator Science to break down how she built Growth In Reverse into a thriving newsletter with over 35,000 subscribers.
Chenell shares the strategy behind her deep dive format, how she thinks about positioning and differentiation, why focus beats platform sprawl, and how she turned detailed research into sustainable audience growth. Jay and Chenell also discuss monetization, collaboration strategy, audience building, and what it actually takes to build a durable newsletter business.

KEY TAKEAWAYS
Why depth beats volume when building a newsletter audience
The compounding power of collaborations in niche markets
How to create “internal share” content that spreads inside companies
Why narrowing your focus accelerates newsletter growth
The difference between building an audience and building a business
How to turn research into durable newsletter content
Why distribution strategy matters more than content frequency
The real value of long-term positioning in the newsletter space
LINKS MENTIONED
Creator Science podcast
The Growth Vault
Growth In Reverse newsletter
Jay Clouse on LinkedIn
Growth In Reverse Pro 
FOLLOW ON SOCIAL
Chenell: Twitter | LinkedIn
Dylan: LinkedIn | Substack | Instagram
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.

Get the FREE Growth Levers Library: growthinreverse.com/growth-levers-library/
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“Most people underestimate how long it takes for anything meaningful to happen.” — Matt Paulson, MarketBeat
Matt Paulson is the founder of MarketBeat, one of the largest independent financial media brands on the internet. What started as a scrappy side project eventually turned into a multi-newsletter business serving millions of investors, driven primarily by search, disciplined publishing, and long-term thinking.
In this episode, Matt walks through how MarketBeat grew over time, why newsletters became a central growth lever, how monetization evolved alongside the audience, and what most creators misunderstand about “overnight success.” This is a grounded, reality-based look at building a newsletter business that lasts.

KEY TAKEAWAYS
Why Matt believes most newsletter creators reach for paid growth far too early
The channel Matt actively avoided for years, even as others obsessed over it
The two most important metrics Matt pays attention to
MarketBeat's sign-up flow that earns back paid growth spend 
The surprising channel Matt is most bullish on today and why it prints money
What “organic growth” actually looked like when it wasn’t glamorous
How MarketBeat evaluated channels based on profit, not attention
The point where “more traffic” stopped being the goal
What Matt would double down on today if starting from zero

LINKS MENTIONED
MarketBeat.com
MattPaulson.com
MarketBeat YouTube Channel
NewMediaSummit.com (use GIR20 for 20% off your ticket)
Take your newsletter to the next level with Chenell & Dylan — join GIR Pro today
All of Chenell's Free Content → 
FOLLOW ON SOCIAL
Chenell: Twitter | LinkedIn
Dylan: LinkedIn | Substack | Instagram
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.

This is a clip from the FULL GIR episode with Tom Orbach:
SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3LiScMzoSsoyASlymH8vC6
YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vD-xde5kQ4Q
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How do you launch a paid Substack newsletter earning $50,000—without a long pre-launch, teaser campaign, or complicated funnel?
And all this while working a full-time job?
In this Growth In Reverse podcast clip, Tom Orbach breaks down exactly how he launched the paid version of his Substack newsletter after nearly two years of publishing for free—and why simply announcing it to his list worked so well.

You’ll hear how Tom:

→ Designed a paid Substack offer people couldn’t price per email
→ Ran a surprise-style launch without warming up his audience
→ Used multiple emails (not just one) to drive conversions
→ Signed up 500+ paid subscribers before publishing his first paywalled post
LINKS MENTIONED
Tom's 3 Big Growth Levers & Launch Plan
The Full GIR Episode with Tom Orbach
Tom's newsletter — MarketingIdeas.com
Tom's 3 Big Growth Levers & Launch Plan
NewMediaSummit.com (use GIR20 for 20% off your ticket)
Take your newsletter to the next level with Chenell & Dylan — join GIR Pro today
All of Chenell's Free Content → 
FOLLOW ON SOCIAL
Chenell: Twitter | LinkedIn
Dylan: LinkedIn | Substack | Instagram
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