How I'm building community with new paid subscribers

Plus templates so you can do the same.

It’s exciting when someone pays you for your work, but it doesn’t necessarily lead to a strong relationship.

Yes, they want to read. They’re willing to support. And they trust you.

But what happens next will determine whether they stick around.

Subscriber churn is in the background of every paid newsletter. People join, people leave, and you can’t always stop it. But you can slow it down. I’ll share more on subscriber churn soon, because it deserves its own post. But for now, I want to talk about something that keeps people sticking around: connection.

Retention isn’t just built on clever subject lines, innovative posts or fresh discounts. It’s built on trust. And trust is created through familiarity, and that takes time.

Making real connections

Readers are more likely to stay when they feel like they know you. Not through constant self-promotion or forced messaging, but through genuine gestures. A quick thank you. A question in an email. Moments build real connection with real people.

Great newsletter creators can connect with their audience, and foster a sense of community among an audience. When readers sense this, they’re more likely to engage, comment and - most importantly - keep (or start) paying you.

Small human touches are important. Respond to replies and comments, ask for opinions, feedback and mention people by name. Create a space that people want to belong to.

The long game

I’ve been thinking lately about what I want Grow Your Newsletter to become in the long run. Yes, it’s a resource. Practical and BS-free. It’ll help you grow your newsletter, but it’s not built on ‘hacking’ the system. And I’m not sure that’s even possible anymore, given the latest Substack boom.

And crucially: I want you to be able to build a space that lasts.

That means treating your community as a serious space, and not having it exist separately from your newsletter. One supports the other.

Long-term success can take time. Slow and deliberate approaches. And connection can’t come from hacks, it comes from showing up, listening and being consistent - even if the immediate numbers aren’t rewarding you.

The importance of authenticity

This approach only works if it feels human. I want readers to feel like they can talk back, ask questions and share their thoughts. And above all else, know that I’m reading, replying and engaging with them the whole time.

Authenticity shouldn’t be a marketing tactic. It means taking the time to respond, answering what you can and being honest when you don’t have the answers. You can tell when someone is pretending, or doesn’t have the time to engage. And I have no desire to be one of those people.

If I send something, I want to mean it. If you reply, I’ll read it. Even if I can’t answer everything, I want the act of reaching out to feel meaningful.

Building lasting paid communities

If you’re growing with a paid subscription model, these principles are vitally important. You don’t have to send long surveys or beg for ideas - just let people know that you see them.

That’s why I’ve started something new: a short message to new paid subscribers.

And while that’s the starting point, I want to do more to engage with those of you who pay to access my work. Because you mean a lot more to me than you probably realise - and I’m extremely grateful.

People can tell when they’re treated like customers instead of supporters. Paid subscriptions aren’t just tips for good content. They’re votes of confidence.

When you recognise that, you stop chasing tactics and start building relationships. That’s what keeps people paying—not pressure, but trust.

So what comes next?

I want to develop the conversation. More shared examples. Even more practical help.

I’m trying to build a real space with an engaged audience, something where subscribers want to stick around for a long time, and I don’t need to worry about subscriber churn so much.

I’ll keep sharing what I learn as this grows, too - both what works and what doesn’t. There’ll be a post soon about churn and how to deal with it (mentally, not just literally). But for today, connection is the focus.

Because every subscriber is a person, not a metric (corny but it’s true).

Welcome message templates

Below are three templates for these welcome messages that you can adapt and use yourself, depending on the tone and feel you’re going for. Just be prepared to put in the work to actually engage, else the whole thing is meaningless!

You’ll need to adapt them for your audience and genre.

Message #1 template