E38: Want to know how the top 0.1% of creators grow their newsletter? Today, we’re joined by Chenell Basilio, the creator behind Growth in Reverse.
Growth in Reverse is a newsletter that deep dives into newsletter creators with over 50,000 subscribers. Chenell spends over 40 hours per week researching one creator each week.
During my conversation with Chenell, she didn’t hold anything back.
On today’s episode, you’ll learn:
- What Chenell’s Research Process Looks Like
- How to Build Your Tribe of Like-Minded Creators
- How Chenell Has Built Her Audience Growth Flywheel
- 5 Types of Newsletter Formats That Chenell Recommends
Let's get down to business!
***
SPONSOR:
I love using Riverside.fm to record all guest interviews like this one with Chenell Basilio. Try it out 100% free here and when you're ready, use the code FIRSTCLASS to get 20% off any paid plan.
***
EXCERPTS:
Building Connections: "But from the outside looking in, it looks like you had them before or you got lucky or something like that. But it's really just like a consistency of showing up week after week and creating consistently that people will start to notice you and, you know, you create those relationships."
— Chenell Basilio (22:22)
Growing your Social Channels with Twitter: "The power of spending 2 to 3 hours a day on Twitter, like, constant find these people, engage with them, share their stuff, and then they're gonna return the favor eventually once they see you there enough."
— Chenell Basilio (31:51)
Maximizing Audience Reach: "Getting in front of those other audiences is really, really important."
— Chenell Basilio (34:59)
***
TOPICS:
[00:05:36] How Chenell Found Her Unique Niche
[00:13:04] How Chenell Leverages Popular Creators for Exposure on Twitter
[00:18:05] Explanation of Chenell's Deep Dive Research Process
[00:22:22] How Newsletter Creators Create Distribution
[00:27:11] 5 Categories of Newsletter Formats for Creators
[00:29:37] Creators Need: Consistency, Quality, and Niche
[00:33:00] Expand Audience with New Verticals
***
LINKS:
Chenell Basilio on Twitter
JOIN: First Class Founders Premium Membership
DOWNLOAD: Hyper-Visuals For Our Episodes (Free)
***
FOLLOW / REVIEW:
- Follow
- Leave 5-star review
***
CONNECT W/ YONG-SOO:
- X
- Threads
- LinkedIn
- Newsletter
***
First Class Founders is a show for indie hackers, bootstrapped founders, CEOs, solopreneurs, content creators, startup entrepreneurs, and SaaS startups covering topics like build in public, audience growth, product marketing, scaling up, side hustles, holding company, etc.
Past guests include Arvid Kahl, Tyler Denk, Noah Kagan, Clint Murphy, Jay Abraham, Andrew Gazdecki, Matt McGarry, Nick Huber, Khe Hy, and more.
Episode you might like:
Future of Newsletters with Tyler Denk, Founder & CEO at Beehiiv
From Zero to 100K Subscribers: How to Grow Your Newsletter like a Pro with Newsletter Growth Expert Matt McGarry
...
First Class Founders: Creators | Solopreneurs | Personal HoldCo