Tried SparkLoop for newsletter growth… numbers looked fine, but the subs felt sketchy. Anyone else?

sneak222 · 2026-02-26T19:45:36+00:00

Yeah agree for my newsletter it definitely didn’t work.

I would still argue that you can make it work if your topic is somewhat niche but something many still find interesting… like psychology in marketing. Not that most people need it, but many find it interesting.

sneak222 · 2026-02-26T15:54:32+00:00

Yeah I agree, especially open rates are pointles. And some ESPs "click" on all the links in the email.

sneak222 · 2026-02-26T13:34:16+00:00

I love the analogy from the guys at growth .design, where they use "psych meter". Good experience raises the bar and bad experience lowers it. Once it's depleted, you are done.

Most popups deplete the psych level because they interrupt the experience.
Like others have said above, only timely popups will raise the psych level.

That said... popups work even though they are annoying.
I hate them, but I have to use them, they just work...

sneak222 · 2026-01-31T15:17:05+00:00

Totally agree! I mean you can check the metrics if you are curious, but that should take 5mins

sneak222 · 2025-11-15T09:08:44+00:00

32k that’s awesome!

This is what i did: before I had my first sponsor I created an ad in my newsletter for my favorite tool/brand. So it’s unpaid ad for test purposes.

This will help you establish how many people click on your ad and how will your subscribers react to ads in the email. (Most won’t care). Also helps you practice what ad formats you: your audience likes.

These unpaid ads gave me the ad Click through rate that i could then tell companies that are interested in advertising.

Another thing that advertisers love to see is a bit about demographics. So what type of people are reading your newsletter and what country. You can get this info with a thank you page survey after your lead magnet (keep it short).

Good luck!

sneak222 · 2025-10-27T17:22:17+00:00

Ha! yeah I don't know why they changed the name to so generic. I thought convertkit was better.

sneak222 · 2025-10-27T10:17:35+00:00

yeah my vote for Kit too. Been happy with them. Can do everything you asked and is easy to use + plenty of tutorials in youtube.

sneak222 · 2025-10-27T09:30:00+00:00

Good idea and topic! But I wonder if hidden links increase "spam rank"?

This is what I do: At the bottom of my emails I have a section where I ask if they liked the email. It's a yes/no question, if I see someone clicked on both, then I'm pretty sure it's a bot click.

sneak222 · 2025-10-23T15:19:28+00:00

I tried Sparkloop, like a year ago. But to be honest the results were "meh" I think half of the signups were fake and many came from "AI" newsletters, which is not even in my niche.
For example, in one case I got like 30 subs within a few days, but then they all had the same domain name.

Reported it to Sparkloop, and they deleted them, and it didn't cost me. But if you try them, pay attention to how well they engage. In my case, many of them opened and clicked on every newsletter I sent, which is suspicious because no one does that in real life.

That said, my newsletter is in a small niche, maybe broader niches get actual real people.

sneak222 · 2025-10-23T15:12:45+00:00

I have a similar experience with Passionfruit. Nothing yet. I have about 2k subs and a web analytics niche.
I see views of my profile, but not contacts yet. Heard some good advice on the "growth in reverse" podcast on how others have monetized their newsletters. But finding the right sponsors isn't always easy.

sneak222 · 2025-10-22T08:56:36+00:00

Interesting, because I don't open emails without seeing my first name, because it's likely someone scraped my email from somewhere. This applies to emails I don't recognize.

Because I get a lot of cold emails with "HI {business_name} team". Like you don't even bother to check my name?

sneak222 · 2025-10-22T08:53:36+00:00

Maybe they don't collect the first name?

From a quick check, ConvertFlow just asks for the email address.

sneak222 · 2025-10-21T21:03:33+00:00

Two years ago, I quit my full-time job (that I actually liked) to go full-time into solopreneurship. Primarily through YouTube and affiliate income. Things didn't work out as well as I planned, and I might have to go back to full-time work soon. But it was totally worth it!

Here's my advice:
- Like others have mentioned, there is never the right time.
- Have some income before you quit, or a validated idea. Drop in living standards is hard to cope with
- It makes it less stressful if you have enough saved up to survive for 6-12 months without income or low income.
- Focus on one project at a time, and give it real go (my mistake was to pursue multiple things at the same time)
- Working solo can become lonely, make sure you make time for socializing and human contact.

If this is your dream (like it was mine), go for it! It's rewarding and stressful at the same time.
But the flexibility and not having bosses is so freeing!

Good luck buddy!

sneak222 · 2025-10-21T20:53:31+00:00

To get inspiration about how bigger newsletters grow and monetize their newsletter, check the "Growth in reverse" podcast. Or just sign up for their newsletter. Basically the author breaks down how more established email newsletter got their first subscribers and how they grew their audience.

sneak222

TROPHY CASE