His Paid Newsletter Launch Drove $50k+ (and 500+ paid subs)

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Newsletter & Email Growth: Growth In Reverse

Chenell Basilio and Dylan Redekop

54 episodes

1 day ago

Growth In Reverse is the must-listen podcast for anyone serious about growing an email list and turning a newsletter into a thriving business. Hosted by Chenell Basilio and Dylan Redekop, two leading voices in the newsletter space, this show pulls back the curtain on how today’s top newsletter operators actually grow and make money. Episodes include deep-dive teardowns of the strategies behind the most successful newsletters. You’ll hear how creators like Justin Welsh, Codie Sanchez, Sahil Bloom, and other creator founders are building loyal audiences and turning subscribers into revenue. Learn how they attract traffic, increase conversions, boost retention, and scale without burning out. Whether you're launching your first newsletter or refining your growth engine, Growth In Reverse gives you proven tactics you can use right away. From onboarding systems and referral programs to sponsorships and paid products, this podcast helps you grow faster and smarter. If you’re ready to stop guessing and start applying what works, tune in and learn how the best are building newsletters that last.

All content for Newsletter & Email Growth: Growth In Reverse is the property of Chenell Basilio and Dylan Redekop and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.

Marketing

Business,

Entrepreneurship

His Paid Newsletter Launch Drove $50k+ (and 500+ paid subs)

Newsletter & Email Growth: Growth In Reverse

48 minutes

3 months ago

His Paid Newsletter Launch Drove $50k+ (and 500+ paid subs)

“I waited to launch my paid newsletter until I had a solid strategy and felt like I’d earned it.” — Tom Orbach, Marketing Ideas

Tom Orbach of MarketingIdeas.com — which recently crossed 44,000 free subscribers and over 500 paid subscribers in just the first few days after launching his paid tier — joins Chenell & Dylan to share the exact playbook he used to grow his newsletter and launch the paid version. He became a Substack bestseller within a day of his paid launch! And he did this all while working a full-time job.

You'll learn how he engineered a wildly successful Product Hunt launch, and why he delayed monetization for nearly two years. We also dive into the tools he uses, the psychology behind his launch strategy, and how Substack's built-in network helped supercharge his growth after turning on his paid tier. Whether you're at 500 subscribers or 50,000, this episode is a tactical goldmine.

PS - Tom is not only smart marketer & newsletter creator, he's also a member of the GIR Pro community 🔥

→ Take your newsletter to the next level with GIR Pro >>

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Tom shares how he started the newsletter and bought the domain marketingideas.com after selling a viral tool.
He explains why he invested in a ".com" domain instead of going with a cheaper option
What publishing his first newsletter edition to a waitlist of 1,000+ felt like—and why publishing early and often matters.
Balancing a full-time job with weekly publishing.
How his job fuels his content.
His top growth levers (including one that helped him gain over 7,000 subscribers).
Why he waited nearly two years to launch a paid tier.
How he designed the offer to feel premium and "non-calculable."
Behind the scenes of Tom’s nine-day email launch strategy that brought in 500+ paid subscribers.
How Tom reinvests revenue into experiments, gear, and ads to continue scaling.
The emotional pressure of going paid—and how he maintains quality content and subscriber trust.
Building community and micro-launches as the next phase of his newsletter growth.

LINKS MENTIONED

MarketingIdeas.com
Tom on LinkedIn
Ask us a question or submit a podcast topic idea: growthinreverse.com/questions
Check out the 30 Days of Growth FREE >>
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

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Thanks to Tim Forkin for editing these episodes.