Latest news with #ChelseaBrown
Entrepreneur
22-05-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
How to Get Your First 1,000 Email Subscribers
By Jonathan Herrick Edited by Chelsea Brown May 22, 2025 Here's a step-by-step system for startup founders to build their first 1,000 engaged email subscribers — without guesswork or gimmicks. Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. The digital world is saturated with social algorithms, pay-to-play platforms and constantly changing SEO strategies. However, one channel remains consistently consequential, direct and owned: email. Building an email list early on in your business development isn't just a marketing move for startup founders and business leaders; it's a smart growth strategy. Yet many wait until too late, focusing instead on social media followers or one-off ad campaigns. Email is where genuine relationships are nurtured, conversions happen and loyal communities are built. The magic number? Your first 1,000 subscribers. This isn't a vanity milestone or one I simply pulled out of nowhere — it's the start of a high-value, compounding asset. Here's a framework to get you there faster and smarter. Related: Don't Sleep on Email Marketing — Here's Why It's Still Your Business's Most Powerful Tool 1. Define who you're talking to (and why it matters) Before writing a single email or designing a signup form, answer this: Who are your ideal subscribers, and what do they want from you? You're not collecting email addresses to simply just collect them. You're doing so to start a conversation. Getting hyper-specific with your audience will be the best thing you can do to ensure those conversations are valuable. For example: A productivity app may target remote tech workers struggling with distractions. A wellness brand may target millennial parents looking for five-minute self-care tips. Once you're clear on your ideal audience, define your unique value proposition. It should answer the following questions: Why should someone join your list? What will they get in return? 2. Create an irresistible lead magnet In 2025, people won't give away their email for just a "newsletter." They want value, and they want it now. A lead magnet is a free, high-value offer that your target subscriber can receive instantly in exchange for their email. Effective lead magnets typically include: Checklists or cheat sheets Industry trend reports or whitepapers Templates or toolkits Short video tutorials or mini-courses Quizzes with personalized results Discount codes or early access (for product-led businesses) Your lead magnet should be hyper-relevant to your offer and audience. Make it: Easy to consume (no 50-page PDFs) Immediately actionable Aligned with what you plan to sell later 3. Optimize your signup experience You've got attention. Now, remove friction. Place your opt-in form or landing page where it matters most: Website homepage Blog posts with relevant content Top bar or exit-intent popups Product pages Social bios and link trees Partner content (guest blogs, webinars, etc.) Make the form frictionless: Ask only for what's essential (usually just name + email) Use persuasive microcopy ("Get the free guide" instead of "Submit") Add social proof if possible ("Join 850+ founders getting weekly growth tips") And make sure the design is clean, mobile-friendly and aligned with your brand voice. Related: These 3 Strategies Will Grow Your Email List for Free 4. Launch a welcome series that converts Your first few emails set the tone. A welcome series isn't just polite — it's strategic. Here's a simple three-email sequence to start: Email 1: Deliver the lead magnet and set expectations Introduce yourself. Explain what they'll get from your emails and how often. Email 2: Your origin story and value add Share why you started this business and how it helps them. Include a helpful tip or insight. Email 3: Social proof and soft CTA Highlight a testimonial, case study or popular product. Include a light-touch call to action (visit your website, book a call, check out your offer). This sequence helps build trust before selling — the key to sustainable growth. 5. Drive targeted traffic to fuel growth Now that your system is ready, it's time to get eyes on it. Don't wait for organic search to work; get proactive. Here are five scalable traffic sources: Organic social : Share lead magnet snippets on LinkedIn, Instagram and X. Use storytelling and pain-point content. Partnerships : Do email swaps or joint webinars with complementary businesses. Paid ads : Run low-budget tests on Meta or Google Ads with lead magnet landing pages. Communities : Engage in relevant Slack groups, subreddits and forums — share value and link to your opt-in. Content marketing: Blog posts optimized for long-tail keywords that tie into your lead magnet. Pro tip: Use UTM parameters to track which channels bring the highest-quality subscribers. 6. Segment and engage (even with a small list) You don't need 10,000 subscribers to start segmenting — you just need an intelligent system. Tag or segment based on: Source: where they signed up Behavior: what they clicked or downloaded Interest: what content they engage with Then, personalize future content, send relevant offers and nurture based on behavior. The more relevant your emails, the faster your list will grow because people will start sharing them. Related: How to Write Emails That Stick and Get Action 7. Don't just build — engage Your email list is not a vault; it's a living asset. Keep it warm. Show up consistently — whether it's weekly, bi-weekly or monthly Deliver value more often than you pitch Encourage replies (and read them) Test different types of content: behind-the-scenes stories, how-tos, Q&As, curated lists When people feel heard and helped, they stay. And they share. Reaching 1,000 subscribers isn't about overnight success. It's about setting up a repeatable, value-driven system that compounds. Once you have it, every new partnership, blog post or campaign fuels a growing engine. Email marketing isn't just a channel — it's your direct line to the people most likely to become loyal customers, fans and ambassadors. Start building that line early, and your future self (and business) will thank you.
