We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

[This is a replay from our conversation with Sam Vander Wielen from September 2025]

“All roads point to the email list." — Sam Vander Wielen, Sam's Sidebar

In this episode, we interview Sam Vander Wielen—a lawyer-turned-creator who has sold over $9M in legal templates with a 50k-subscriber newsletter. 

Sam shares how her motto of "All roads point to the email list" has helped her earn over $9M in total revenue since starting her business in 2017. And she's done it with a small team and a replicable funnel strategy most creators could copy. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Why she decided to walk away from strategies that “should” work — and what happened after
• The $100k turning point that reshaped how she runs her business
• How she blends storytelling with practical education to keep readers engaged
• How her newsletter fuels her entire content ecosystem
• What creators misunderstand about legal protections (and how to fix it)
• Why she believes the boring stuff is actually the growth engine
• The platform she almost abandoned — and why she came back stronger
• Her advice for creators chasing growth but ignoring long-term sustainability

LINKS MENTIONED

• Sam's website
• Sam's book: When I Start My Business I'll Be Happy
• Sam's Socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube
• Ask us a question or submit a podcast topic idea: growthinreverse.com/questions
• Get Chenell's brand-new course: The Growth Vault — newsletter templates, growth strategies, and real examples you can implement at your own pace.
• Growth In Reverse PRO Community
• Want your newsletter roasted? Submit it here. 
• Check out past Growth In Reverse Deep Dives: https://growthinreverse.com/archive/

FOLLOW ON SOCIAL

• Chenell: Twitter | LinkedIn | Substack
• Dylan: LinkedIn | Bluesky

OUR NEWSLETTERS

• growthinreverse.com
• growthcurrency.net

Subscribe & Leave a Review:

If you found this episode valuable, take a second to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! It helps more newsletter creators find the show. Plus, if you submit a review, you’ll get priority for your own newsletter roast!

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

If 30 top creators handed you their best newsletter growth tactic, for free, would you take it? Of course you would!

I'm excited to share that we are launching 30 Days of Growth (Part 2!) on April 20th. If you missed last year's event, you don't want to miss it again. Each day I'll be sending you 1 tip you can use to improve or grow your newsletter.

In this episode, I break down why cross-promotions are one of the most underrated newsletter growth strategies, share the real numbers from last year's 30 Days of Growth (3,714 signups, 1,757 new subscribers, 77% open rates), and announce what's coming for year 2 - including the creators, the prizes, and how to get in.

Sign up for free at 30daysofgrowth.co
Creators featured this year include Dave Gerhardt, Katelyn Bourgoin, Justin Welsh, Sam Vander Wielen, Daniel Bustamante, and many more.

Sign up: 30daysofgrowth.co
Growth In Reverse newsletter: growthinreverse.com
Growth In Reverse Pro community: growthinreverse.com/pro/

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

NOTE: This is a rerun of an episode we published in September 2025. But just because it's a rerun doesn't mean it ain't still a banger 💥

--------------------------------------

“One of the worst things you can do is send new subscribers to a dead-end thank you page. That kills engagement immediately." — Chenell

We're breaking down the most overlooked (yet critical) part of growing a newsletter: onboarding new subscribers.

We'll take you through Chenell's 3-step onboarding process every newsletter creator should have in place—and show how to optimize each for higher engagement, deliverability, and long-term retention. 

We also tease an advanced 5-step version and share examples from top creators like Katelyn Bourgoin, Tom Alder, and Eddie Shleyner. Whether you’re just starting out or already running a large newsletter, you’ll learn how to avoid common pitfalls and set up onboarding that actually works.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The 3 Cs of a high-converting landing page
• Why default Thank-you pages kill engagement (and what to do instead)
• How "sniper links" can push new subscribers directly into their inbox to find your email
• The #1 mistake welcome emails make
• The most important job your welcome email has
• A simple incentive trick to encourage replies
• The difference between a “true” and “false” double opt-in
• How (and why) to include surveys in your onboarding
• What top creators do with their “almost there” pages to hook new subscribers

LINKS MENTIONED

• The Growth Vault →
• Katelyn Bourgoin's Why We Buy landing page →
• Eddie Shleyner's 'Social Proof Avalanche' →
• Tom Alder's Strategy Breakdowns → 
• Growth.Design →
• Senja →
• RightMessage →
• Growth In Reverse PRO Community →
• Want your newsletter roasted? Submit it here. 
• Ask us a question or submit a podcast topic idea: growthinreverse.com/questions
• Check out past Growth In Reverse Deep Dives: https://growthinreverse.com/archive/

FOLLOW ON SOCIAL

• Chenell: Twitter | LinkedIn | Substack
• Dylan: LinkedIn | Substack | Bluesky 

OUR NEWSLETTERS

• growthinreverse.com
• growthcurrency.net

Subscribe & Leave a Review:

If you found this episode valuable, take a second to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! It helps more newsletter creators find the show. Plus, if you submit a review, you’ll get priority for your own newsletter roast!

