Starting a newsletter in 2025 feels like showing up to a party five hours late and bringing potato salad. Everyone’s already here, everyone’s already doing it, and you’re standing there with your sad little bowl of mayo-slop wondering why no one’s signing up.

But here’s the deal, newsletters aren’t dead. Bad newsletters are. And chances are, if you’re thinking of starting one, yours is probably going to suck.

So let’s fix that.

Step 1: Have Something to Say (That People Actually Give a Sh*t About)

You’d be shocked how many people start newsletters without ever asking themselves the most important question:

“Why should anyone care?”

If your newsletter is basically a glorified diary entry or a collection of your “curated thoughts,” congrats, you’ve created something for your mom and no one else.

Instead, focus on what value you’re giving. Are you solving a problem? Offering insight no one else has? Making people laugh, cry, or curse out loud at their screen in a good way?

If not, stop. Rethink it. Then write again.

Step 2: Pick a Platform (Spoiler: It Doesn’t Matter That Much)

Substack, Beehiiv, ConvertKit, Mailchimp, whatever. You’ll waste three days reading Reddit threads comparing them and still end up just picking the one with the prettiest buttons.

Pick one, get started, and change it later if you hate it.

Don’t get stuck in tech purgatory. It’s just a newsletter. Not a nuclear launch sequence.

Step 3: Write Like a Human (Not a Corporate Robot)

You don’t need to sound “professional.” You need to sound interesting.

Be conversational. Swear a little if that’s your thing. Be blunt, be weird, be whoever the hell you are. The internet is already drowning in beige, personality-less sludge. Don’t add to it.

People subscribe to people — not perfect prose.

Step 4: Publish Consistently (Even When It Sucks)

Here’s the ugly truth: nobody will care about your newsletter at first. Zero opens, zero clicks, zero dopamine. And that’s normal.

The trick? Keep going anyway.

Build a habit. Weekly. Biweekly. Hell, even monthly if that’s your speed. Just pick a rhythm and stick to it. Like the gym, you get results by showing up, not by crushing one epic leg day every six months.

Step 5: Shamelessly Promote Yourself (Without Being a Douche)

You’re not above self-promotion. Nobody is. If you’ve made something useful or entertaining, tell people.

Use social media. Plug your newsletter in your blog posts. Add a sign-up link to your email signature. Ask your friends (nicely) to check it out. Just don’t spam like it’s 2004.

And for the love of bandwidth, give them a reason to care, what’s in it for them?

Step 6: Be Patient (This Is Not a Get-Rich-Quick Scheme)

Most newsletters don’t take off overnight. It’s not a magic faucet that pours out thousands of subscribers after two issues.

Your first 100 subscribers will feel like climbing Everest. Your first 1,000? Like colonizing Mars.

But guess what? The longer you stick around, the fewer competitors you’ll have, because most people quit.

If you’re good, consistent, and authentic, readers will come. Not all at once. But enough.

Final Thought: Make It Matter

Starting a newsletter isn’t just about writing stuff and hitting send. It’s about building something meaningful in a world obsessed with the shallow.

Your inbox is sacred ground. If someone lets you in, earn that trust. Don’t waste it with fluff, clickbait, or narcissistic brain dumps.

Say something that matters. Do it often. And one day, your sad little potato salad will turn into a full-blown feast people line up for.

You’re welcome.