Not just another newsletter

When I first transitioned from being a high school social studies teacher to a newsletter ghostwriter for educational coaches, consultants and creators, I was excited to build something of my own—something that still felt connected to education, but offered more creative freedom, flexibility and meaningful one-on-one impact.

I made the switch after burning out in the classroom and going down YouTube rabbit holes—now I understand them as sales funnels. I discovered courses about writing online as a way to build connections with people doing work I admired.

But once I started to connect with potential clients through direct outreach, I quickly realized I was having the same conversations over and over, getting the same questions and objections. I ended up spending a lot of time rephrasing the core message.

With over 15 years of teaching experience, I knew how to create engaging learning experiences. But I hadn't figured out how to transfer that to ghostwriting. I was treating my email list like another classroom roster instead of what it really was: an invitation into a learning community.

That's when I realized most creators, including myself, have been optimizing for the wrong thing.

They’re trying to jump straight to the sales conversation, and they’re missing the chance to invite people into their circle and educate on the essential frameworks that underlie their paid offerings.

Once I started building my own content and email funnel, I could take that individual conversation, repackage it as a social post or newsletter and reach many more people at once.

This helped me create a scaled-up and genuine connection, instead of tedious repetition.

Why your opt-in feels like a dead-end

In my ghostwriting work, I see the same pattern everywhere. Brilliant educators with powerful messages, but their email funnels feel transactional. Fragmented. Forgettable.

Their opt-ins say things like "Join our newsletter!" or "Get updates!"

But here's the thing. Nobody wakes up excited about more emails in their inbox. They wake up excited about growing personally and professionally. They roll out of bed and want to be a part of something that matters.

Your opt-in has to speak to that transformation that your audience deeply desires. Otherwise the opt-in rate of your newsletter will suffer.

Here’s an example of what I mean:

One client, Maya Hassan, founder of Fearless Project, works with international nonprofit leaders on social impact projects.

Their website was visually stunning, but the newsletter opt-in converted just 2.3% of visitors.

We stripped away the clutter, moved her opt-in above the fold so visitors didn’t have to scroll to see it and replaced "Join our newsletter" with something specific: "Unlock Equitable Partnerships: Your 5-Day Power-Shifting Blueprint."

The result? A 52% opt-in rate. And four discovery calls booked within two weeks.

That's not just better marketing. That's the beginning of real connection.

The three invisible barriers preventing people from walking through the door

After auditing more than 50 funnels for authors, podcasters, course creators and mastermind facilitators doing impactful work in education, I've spotted three patterns that diminish engagement and opt-ins (and these actually apply to so many niches and industries):

1. The hidden invitation: Your opt-in is buried in the footer like an afterthought. If you wouldn't put your front door in the basement, why hide your invitation down there?
2. The vague promise: "Subscribe for tips and updates!" really tells me nothing about who I'll become or what I'll gain from giving you my email. Vague promises create vague engagement.
3. The choice paralysis: Five different buttons competing for attention means nobody clicks on anything. Overwhelm leads to paralysis.

And the sad truth is that I see all three mistakes at the same time on most people’s homepages.

These obstacles add enough friction that your average website visitor won’t exert the effort it takes to get connected.

Three invitations that actually work

So, how do you design a connection-building opt-in?

Try these tweaks to the copy of your current newsletter form on your website.

Here’s what works, based on what I've seen convert and connect:

Version 1: The valuable newsletter

“Get a 5-minute summary of the most important news in [your industry] every Friday.”

This format is compelling because it sets a clear expectation: consistent, useful and digestible content delivered at a predictable rhythm. It’s a great option if you already share insights on social media or curate content. Just package that habit into a weekly email. If you’re tight on time or not ready to build a full lead magnet, this keeps you top of mind without a heavy lift.

That said, if you want to grow your list faster, you’ll need to offer something that solves a specific problem right now.

Version 2: The problem-solving lead magnet

“Download my Notion template of the 10 AI prompts I use every day to run my business.”

This works because it gives people instant value. They get a resource they can apply right away, which builds trust and reciprocity. It’s perfect for creators who already have tools, templates, or resources that get results and want to turn them into a download. You’ll likely see a jump in sign-ups because this version delivers a concrete win upfront.

But most lead magnets are one-and-done and long PDF ebooks often get buried in the Downloads folder. What’s worse is that you can’t tell if anyone actually read them. If you want to hold attention long enough to guide someone toward a sale and track how they interact with your content, you’ll want to consider Version 3.

Version 3: The educational email course

“Join my free 5-day crash course about the 5 most powerful free time-management tools to help you reclaim 20 hours of your week.”

This is the most powerful format because it combines education, trust-building and a warm intro to your offer. If you enjoy teaching and want to qualify leads by showing them how you think and what it’s like to work with you, this is your best bet. It requires a bit more setup than a static download, but it nurtures your audience on autopilot—often for years to come.

This is my favorite project to work on with my clients.

It’s like a lead magnet, a welcome sequence and a sales sequence combined.

Beyond the opt-in: building connection that lasts deeper down the funnel

I tell my clients: your newsletter isn't a broadcast. It's a bridge.

Bridge the gap between where your readers are and where they want to be.

Bridge the isolation of struggling alone with the power of shared experience.

Getting people to subscribe is just opening the door. What happens next for subscribers will be the difference between you being quickly forgotten about and building instant trust with your new subscribers.

Take Ryan Gould, who runs Geosmin Regenerative Chicken Farm in Austin, Texas. His farm is a regenerative agriculture project challenging the food-industrial complex (otherwise known as Big Agro).

Ryan and I have been collaborating on monthly newsletters for over a year now.

What started as simple email updates has become something remarkable: consistently high open rates, steady subscriptions to his meat packages and—here's the magic—people writing back.

They didn’t just place an order, they shared stories about how the taste and quality changed their family's relationship with food.

Here's how you nurture that same connection:

Show up consistently: Monthly is fine, but weekly is better - and I promise, you’re not overwhelming them! You stay top of mind. And with more frequent newsletters, you can add variety and range to what you talk about - meaningful, educational, aspirational, actionable, and occasionally direct.

With Ryan’s newsletter, we go between timely (announcements, upcoming events, new projects) and timeless (education about regenerative agriculture, its benefits to individuals and communities, how costly the factory farm is, etc.). Every three months, we invite subscribers to join the Geosmin Farm Chicken Subscription.

Make space for voices beyond your own: Ask questions in every email. Feature subscriber insights. Share their wins. The lesson learned from a failed project. The human moments that remind us we're all figuring it out together.

Ryan gets community members writing back to his newsletters and chatting with him at weekly farmer’s markets about their challenges with fully committing to sustainable alternatives to going to the grocery and getting quick meals. We speak to these through the newsletter regularly.

Make it visible, compelling and generous

Your opt-in isn't just a form; it's an invitation into becoming. Here are the biggest takeaways about creating an opt-in that builds connection and trust:

• Make it visible: Place it above the scroll. Remove competing CTAs. Let it be the star of your landing page.
• Make it compelling: Promise specific transformation (that you can deliver), not vague updates. Give people a clear picture of who they'll become and what they'll gain by signing up.
• Make it generous: Show up to serve, not to sell. Give away your insights and knowledge for free and make the opportunity to work with you as frictionless as possible.

Because here's what I've learned: People don't just want information. They want transformation.

They want to connect with people that help them become the best version of themselves.

Your opt-in can facilitate this connection in a powerful way.