Latest / The Newsletter Podcast with Fexingo: Substack, Beehiiv, and Email Newsletter Business / How Newsletter Writers Use Paid Guest Posts to Grow
Transcript
- Lucas: So there's this tactic I keep seeing newsletter writers talk about in private groups, but almost nobody discusses publicly. It's paying for guest posts in other people's newsletters. Luna: Wait — you mean actually paying the host writer to include a full article from you, not just a sponsored mention? Lucas: Exactly. Not a banner ad or a link at the bottom. You pay the newsletter owner — say, five hundred to two thousand dollars — and they run a guest post you wrote, often with a bio and a link to your own newsletter at the end. Luna: That sounds a lot like buying an ad, just with more words. Lucas: On the surface, sure. But the difference is trust transfer. When a reader sees a full article from a guest author, they unconsciously assume the host endorses that person's expertise. It's not a display ad; it's content. And the conversion rates reflect that. Luna: Do you have a concrete example where this worked? Lucas: I do. A finance writer I know — let's call him Dan — runs a weekly newsletter on investing for millennials. He has about 8,000 free subscribers and 200 paid. He wanted to break into an older, more affluent audience. So he found a health and wellness newsletter with 50,000 subscribers, mostly people in their forties and fifties, with high engagement — open rates around 45 percent. Luna: Interesting. Overlapping but not identical audience. Lucas: Right. He pitched the owner and offered $2,000 for a guest post about how to invest in retirement accounts like IRAs and 401s — framed as a health move for your future self. The host agreed. Dan wrote a 1,500-word piece, included a bio with a link to his newsletter, and used a dedicated UTM parameter to track signups. Luna: And the results? Lucas: Within the first week, he gained 1,200 new free subscribers from that single post. Of those, 40 converted to paid within 30 days. At his paid tier of $10 per month, that's $400 in monthly recurring revenue. So he recouped the cost in five months just from that cohort, and the free subscribers are still in his funnel. Luna: Okay, that math works. But $2,000 is a big bet for a small newsletter. What if the audience doesn't convert? Lucas: That's the risk. But what I like about this tactic is you can start smaller. Some newsletter writers will do a guest post for $200 to $500. You just need to find hosts whose audience has a demonstrated interest in your topic. The health and wellness example worked because the host's readers already care about long-term well-being — retirement investing fits naturally. Luna: So how do you even find these opportunities? It's not like there's a marketplace. Lucas: A few ways. One, you can use tools like SparkToro or even just search Substack by category. Look for newsletters in adjacent niches — not direct competitors, but complementary. Then check their engagement: open rates, comment sections, social shares. If a newsletter has 10,000 subscribers but only 20 percent open rate, the audience is cold. You want high trust. Luna: And you just cold email the owner and say 'I'll pay you for a guest post'? Lucas: Essentially, yes. But you need to frame it as a value exchange. Say something like: 'I've been a longtime reader. I think my piece on X would be valuable to your audience. I'm happy to compensate you for the time and space.' Most independent newsletter writers are open to this because it's pure revenue for them — they don't have to write anything, just publish your piece. Luna: What about tracking? If you're paying real money, you need to know it's working. Lucas: Absolutely. Use a unique landing page or a utm tagged link for each guest post. I'd recommend a dedicated URL like yourdomain.com/guest-post-name. Then you can see exactly how many signups come from that source, and more importantly, how many of those convert to paid. That's the metric that matters — not just subscriber count, but paid conversion rate from that cohort. Luna: And if the conversion is low, you know the audience wasn't the right fit. Lucas: Exactly. You're buying a test. The first few guest posts are research. You learn which audiences respond and which don't. Dan, for example, did three guest posts. The first one, in a personal finance newsletter, got 800 subs but only 15 paid. The second, in the health newsletter, was his best. The third, in a productivity newsletter, got 600 subs and 20 paid. So he now knows health-conscious older audiences convert best for his content. Luna: That kind of data is gold. But I want to push back a little — isn't this just a fancy version of buying ads? You could run Facebook ads for $2,000 and maybe get similar numbers. Lucas: Maybe. But the trust factor is different. According to a 2025 study by the Content Marketing Institute, content shared via email has a click-through rate that's three to five times higher than social media ads. And when that content is a guest post from a trusted voice, the conversion can be even higher. Plus, with paid ads, you're competing against everyone. With a guest post, you're the only paid piece in that issue. Luna: Fair point. So what's the downside? I mean, besides the risk of low conversion. Lucas: The biggest downside is audience quality dilution. If the host has bought subscribers or has low engagement, their list might be full of inactive emails. You could pay $2,000 and get 2,000 signups that never open your emails. That's why vetting is crucial. Look at their recent open rates, check if their comments are real people, maybe even subscribe yourself for a month to gauge the vibe. Luna: And if the host's audience is great, you've basically bought a warm list. That's powerful. Lucas: It is. And the best part is, those subscribers came to you through content you wrote. They already know your voice. They're more likely to engage from day one. Luna: So for someone listening who wants to try this, what's a realistic first step? Lucas: Identify three newsletters in adjacent niches with 5,000 to 20,000 subscribers and open rates above 40 percent. Then craft a guest post topic that bridges their niche and yours. Email the owners with a polite offer — say $200 to $500 — and see who says yes. Start small, track everything. Luna: And if they say no, you can always offer a free guest post first to build the relationship. Lucas: Exactly. Or you can negotiate a lower rate with a performance bonus — like an extra $100 if you get over 500 signups. Some writers are open to that. Luna: I like that. It aligns incentives. Lucas: Alright, so if this episode sparked something you might actually use — maybe you're thinking about reaching out to a newsletter in your niche — honestly, if today was worth a coffee to you, that's the link: buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: Yeah, listener support is what keeps this show ad-free and lets us dig into tactics like this. Lucas: We don't have sponsors, we don't run ads — it's just you, us, and a conversation about what actually works. So if you found value, that link is there. Luna: Now, back to the tactic — one thing I want to know: how do you actually measure the conversion rate from a guest post cohort over time? Lucas: Great question. Once you have the utm tagged signups in your email platform, you can tag them with a custom field like 'source: guest post health'. Then run a segment report after 30, 60, and 90 days to see how many have converted to paid. Also track their open rates — if they're below your average, the audience might not be a great fit. Luna: So you're basically treating each guest post like a small experiment. Learn, iterate, scale the winners. Lucas: Exactly. Dan's now doing a guest post every month. He budgets about $1,500 per post and expects to recoup within six months. His paid subscriber count has grown from 200 to 340 in eight months, and guest posts account for about half of that growth. Luna: That's a solid return. And it's a strategy that scales with your budget. You can start with $100 and work up. Lucas: For sure. And the key takeaway is: you're not just buying subscribers. You're buying access to a trusted relationship that the host has built over years. That's hard to replicate with any other channel. Luna: Alright, so next time you're thinking about running an ad, consider a guest post instead. Lucas: Absolutely. Thanks for listening — we'll be back with another tactic next week.