📈 The Simple Email Sequence Every Newsletter Should Have in Place

Today, I’m giving you a simple email sequence you can build to:

• Drive higher open rates 📈

• Build more authority + trust 🤝 

• Compress the timeline before someone buys 💰️

Note: Even if you’re a sponsorship-driven newsletter, you can apply this to drive higher engagement (opens, clicks).

Helpful Links 🔗 

• 🤠 Come hang with us at the Newsletter Marketing Summit in TX in Feb (link)

• 🚀 The most comprehensive resource I’ve come across for writing email sequences that sell (link)

• 💼 a16z + YC request for startups 2025 (link)

• 👀 ICYMI: iOS 18 Updates to Mail: What Every Newsletter Operator Needs To Know And Do (link)

• 🛠️ Our favorite newsletter tools: beehiiv (ESP), Descript (video editing), Sparkloop (growth & monetization), Typedream (custom landing pages), ElevenLabs (AI voiceovers), Sponsy (managing sponsorship operations)*

_{*These are affiliate links}

The Simple Email Sequence Every Newsletter Should Have in Place 📨 

A few months back, I wrote about a newsletter funnel to land high-ticket clients.

It looked like this at a high level:

• Meta ads ⤵️ 

• Landing page ⤵️

• Welcome survey ⤵️

• Thank you page ⤵️

• Welcome sequence ⤵️

• Booked calls + clients landed 💰️ 

Today, I’m linking the two bolded pieces above with these two principles:

1. You can predict how engaged a new subscriber will be within your first 4 email sends.

2. If you can get people to open your first 4 emails (and those 4 emails overwhelm them with value), good things happen.

This sequence should:

• Drive higher open rates

• Build more authority + trust

• Compress how long it takes someone to buy from you

Plus, it only takes 1-2 hours to set up.

Then, it runs in the background working for you…forever.

First, the philosophy. Then, the process. 👇️ 

Create, Then Capture 💡 

The money you make will never outpace the value you’ve created for your audience.

Create value. Capture value. In that order.

• Create: Create value by creating content that benefits your audience. People won’t pay you to help them if your free content hasn’t helped them first.

• Capture: Creating value is like depositing future money in your bank account. Capturing it is like making a withdrawal. Capturing the value is how you monetize.

The more value you create, the more value you can capture.

The Big Idea 💡 

Here’s the simple playbook:

1. Survey: Figure out what would be valuable to your subscribers (at the point of subscription)

2. Free Value: Based on their unique survey answers, send them valuable resources for free (the more valuable, the better)

3. Paid value: Offer them paid products/services that help them solve their problem at a deeper level

Fictional Example:

1. Survey: Someone subscribes to a newsletter about newsletters. Survey response tells you they haven’t started their newsletter yet because they’re trying to decide which ESP is best.

2. Free Value: Email #1 walks them through the top 3 ESPs they should consider, outlining pros and cons and making a recommendation.

(you can stop there and jump to offering paid value, but the more value you deliver first, the more you’ll build trust)

3. Free Value: Emails #2 through #5 walk them step-by-step through how to get started:

• Choosing topic + format

• Writing their first draft

• Designing their landing page

• Writing the first social media post to promote it

4. Paid Value: Email #6 describes your paid offer + how it helps them get their first 1000 email subscribers in 60 days.

That’s the idea. It can all happen within a 7 to 14-day window.

Not rocket science, but I’m surprised at how few people are doing this.

It shows people you:

• care about their problems

• know what you’re talking about

• know how to help them

(plus, if you make those first few emails personal by including stories, they might even like you..)

Plus, it’s automated.

And when you put a paid offer in front of them directly related to their stated problem, they already trust you.

Gary Vee says, Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook.

I say, Help, Help, Help, Offer to Help at a Deeper Level In Exchange for Money.

(the title of my next book ^)

What You Need 🛠️ 

This idea works with any ESP, but it’s easiest + cheapest to set up on beehiiv.

With other platforms, you’ll likely need a third-party survey software (think typeform, youform or RightMessage) and you would have to set up integrations on Make or Zapier.

If you’re deciding where to start your newsletter, I recommend doing it on beehiiv.

The Process 🤔 

Step 1: Find out what your subscribers need help with.

Ask questions that help you understand their:

• Biggest problem

• Greatest desire related to your niche

Here are some examples of questions you could ask:

• What's your single biggest challenge with [newsletter topic] right now?

• What motivated you to subscribe to this newsletter?

• What's one specific outcome you're hoping to achieve in the next 3 months related to [newsletter topic]?

• If you could have one question about [newsletter topic] answered right now, what would it be?

• What have you already tried to solve your challenges with [newsletter topic], and why hasn't it worked?

Struggling to come up with questions or multiple choice options? Use this prompt with ChatGPT or Claude:

Remember these survey recommendations:

• Use mainly closed ended, multiple-choice questions

• Ask no more than 5-7 questions total

• Don’t be afraid to ask direct questions around income, assets, etc. if relevant

• Max of 1 open-ended question (make it optional and make it the final question)

• Find out their biggest problem/pain point/struggle

Step 2: Solve a tangible problem for your audience for free.

In the example above, you can help an aspiring newsletter operator choose their ESP.

What’s a micro-problem you can solve for your audience?

Typically, you can create a light version of your paid offer.

It should be so good that resourceful people could use just your content to solve their problem.

Then, for people who don’t have the time to implement what you suggest, your service will make a lot of sense.

Step 3: Make the offer to help.

A lot of people get weird around selling.

But selling is serving (if you actually help people get a result they want).

I noticed you are experiencing X problem. Do you want help with that?

Summary 🧠 

1. Survey: Figure out what would help you audience

2. Free Value: Give them valuable resources for free (repeat)

3. Paid value: Offer them paid products/services that help them solve their problem at a deeper level

It’s simple, automated, and can be worked on iteratively.

Start with a survey + one valuable resource or email for free. Then, layer on more as you go.

Cheers,

Isaac + Kieran 🫡 

P.S. If you’re ready to invest $4k+ per month on growth, book a call here with the two guys pictured above 🫡

We just onboarded this client a month ago and this is how it’s going..

P.P.S. Want a Power Hour with us? Book time here and we’ll answer any questions you have and tell you how to improve your:

1. Value proposition

2. Ad metrics (Meta ads manager audit + ad performance)

3. Ad creative + copy

4. Landing page design + copy

5. Welcome survey

6. Thank-you page

7. Welcome sequence

8. Audience segmentation