👉 Paul-Louis Valat is the acquisition marketer at Plezi, a marketing automation solution for marketers.
👉 In this episode, we discuss Paul-Louis experience of spending $8,521 on newsletter placements and securing users for $52 per B2B user.
Why newsletter ads?
Reach targeted, engaged communities.
Particularly effective for products with a clear value proposition conveyable in just a few sentences.
How to run a newsletter ad campaign🎯
How to find newsletters
Look for newsletters on platforms like Substack (😁) and reach out to creators via LinkedIn or email.
Include a brief pitch explaining why your product is a good fit and ask for their media kit (if they have one).
Agree on price and placement before working on the ad copy.
Newsletter selection
Subscribe and read the newsletters + check their social media to gauge the level of engagement and professionalism.
Understand ad costs
Paul-Louis spent around $250 per ad for newsletters with less than 10,000 subscribers.
Approx. $800 per placement in newsletters with 10,000+ subscribers, with the cost per ad coming in at around $1,000 to $2,000.
The type of placement affects costs. See details below.
Types of newsletter ad placements
Main sponsor placements in the intro can be more expensive but may stand out more to readers,
Basic sponsor placements in the body of the newsletter can also be effective.
Sponsored-only placements, which are generally cheaper, can be less engaging but can still be useful for sharing links.
Placement frequency
Plezi runs ads quarterly, targeting 2 newsletters per month.
Test different newsletters to find the right creators and targeting.
How to write newsletter ads
Include a headline, 300-character text, call-to-action, and optional image.
Seek feedback from the newsletter creator or ask them to write the ad.
Tips for better ad performance
Make sure the value proposition is clear.
Aim for a conversion rate baseline of around 10%.
Ask feedback from other marketers to test.
Ensure audience-offer alignment of your value proposition and newsletter.
Key lessons learned
The sweet spot for newsletter ad campaigns was between 5k and 10k subscribers.
Be careful assuming that bigger newsletters are always more effective.
Don’t reuse the same ad copy if you repeat the placement on the same newsletter.
How to start
Test with 4 different newsletters to start.
Find creator/audience fit. Fine tune your campaigns.
Scale up from there.
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How to acquire users with newsletter ads | Paul-Louis Valat