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

Get the Growth Levers Library FREE >> growthinreverse.com/growth-levers-library

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

Get Chenell's step-by-step breakdown of Jonathan Goodman's Lead Magnet Strategy: https://growthinreverse.com/jon-content-loops/

We start the next round of 30 Days of Growth on April 20th, you can join to get access when it's live here: https://30daysofgrowth.co/?source=youtube

***

Lead Magnet Episode (Part 1) >> 

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

Get the slides + the awesome bonuses → growthinreverse.com/nms-2026/

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

Get the Happy Subscribers Formula for more newsletter opens, clicks AND replies → growthinreverse.com/happy-subscribers/?ref=podcast-shownotes 

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

Get the Collaboration Playbook and resources here → https://growthinreverse.com/collab-playbook/

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

Get the FREE Lead Magnet Guide >> growthinreverse.com/leadmagnet

Get Instant Access to the Growth Vault now >> growthinreverse.com/vault

***

“Lead magnets definitely still work. I think they’re having a resurgence right now.” — Chenell Basilio

It took 60 episodes.

But we finally dedicated a full episode to lead magnets — what they are, what’s actually working right now, and what’s quietly a waste of time.

In this episode, we break down the three lead magnet formats we see winning, why “quick win” matters more than length, and how tactics like comment-to-get and pop-up newsletters can create real growth flywheels. We also talk about when lead magnets don’t make sense (yes, that’s a thing) and the simple promotion step most creators skip that could double the impact of what they’ve already built.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The “Trojan horse” that beats the “Subscribe to my newsletter” CTA
• Whether or not lead magnets still work
• 5 keys to a creating a successful lead magnet
• The most critical lead magnet mistakes to avoid
• The best types of lead magnets working right now  
• Chenell's number #1 tip for lead magnets

LINKS MENTIONED

• The Growth Vault → 
• Sam Vander Wielen Episode → 
• Growth In Reverse Pro 

FOLLOW ON SOCIAL

• Chenell: Twitter | LinkedIn
• Dylan: LinkedIn | Substack | Instagram

OUR NEWSLETTERS

• growthinreverse.com
• growthcurrency.net

Subscribe & Leave a Review:

Love what you’re hearing? Make sure to subscribe, and if you found this episode helpful, leave us a rating & review on your favorite podcast platform.

We're launching 30 Days of Growth on April 20th! Sign up at 30daysofgrowth.co for free. 
Get 30 ways to grow and optimize your email list, from creators who have successfully done it. 

Get Instant Access to the Growth Vault now >> growthinreverse.com/vault

***

In this episode of the GIR Podcast, we're airing "cross-published" episode originally featured on Jay Clouse's Creator Science podcast.
Check out the Creator Science podcast here >>

***

“If someone can Google what you wrote and get the same thing elsewhere, it’s not differentiated.” — Chenell Basilio

Chenell Basilio joins Jay Clouse on Creator Science to break down how she built Growth In Reverse into a thriving newsletter with over 35,000 subscribers.

Chenell shares the strategy behind her deep dive format, how she thinks about positioning and differentiation, why focus beats platform sprawl, and how she turned detailed research into sustainable audience growth. Jay and Chenell also discuss monetization, collaboration strategy, audience building, and what it actually takes to build a durable newsletter business.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Why depth beats volume when building a newsletter audience
• The compounding power of collaborations in niche markets
• How to create “internal share” content that spreads inside companies
• Why narrowing your focus accelerates newsletter growth
• The difference between building an audience and building a business
• How to turn research into durable newsletter content
• Why distribution strategy matters more than content frequency
• The real value of long-term positioning in the newsletter space

LINKS MENTIONED

• Creator Science podcast
• The Growth Vault
• Growth In Reverse newsletter
• Jay Clouse on LinkedIn
• Growth In Reverse Pro 

FOLLOW ON SOCIAL

• Chenell: Twitter | LinkedIn
• Dylan: LinkedIn | Substack | Instagram

OUR NEWSLETTERS

• growthinreverse.com
• growthcurrency.net

Subscribe & Leave a Review:

Love what you’re hearing? Make sure to subscribe, and if you found this episode helpful, leave us a rating & review on your favorite podcast platform.