One-Line Summary: Set up optional automation with Zapier or Make, implement growth tactics like referral programs and cross-promotion, measure your performance with open and click rates, and iterate on your content.
Prerequisites: Completed Steps 1-6, at least one newsletter issue published, a basic understanding of your email platform's analytics
The Weekly Time Budget
Now that you have published your first issue, here is what your ongoing weekly workflow looks like:
| Task | Time | Step Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Curate articles in Feedly | 20 minutes | Step 3 |
| Summarize with AI | 15 minutes | Step 4 |
| Draft with AI | 15 minutes | Step 5 |
| Edit and add your voice | 20 minutes | Step 5 |
| Format and schedule | 10 minutes | Step 6 |
| Total | ~80 minutes |
That is under 90 minutes per week for a professional, curated newsletter. The rest of this step is about reducing that time further with automation and growing your subscriber base.
Optional Automation with Zapier or Make
You do not need automation to run a great newsletter. The manual workflow above works well and keeps you in control. But if you want to save more time, here are automations worth setting up:
Automation 1: Auto-Save RSS Articles to a Spreadsheet
This creates a running log of articles from your top sources so you do not have to check Feedly daily.
Zapier setup:
- Create a new Zap
- Trigger: "New Item in RSS Feed" — paste the RSS URL from your top source
- Action: "Create Row in Google Sheets" — map the title, link, date, and source
- Repeat for your top 3-5 sources
Now you have a spreadsheet that fills up with articles throughout the week. Review it during your curation session instead of scrolling through Feedly.
Automation 2: Send Curated Links to Your AI Tool
Make.com setup:
- Create a new scenario
- Trigger: Watch a specific Google Sheets tab for new rows you have marked as "selected"
- Action: Format the selected rows into a text block
- Action: Copy the formatted text to a Google Doc labeled with the current week
This gives you a pre-formatted document ready to paste into Claude or ChatGPT for summarization.
Automation 3: Post Your Newsletter to Social Media
After publishing, automatically share your issue on social platforms:
Zapier setup:
- Trigger: "New Post Published" on Substack (via RSS) or Beehiiv webhook
- Action: Post to Twitter/X with the issue title and link
- Action: Post to LinkedIn with a brief summary and link
What NOT to Automate
Some parts of the process should stay manual:
- Article selection — Your editorial judgment is the value you provide. Do not let an algorithm pick articles for you.
- Final editing — The human touch in your commentary is what makes readers subscribe. Keep it personal.
- Replying to subscribers — When readers reply, respond personally. This builds loyalty faster than any growth hack.
Growth Tactics
Tactic 1: Referral Program
Reward subscribers who share your newsletter. Most platforms have built-in tools for this:
| Platform | Referral Feature | How to Enable |
|---|---|---|
| Beehiiv | Built-in referral program with milestone rewards | Settings → Referral Program → Enable |
| Substack | Referral leaderboard and thank-you notes | Dashboard → Settings → Referrals |
| Mailchimp | Requires third-party integration (SparkLoop) | Install SparkLoop and connect to Mailchimp |
Reward ideas that work:
- At 3 referrals: Shout-out in the next issue
- At 5 referrals: Exclusive "deep dive" bonus content
- At 10 referrals: Access to a private community or resource list
Tactic 2: Cross-Promotion
Find 3-5 newsletters in adjacent (not competing) niches and propose a cross-promotion swap:
Outreach template:
Subject: Cross-promo swap? [Your Newsletter] ↔ [Their Newsletter]
Hi [Name],
I run [Your Newsletter] — a weekly newsletter about [your topic] with
[your subscriber count] subscribers. I've been reading [Their Newsletter]
and think our audiences overlap nicely.
Would you be interested in a cross-promotion swap? We each mention the
other's newsletter in one issue. No cost, mutual benefit.
Here's a one-liner you could use for me:
"[Your newsletter name]: [One-sentence value prop]. Subscribe at [link]."
Let me know if you're interested and I'll write one for you.
[Your name]Tactic 3: Content Repurposing
Turn each newsletter issue into multiple pieces of content:
- Twitter/X thread — Take your top 3 summaries and post them as a thread with a link to subscribe
- LinkedIn post — Share your intro paragraph and one key takeaway, link to the full issue
- Short-form video — Record a 60-second take on the week's biggest story (optional, higher effort)
Tactic 4: Welcome Sequence
Set up a 3-email automated welcome sequence for new subscribers:
| Timing | Content | |
|---|---|---|
| Welcome | Immediately on signup | Thank them, explain what to expect, link to your best past issue |
| Best of | 2 days later | Share your 3 most popular past issues — this demonstrates value fast |
| Ask | 5 days later | Ask what topics they care most about — replies boost your email reputation |
Measure What Matters
After 4-5 issues, start tracking these metrics:
Key Metrics
| Metric | What It Tells You | Good Benchmark |
|---|---|---|
| Open rate | Are your subject lines working? | 40-60% for small newsletters |
| Click rate | Is your content compelling enough to act on? | 5-10% of opens |
| Reply rate | Are you building a real connection? | Even 1-2 replies per issue is great |
| Subscriber growth | Is your audience expanding? | 5-10% monthly growth starting out |
| Unsubscribe rate | Are you losing people? | Under 1% per issue is healthy |
How to Find Your Metrics
- Substack: Dashboard → Stats → see opens, clicks, and subscriber count
- Beehiiv: Dashboard → Analytics → detailed breakdown by issue
- Mailchimp: Campaigns → select your campaign → View Report
Interpret and Iterate
After collecting data from 5+ issues, look for patterns:
- Low open rate? Test different subject line styles. Try being more specific, using numbers, or referencing a trending topic.
- Low click rate? Your summaries might be too complete — readers do not feel the need to click through. Add a teaser or unanswered question.
- High unsubscribe rate? You may be sending too often, or the content may not match what subscribers expected when they signed up.
- Lots of replies? Do more of whatever prompted those replies. Engagement is the strongest signal of value.
Your Ongoing Improvement Cycle
Every month, spend 30 minutes reviewing:
- What worked — Which articles got the most clicks? Which subject lines had the best opens?
- What flopped — Which sections did readers skip? Which issues had lower engagement?
- What's next — Are there new sources to add? New sections to try? Topics your readers are asking about?
Adjust your Feedly sources, your AI prompts, and your newsletter structure based on what you learn. The best newsletters evolve constantly.
What You Have Built
You now have a complete, repeatable system for producing a professional newsletter:
- Content pipeline — Feedly feeds you relevant articles automatically
- AI-powered workflow — Claude or ChatGPT handles summarization and drafting
- Consistent publishing — A clear process means you ship every week
- Growth engine — Referrals, cross-promotion, and repurposing bring new readers
- Feedback loop — Analytics tell you what to improve
The total setup took a few hours. The ongoing weekly commitment is under 90 minutes. And every issue you publish builds an audience that compounds over time.
Keep shipping.