Unplugged by Yana G. Y.

"Every writer should have a paid newsletter. Right now I believe it's the best way to grow online."

Author

Ciler Demiralp
November 17, 2024

Your go-to source for building a successful newsletter business.

Hey everyone,

Welcome back to another issue. This week, I interviewed Yana G Y, a 9-5 corporate employee and a newsletter operator with over 2,000 subscribers and 85 paid ones within just 5 months.

I share the key insights here, but, the entire interview is available on our website. Visit there to dive deep into detailed insights and level up your newsletter business.

👋 MEET THE CREATOR

Yana G. Y. has been a corporate employee for 15 years in a big tech company in Europe, where she leads product management teams covering markets in 6 countries, creating subscription-based services.

In addition to her 9-5 schedule, she also runs 3 different newsletters!

  1. Unplugged, on helping writers get started and monetized on Substack, and about writing & using AI. (on Substack)

  2. Have a GUT Time, on mastering your emotions. (on Substack)

  3. CREATIVE BiTES, on writing and making money online with AI. (on Kit)

She also builds the CREATIVETECH HUB - a place to help creators grow faster online with many tools, including AI.

She applies a lot of her business background to their newsletters, which works well for her.

In this interview, we'll look into one of her newsletters which is "Unplugged". Yana shared valuable insights with us on:

  • how she used Substack Notes and Medium to grow her audience to 2,000 subscribers

  • her learnings on paid subscriptions and how she got 85 paid members within 5 months

  • productivity hacks that help her run 3 newsletters in addition to her full-time job

  • and many more...

Enjoy!

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GOLDEN TAKEAWAYS FROM TODAY’S INTERVIEW

2 Underrated Channels for Newsletter Operators

Yana grew her audience to over 2,000 subscribers and has 85 paid members even though her newsletter Unplugged is only 5 months old!

She said the biggest growth channels she used were Substack Notes and Medium.

She gained almost 400 subscribers and 20 paid members out of 85 from her activities on these channels.

Almost half of her organic subscribers are generated from Notes and another half from recommendations.

In this issue, we’ll dive deep into the key strategies Yana used to grow her audience through different growth channels.

1. Medium as a growth channel

Yana tested and researched what worked on Medium and quickly grew as she applied what she had learned.

She continued her research and testing of strategies between March 2023 and February 2024. She built a great community there with her publication CREATIVETECH Friends, which helped her gain loyal readers.

After she imported Medium subscribers to Substack, some loyal ones immediately became paying subscribers as they already trusted Yana.

WATCHOUT: It's important to note that subscribers imported from Medium may not be as actively engaged on the platform, which could potentially impact your open rates.

“Medium really is simple: you need to write daily and stay active on the platform, building relationships with your audience.”

Yana G. Y., Unplugged

2. Substack Notes as a growth channel

Yana kept posting on Notes almost every day and engaged with others on the platform.

After she got to know more about the platform, she built strategies for growth. It’s really simple:

“All you need is just to be present and authentic there. And active – interact with others, exchange ideas, and have meaningful conversations.

It is all about community. This helps gain free subscribers and some paid ones. Right now Notes is the channel with one of the highest conversion rates.”

Yana G. Y., Unplugged

She even has some days with more than 20 new subscribers.

To convert subscribers into paid members, she:

  • Wrote consistently

  • Posted 1 note a day, at least one post every week

  • Enabled payments right from the start and paywalled the most valuable part of her writing

  • Engaged with others on the platform

  • Stayed active in chats, reading, commenting, and restacking their content, etc.

Most popular notes from Yana are generally about:

  • her audience’s pain points

  • her journey on Substack – especially Successes & Milestones and how she got there

  • topics she writes in her paywalled posts.

BONUS: Productivity hacks by Yana G. Y., who runs 3 newsletters in addition to her 9-5 job

  • Move the body 

  • Get enough sleep

  • Skip meals whenever you can 

  • Forget about sugar and white flour, limit milk 

  • Do some mindfulness (meditation, breathing, reflection) 

  • Make sure you have healthy relationships and get rid of toxicity

👉 Do you want to reach 2,800 newsletter operators & enthusiasts?

Thanks for reading, and don’t hesitate to reply if you want to contact me.

Ciler

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