Latest / The Email Marketing Podcast with Fexingo: Newsletters, Open Rates, and Subscriber Growth / How Co-Marketing Partnerships Grew an Email List by 50 Percent
Transcript
- Lucas: Let's talk about one of the fastest ways I've seen an email list double in size without buying a single ad — co-marketing partnerships. Luna: Co-marketing as in two brands promoting each other's stuff to their lists? Lucas: Exactly. But I'm thinking of a specific example: a project management SaaS company called Planify — not the real name, but the numbers are real — partnered with a remote work consultancy called RemoteReady. Luna: Okay, so what did they actually do? Lucas: They co-hosted a webinar titled 'Building Asynchronous Communication Systems.' Each brand promoted it to their existing email list. The lead magnet was a joint PDF checklist. Both brands sent two emails each — one two weeks before, one a week before. They directed everyone to a single landing page with a form. Luna: And the result? Lucas: In 30 days, each brand's total list grew by just over 50 percent. Planify went from 12,000 to 18,500 subscribers. RemoteReady went from 8,000 to 12,200. And the overlap was minimal — only about 4 percent of the new subscribers were already on the other list. Luna: That's almost pure new audience. So the key is finding a partner whose list doesn't overlap much with yours but whose audience still cares about your topic? Lucas: Exactly. They looked at audience alignment first. Planify's customers are project managers in remote teams. RemoteReady's audience is HR leaders and team leads who manage remote workers. The Venn diagram overlap is there, but it's not the same people. They also shared a clear value prop: the webinar and the PDF gave practical advice for improving remote communication. Luna: How did they track which partner drove which sign-up? Lucas: They used separate UTM parameters for each email send, and they had a hidden field on the landing page form that captured the source. The landing page itself was neutral — no logo of either brand until after sign-up. That way, the lead magnet felt like a standalone resource, not a sales pitch. Luna: I love that they didn't turn it into a co-branded ad. It gives the subscriber something useful first. Lucas: Right. And they agreed on shared metrics before launching — not just total sign-ups but also engagement with the post-webinar follow-up. They both saw open rates above 40 percent on the nurture sequence that came after. Luna: So if I'm a solo operator running a small newsletter, how do I find a partner like that? Lucas: You look for complementary but not competitive brands. A freelance writer could partner with a graphic designer. A yoga instructor could partner with a nutritionist. The audience overlap is there, but you're serving different needs. Start by listing three brands your subscribers already talk about or follow. Luna: That's a good starting point. Lucas: And you don't always need a webinar. A simple co-authored guide or a joint challenge works just as well. The key is sharing each other's list with a high-value, low-obligation offer. Luna: If these marketing conversations have sparked something you've actually used in your own email strategy, here's a quick honest thing — a handful of listeners chip in monthly through buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo, and that's literally what funds making this many episodes. Lucas: Yeah, it keeps the show ad-free and lets us dig into real examples like this one. So thank you to everyone who's already part of that. Luna: Now, back to partnerships — I want to bring up a different example that shows the same principle but in a very different industry. Lucas: Sure, what do you have? Luna: A fashion brand called Everlane — well, they actually did something similar. They partnered with a sustainable lifestyle blogger to create a capsule collection. The blogger promoted the collection to her Instagram followers and email list, and Everlane did the same on their end. Lucas: Right, so the partnership wasn't just email — but they still used email as a primary channel. The blogger sent a dedicated email about the collection, and Everlane sent one too. The result: Everlane added about 35,000 new email subscribers from that one campaign. Luna: And the blogger grew her list by about 10,000, because Everlane's audience was interested in sustainable fashion but hadn't found her blog yet. Lucas: Exactly. So the model scales across verticals — B2B, retail, services. The common thread is a joint offer that feels exclusive, clear tracking, and equal promotion effort. Luna: What about the downside? Any risks? Lucas: The biggest risk is partner mismatch — if their audience doesn't engage with your content, you get a lot of unsubscribes. That's why you want to test with a small segment first, or at least do a co-branded lead magnet before committing to a big campaign. Luna: Also, you have to make sure both sides share the work equally. One partner doing all the promotion is a recipe for resentment. Lucas: Absolutely. So the takeaway: find a complementary brand, craft a joint lead magnet, promote equally, and track everything with UTM parameters. If your audiences align, you can grow your email list by 50 percent in a month without spending a dime on ads. Luna: So here's the question I'm leaving with: What would a co-marketing partnership look like for your newsletter? Who's a brand your subscribers already love but you haven't reached out to yet? Lucas: That's the exact question to ask yourself this week. Thanks for listening.