Entrepreneur
12-05-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Why AI Makes Your Brand Voice More Valuable Than Ever
By Elle Morgan Edited by Chelsea Brown May 12, 2025 In a world where content is easier to create than ever, the brands that win will be those with something real to say. Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. The volume is deafening. We're living in a content gold rush. Blog posts, sales decks, video scripts, entire product launch campaigns — AI can produce them all in seconds. It's tempting to think we've solved the problem of content creation. But a harder truth is emerging for anyone paying attention: Sameness is the new silence. Open your inbox. Browse LinkedIn. Run a Google search. You'll notice it. Everything sounds right. But very little feels right. The writing is polished, the structure is tight, and the value props are clear. Yet, very little of it stands out. That's not a production problem. That's a meaning problem. And it's exactly why original, human-centered content (what's being called "OG content") is becoming the most valuable differentiator a brand can own. Related: This Is the Well-Kept Secret to Writing Compelling Original Content When speed becomes a commodity, voice becomes a moat AI is making content easier, faster and cheaper. That's not the threat. That's the floor. The real risk is what happens when every company uses the same tools, trained on the same data, answering the same prompts. It's how you end up with a sea of content that's technically correct and strategically forgettable. Which brings us to the paradox: In an age of AI, human creativity becomes more valuable, not less. Your brand voice. Your founder's story. The hard-won lessons behind your product roadmap. These aren't just nice-to-haves. They're irreplicable assets, uniquely yours and uniquely defensible. Consider the brands you trust today. They aren't winning because they publish more. They're winning because they say something real. Something that reflects who they are, why they exist and how they deliver. AI can scale your content. But only you can shape your story. The algorithm shift — from SEO to AIO Search is changing. Fast. Large Language Models like Gemini, Claude and ChatGPT are beginning to replace traditional Google queries for high-intent users. And they're doing something SEO never could: synthesizing insights across sources, not just surfacing links. That means your content is competing not only on page one but also for visibility in the summary. As Sydney Sloan said in a recent keynote, "We're entering the age of AIO (AI Optimization). Not just writing for humans, but writing in a way that AI recognizes as uniquely valuable." So, how do you make your content stand out in that world? You go back to what the machines can't fake: Personal perspective Proprietary data Polarizing takes Firsthand experience Original content isn't just good brand practice. It's an AI visibility strategy. Case in point: Letterdrop vs. the rest Take Letterdrop, an AI-powered content ops tool. On paper, it's one of dozens in a crowded market. But scan their content library, and you'll see something different. Their founder, Parthi Loganathan, doesn't just publish thought leadership. He publishes field notes. Real lessons from helping GTM teams streamline content production and align with sales. The result? Top-ranking pages across competitive keywords and a LinkedIn presence outperforming larger players. Why? Because the content isn't just optimized. It's owned. That's the future. AI can give you velocity. But velocity without voice is noise. Related: How to Handle Content Saturation — A Guide to Standing Out in a Sea of Information Why your story matters more than your stack Every brand talks about differentiation. Few actually demonstrate it. Especially when growth slows, budgets tighten, and marketers are asked to justify every dollar spent. It's during those moments that brand building often takes a back seat. But here's the truth: When the market gets more crowded, your point of view becomes your most critical asset. Not your features. Not your pricing model. Your belief system. Above all, people buy from brands they believe in. That belief is built over time, through consistency, conviction and candor. It's built when you show up, not with recycled tips or generic advice, but with your truth. The messy, valuable, uniquely lived truth that can only come from your team, your journey and your customers. OG content is built, not batched Let's be clear: There's nothing wrong with AI-generated content. In fact, the world's best marketers are using it every day to brainstorm, summarize and repurpose. But the most effective content engines start with something deeper: original inputs. Think of it as a flywheel: You publish real stories: customer wins, product bets, founder philosophies. You turn those into long-form content, then atomize it across channels. You use AI to scale distribution, but the core insight stays human. This approach doesn't just improve quality. It protects brand equity. Because in a world where content is commoditized, the most scarce (and valued) resource isn't speed. It's substance. The ROI of voice: What the data says 91% of B2B buyers say they're more likely to engage with brands that publish content that's both educational and original Posts with firsthand experience or personal POVs see up to 4x more engagement on LinkedIn than generic tips or how-tos Companies that lead with values-forward messaging grow 2.5x faster, according to Edelman's Trust Barometer These aren't just vanity metrics. They're signals of resonance. Because when everyone is talking, the brands breaking through the noise will be those speaking from experience. What comes next? So, where do we go from here? The future isn't content or AI. It's content and AI: grounded in truth, scaled with intelligence and delivered with care. As LLMs evolve, expect three shifts: Narrative equity will become the new SEO — original frameworks, coined terms and lived expertise will rise to the top of AI summaries Brand as newsroom will reemerge — not just content calendars, but editorial ops that source stories from across your org Founder and employee-led content will outperform polished brand posts — people want faces, not logos In this new world, volume isn't the variable. Voice is. Related: How to Be Interesting When Everything Has Already Been Said Final word: Real > robotic There's the famous line from author and optimist, Simon Sinek, that bears repeating: "People don't buy what you do. They buy, why do you do it?" That truth has never been more urgent. AI can replicate tone. It can mimic structure. But it can't fake care. And it certainly can't tell your story for you. So, write the post your intern couldn't. Publish the insight your competitor won't. Share the lesson your customer needs. Because the brands that invest in originality today will own the conversation tomorrow. Not just in the feed. But in the hearts and minds of the people who matter most.
