Episode

How Newsletters Use Paid Ad Buys to Acquire Subscribers

Podcast
The Newsletter Podcast with Fexingo: Substack, Beehiiv, and Email Newsletter Business
Published
Jul 9, 2026
Duration seconds
486
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Canonical source
https://audio.fexingo.com/business/the-newsletter-podcast/episode-0102.mp3
Audio
https://audio.fexingo.com/business/the-newsletter-podcast/episode-0102.mp3
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Markdown
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Summary

Lucas and Luna explore the strategy of using paid advertising — specifically Facebook and Instagram ads — to grow a newsletter subscriber base. They break down the math behind cost-per-acquisition, how to target lookalike audiences from your best free readers, and why most newsletter writers fail at paid ads because they don't track the right metrics. The hosts walk through a concrete example from a 50,000-subscriber business newsletter that spent $3,000 on ads to acquire 1,200 new free subscribers at a $2.50 cost-per-lead. They also discuss the decision to optimize for free subscribers who later convert to paid versus optimizing directly for paid conversions. Plus, Lucas shares why he believes paid ads are underutilized in the newsletter space and the one mistake that kills ROI. #NewsletterAdvertising #PaidAcquisition #Substack #Beehiiv #FacebookAds #InstagramAds #CostPerLead #LookalikeAudiences #EmailMarketing #SubscriberGrowth #MarketingStrategy #DigitalAdvertising #NewsletterBusiness #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #MarketingPodcast #NewsletterPodcast #EmailNewsletter Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo