Hey there,

Last Thursday, I hit publish on my first newsletter.

Zero subscribers. Zero reputation. Just me, a half-baked idea, and this quiet terror that nobody would care.

Few days later? 50+ people subscribed.

I didn't spend a dollar on ads. Didn't hire a growth hacker. Didn't even have a fancy tech stack.

Just three free tools, and one brutal mistake that almost killed my momentum before it started.

Here's exactly what I did (and what I'd change if I could go back)….

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I picked tools based on two criteria: free and fast to set up.

This one's non-negotiable if you're serious about newsletters.

​

I spent two weeks researching platforms. Substack felt limiting. ConvertKit looked like overkill. Beehiiv just worked.

Why I went with Beehiiv:

The free plan gives you everything you need to start. Subscribe forms, email delivery, web posts for SEO, clean analytics. But here's the real reason: the Boost Network.

You can cross-promote with other newsletters in your niche. Setup took maybe an hour. Import logo, write a welcome email, done.

The upgrade I made on day three:

I moved to the Scale plan (Got 20% off - $39/month / Original price $49). Not because I needed it at 50 subscribers, but because I wanted the growth tools: A/B testing, polls, referral tracking, advanced boosts.​

Worth every penny.

Want to try Beehiiv? Use my referral link here and get 20% off for 3 months. Easiest platform setup I've done. You'll be running in under an hour.

Three months ago, I couldn't have imagined building ONE functional product this quickly, let alone five. AI coding tools are legitimately a superpower for indie hackers.

I didn't post random thoughts. I posted threads that gave away 80% of my newsletter content for free.

My format:

That's it.

The results were night and day. When I focused on sharing actual value in my threads (tactics, insights, real lessons), people clicked through to subscribe. The conversion was incredible because I wasn't asking for anything. I was just showing up with something useful, then casually mentioning where they could find more.

But my first attempt? Complete disaster. I made the classic mistake of announcing my launch like anyone would care. "I just launched a newsletter about..." and then wondered why nobody engaged. Here's the truth I learned fast: nobody wakes up thinking "I hope someone launches a newsletter today." They wake up with problems to solve. If your content solves one of those problems right now, they'll want more. If it's just you talking about yourself, they'll scroll past without a second thought

This one caught me completely off guard.

I posted thrice on LinkedIn during week one. Same core content as X, but I softened the tone. Less "here's a quick hack" energy, more "let me tell you what happened". LinkedIn absolutely crushed it for subscriber growth, and I think I know why. The format that worked wasn't about showing off or flexing wins. It was vulnerability wrapped in lessons.

The format that crushed:

"I did [specific thing]. Here's what happened."

Example: "I spent 6 hours building a landing page. 47 people told me it sucked. Here's what I changed."

People love a good "I screwed up and learned something" story. LinkedIn eats that up.

Posts that started with "I did [specific thing]. Here's what happened" performed incredibly well. Like when I shared how I spent hours building something, got brutally honest feedback, and had to rebuild it from scratch. People don't just engage with that kind of story on LinkedIn. They devour it.

There's something about the professional network that makes everyone hungry for real, messy, "I failed and learned" content. Not the polished highlight reel. The actual journey​

Here's the system I figured out by day four.

Write newsletter. 750+ words. One topic. No perfectionism.

Send newsletter. Every day/week. No exceptions.

Reply to every comment. Every DM. Every person who engaged.​

Those replies turned into conversations. Conversations turned into subscribers.

Time Invested:

Cost per subscriber: $0

Compare that to Facebook ads ($3-7 per subscriber) or Google Ads ($5-12 per subscriber).

And yeah, don’t forget about “Welcome Mail”, set up automation earlier

I didn't add a welcome sequence until first two days. Those first 13 subscribers got no context. Welcome emails have 4x higher open rates.

Day two. First X thread.

Started with: "I just launched a newsletter! Check it out:.."

Result: Very less views. Zero clicks. Zero subscribers.

I panicked. Spent an hour spiraling. "Maybe this won't work. Maybe nobody cares."

Then I rewrote it.

New version:

"I earned my first dollar on PromptBase by just uploading four prompts till date… Here's the thread."

Result: 850+ views. 9 new subscribers.

What changed?

First version was about me. My launch.

Second version was about them. Their problem. Their solution.

Nobody cares that you launched something. They care if you can help them.​

Three tools. Zero dollars to start.

If you're thinking "I should start a newsletter," you're right.

Not because it's easy. It's not.

Not because you'll get rich. You probably won't (at first).

But because there's something powerful about building an audience that chose to hear from you. No algorithm. No platform holding your reach hostage.​

Ready?

Grab Beehiiv with my link (20% off). Set it up this weekend. Send your first newsletter next Wednesday.

Then reply and tell me how it went.

Let's build something.

See you next time,
Better Every Day

P.S. Forward this to one friend who's been thinking about starting. They'll thank you.