We just climbed past 700,000+ subscribers to the CB Insights newsletter.
One year ago (May 2013), we had 14,100 subscribers so by the end of this month, we will have more than doubled our subscriber base. Our goal is to be at 60,000 by year end which means more than 100% growth in the next 7.5 months.
Yes – we have our work cut out for us.
(You should subscribe to it here if you don’t already. It’s free and has lots of graphs)
The newsletter has been a great growth driver for us. If you’re a SaaS business (or really any type of business) and don’t have a newsletter, it might be something you should consider.
Our newsletter & growth initially sucked
The CB Insights platform launched in February 2010 and our first newsletter went out in July 2010 to 489 subscribers. From July 2010, it took us until February 2013 to hit 10,000 subscribers. Our newsletter growth was anything but torrid as you can see.
When we look back at those newsletters, it’s clear that while the data and articles we shared were solid, we were doing a lot wrong.
We made two big mistakes initially:
Random schedule – The biggest mistake we made was the newsletter was sent out very randomly. We might have two in one week and then not another for 4 weeks. The lack of regularity made it something that folks didn’t really care about and could easily forget.
Annoying jargon – The other mistake initially was we used to use corporate jargon because we thought that is what our audience liked. We’d say things like “value-added services” or “synergy” or “out-of-the-box” without a hint of irony or sarcasm. We were writing as if folks in M&A, VC, corporate strategy, etc really talked like that. We were wrong. And in looking back, some of our newsletters were nauseating and annoying because of the jargon.
So what has driven the 100% growth
As we think about what has spurred its growth, we think it comes to down five things.
Regular cadence – We fixed the irregularity issue and now have a set schedule and this routine has helped force a discipline for us and also helped our subscribers know when to expect to hear from us.
Specialization – If you want a data-driven perspective on high-growth companies, their investors and emerging industries, that is what we do. And that is all we do.
The data is impeccable – Our underlying product is data so when we publish a research brief, we ensure it’s good. The credibility of our primary product is at stake so doing it half-assed is not an option.
No pandering – We talked about this here. We use data to pull back the curtain on areas usually dominated by punditry and anecdotes. Sometimes that means we call out underperformers or those making claims that are erroneous. We don’t do it in a mean way. We just put the data out there and let the numbers tell the story. The no sacred cows approach we’ve followed has gotten good reviews.
Talking like a human – We dumped the jargon and now talk like we do in real life. The conversational tone which features some snark, some humor and the occasional pop culture reference has worked. And the language also serves as a good filter, i.e., if you want corporate jargon and stuffy language, we’re not the right place for you. Talking to people like humans is not a revolutionary idea, but we clearly were not doing that before.
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If you’re a digital marketer who thinks getting us to 60,000 subscribers by year end is something you could help us do, we’re hiring. Check out our Digital Marketer job posting.