Gain freedom from the algorithm by building your own platform.

To grow as a creator and sell products, social media is key. Yet, your own platform is equally important. It lets you set the rules, free from algorithm reliance.

I've helped over 15 clients set up basic email systems with newsletters and personalization. None of them wanted to wait any longer with this.

In this letter, I will guide you through setting up a simple email and newsletter system, keeping it straightforward.

Your Own Platform

The competition for attention grows rapidly on the big social platforms. Social media platforms are like farmers’ markets. A few people are selling something. Far fewer are strolling and consuming. The number of sellers is increasing lately. However, it’s still nothing compared to the number of strollers and consumers.

So please don’t worry too much. But take it seriously. You need to create more personal, high-impact content online. You also need to build your own platform from the beginning. So you are truly free from the algorithm long-term. This is equally important. I’d say a priority share of 50:50.

Nobody knows how interactions will change online. Maybe social platforms are getting more decentralized. Newsletters and blogs are already decentralized. They develop innovative systems, so that creators do not need big social players anymore.

Ghost.org is documenting a very interesting project called Activity Pub. You can Google it if you are interested after reading this letter. But who knows if these projects will work? It doesn’t matter. The smartest route is to build your own platform from the start. This applies to writers, creators, or whatever you call yourself.

The big problem I have encountered with my clients is that it can get overwhelming quickly. Setting up a basic system may sound simple, but it’s not easy. You can go down the rabbit hole, which will take you a lot of time. That time is better spent making content. You should work on your reach and building your audience. Especially in the early stages of your journey.

Email is a massive tool, with enormous amounts of nuances. Picking the right ones when starting out is the challenge. But I can only encourage you to do it. It’s the smart move to deplatform from social media to your own platform. Actually, re-platform would be the better term. But you know what I mean.

Here are some more reasons why you should set up your newsletter from the beginning:

• Go deeper into ideas that worked well on social media.
• Get out your subconscious ideas.
• Don’t hide; in emails, you can write whatever you want.
• Create a cornerstone for your content each week.
• Systems run without you.
• Email is personal. It’s your platform for building relationships.

Your Goal

I will show you how to set up a regularly published (I recommend weekly) newsletter. It can serve as a cornerstone content topic or big idea for the content you publish over the week before the newsletter goes live. This makes things a little easier to stay consistent with your publishing.

The setup is simple. Try to follow me. Leave out the fancy stuff. This includes 8-part welcome sequences, personalized content, and countless automations. We will cover it later.

For now, it’s important to grow on social media, so maybe focusing on 51:49 for social growth after all. But this will change back to our 50:50. Setting up the following basic system sets you up for success later on.

5 Simple Steps

I recommend ConvertKit. When you sign up through this link and upgrade to a paid plan, I’ll get a small compensation. The price for you stays the same. You can use any email service provider for what I’m going to show you. But ConvertKit is the most versatile option out there. They do newsletters very well. Yet, the real fun comes when we start setting up personalization and sequences.

It will blow your mind at what is possible. That’s a topic for many more letters.

Your Creator Profile

In your ConvertKit dashboard, go to “Grow” → “Creator Profile”. Follow the navigation on the right side. Choose a template, tweak the colors and fonts if you like. Make it feel like you.

Leave the point “Sign Up Form” for now, it’s set up correctly already.

Activate the page “Newsletter Posts”, so visitors can see your posts as articles on your Creator Profile. You can leave the other pages for now.

As a domain name, your ck.page domain is okay.

SEO is not relevant to us at the start, so just leave it.

What should you call your newsletter? I would start with your name. If you already have an idea for a branded name for your newsletter, then go for it. You can always change it. Your readers won’t care.

Create a short and to-the-point tagline, like your profile bio on X or LinkedIn. What’s in it for the reader? What are the topics you plan to write about? When in doubt, look at the opt-in pages of your favorite newsletter writers out there. This should give you ideas for an easy start.

You’ve set up your Creator Profile now, ready to be shared online. You can also set it as a website contact on social profiles.

Your First Newsletter

I assume you haven’t written any newsletter posts yet. However, if so, you can pick one for your first post in your Creator Profile now. We don’t want to leave it empty.

Take a successful idea from your social media accounts, such as X or LinkedIn. Then, expand on it for your first newsletter. Aim for 500 to 1,000 words; it doesn’t have to be lengthy, just engaging and informative.

Now, go to “Send” → “Broadcasts” in ConvertKit. Follow the steps to set up your first newsletter. If you have zero subscribers in your account, publish the post to the Creator Profile for now. You can repurpose the piece later in another letter.

Your First Subscribers

Congratulations! You have successfully set up your Simple Email Starter Setup (just came up with this 😄).

Now it’s time to get some subscribers. Writing into the void is frustrating, knowing that nobody will open your emails. Aim for 20 people for your new newsletter.

Ask your family, friends, and contacts you already have online if they want to subscribe. Here is a template you can use:

“Hey [name]!
I have just set up my first weekly newsletter. It would mean the world to me if you could help me get started, and subscribe to it here: [link to your Creator Profile].
Thank you!
[Your name]”

When you have at least 20 people on the list, move on to the next step.

Your Social Growth

Return to content creation now. Write one weekly newsletter. Send it to your list. Build your social posts around your big idea for the week. Never stop doing this, and gather the data that comes with publishing over time.

To promote your letter well, plug the link to your Creator Profile 3–4 times per week. Do this under posts that perform well.

Your Patience

Be prepared for this to take time. A newsletter with the right people will not grow in a blink of an eye. Never stop publishing, and sharing it on your social media accounts.

Every subscriber counts. Try to get into dialogue with them. Ask them questions. Hop on calls with them. That’s powerful in the beginning. When you have a massive list of a few hundred to a few thousand subscribers, you won’t do this anymore, except you like.

Add features like personalization, long welcome sequences or evergreen newsletters later. We will cover it in my newsletter, and we’ll grow together.

I’m doing this for myself, like I explain to you here. I have a little more experience because of working with clients. But we’re in the same boat, and you can benefit from my experience and failures.

You won’t regret setting this simple system up now, I can promise you that.

If you have any questions, please let me know or book a roadmapping session with me here.

Book your roadmapping call

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That’s it for this week.

Thanks for reading!

-Wolfgang