One year of writing a newsletter. These are the lessons you can actually use.

👋 Welcome back to Content to Commas, a weekly playbook for creators, founders, and content pros building monetizable brands without burning out.

I began this newsletter in March 2025, and last week I took some time to look back at the past year to figure out what was successful and what wasn't.

My first draft was filled with lots of numbers, like open rates, tips for gaining subscribers, and revenue details, but it ended up being just a collection of highlights.

It was just a flex. Not a playbook. And if you've been reading this newsletter for any length of time … you know that's not what we do here.

So this issue is the rewrite.

More about the 5 lessons I wish someone had handed me at issue #1, pulled from 52 weeks of data, mistakes, and a surprising amount of things that worked.

This issue is a 5-part audit you can run on your own newsletter this weekend so you cut a year off your learning curve.

📌 In this issue:

— Brandon

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Newsletters seem unsexy to a lot of people.

But I could not recommend it enough. It's a great way to actually reach your audience.

Whether it's on Beehiiv (what I use), Substack, Kit, Flodesk, or any other email service. There's value in audience ownership.

Even if you haven't written a newsletter or started your email list yet, tap in. You can still gain these lessons.

This newsletter will be five lessons that you can apply. If you want to see 3 tactics that helped me gained 8K in one year, click the post below.

5 lessons from 52 issues.

Going in, I knew LinkedIn would be a benefit since that audience has already leaned into valuable info, and I assumed other channels like Substack or Threads would help, but data shows differently.

Here's the actual acquisition mix over the last 12 months:

The lesson isn't "post on LinkedIn." It's to figure out how many potential mechanisms can you use on a channel to drive people and migrate your audience. -

My top 5 issues by engagement all shared the same DNA. They named a system. They had a real story behind them. They included a specific number in dollars.

The top performer walked readers through turning a Cannes L into a $20K deal. Second was a named playbook called The Inbound Engine. Third was The Client Magnet Playbook.

None of them were cleverer than my other issues. They were more specific.

Specificity is a trust cheat code. Use it more than you think you should.

I didn't start doing this until mid way. I should've started in week 1.

My bottom 3 issues of the year taught me more about my audience than the 5 that popped off combined.

A pure CTA email tanked because I asked for a favor without giving value first. A broad roundup tanked because I don't win on roundups. A contrarian take got clicks but burned unsubs because I picked a target that was sacred to a third of my list.

If I'd been running post mortems from issue 1, I'd have cut my year-one learning curve in half.

After every send, answer three questions:

If you answer "no" twice, the issue wasn't worth the send.

Losers teach faster than winners. Don't skip the autopsy.

Direct sponsor revenue from Content to Commas in year 1 was solid.

The real money lived next to the newsletter.

The newsletter is a trust engine. The money lives in the adjacent assets.

Many dislike affiliate deals, but I love them as a secondary income source by ensuring everything I use has an affiliate code.

My worst-performing format in year 1 was the "trends recap."

My best-performing issues had a POV I was willing to defend on a podcast, any day..

My readers didn’t subscribe for my summaries … they subscribe for my opinion.

And once I realized that, each issue I created became clearer because they can get social media and content roundups on 10 other newsletters, but there's only one Content to Commas.

but really … thanks for reading every week. Thanks for the replies that kept me writing past the 4-week mark when I almost pulled the plug.

Year 1 taught me plenty.

Year 2 will take things to the next level.

Until next week, keep building.

Each week, I share simple tips on branding, making money, growth strategies, and useful tools that you might have missed. You can catch up in just a few minutes.

These posts did numbers for a reason. Worth a reread.

Handpicked for where you are right now.

The stack I keep coming back to in my own business.

Thanks for reading! Say hi 👋 on LinkedIn
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