newsletter math

The subscriber acquisition funnel I’m running right now looks like this:

- Ad
- Sign-up page
- Recommendations
- Thank You Page offer

It’s almost at break even…

Which means I’m paying close to $0 to acquire new subscribers.

One or two more optimizations will push it over the edge and maybe even into profitability.

Then everything I sell inside the newsletter on the backend becomes pure profit.

Pretty cool, right?

But you may be wondering…

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“How exactly does the math shake out? What numbers should I be shooting for?”

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And if that’s the case…

Then listen closely, my young Padawan…

Because I’m about to tell you.

First things first:

Let’s say you’re paying $2 a subscriber on the front end.

That means 100 subscribers will cost you $200.

Now, recommendations are the first step towards liquidating your ad costs.

And in my experience, you can expect to earn anywhere from $0.50 to $1 per subscriber.

If we take the low end, that knocks $50 off.

(100 subscribers x $0.50 = $50)

Next up is your Thank You Page offer.

If you’re selling a $27 offer like me, then you need it to convert around 5%.

Because 5 sales x $27 = $135

Between those two things, you’ve now recouped $185 of your $200.

How do you get the rest back?

There are multiple paths to breakeven:

- Adding an order bump
- Adding an upsell
- Improving the conversion rate

Ideally, you do all of the above.

Keep in mind these are conservative estimates.

But that’s what the equation looks like.

Simple, not easy.

As with so many things in life and business.

Anyway, hopefully this dispels some of the mystery.

I’m looking to work 1-on-1 with a few people in the fall to help them set this funnel up for themselves.

If that sounds interesting, feel free to reply and let me know.

I’m happy to put your name down on the wait list.

Jim Hamilton