Want More Downloads? Ditch Social Media for Podcast Newsletters!

Forget social media; podcast newsletters are where it’s at if you want to drive traffic. Seriously, I’ve been crunching the numbers. Guess what? My newsletter is pulling in way more visitors than my half-hearted attempts at Tweeting or posting on Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, etc. Yeah, shocking, I know.

It’s like trying to catch a fish with a toothpick when you could just use a net, right? So, in this episode, we’ll look at why newsletters are the real MVPs of traffic generation, sharing some juicy stats and personal tales that’ll have you reconsidering your social media obsession. Buckle up, because we’re about to turn your traffic woes into wows!

I also shared some behind-the-scenes footage from a future episode.

Here are key statistics comparing the effectiveness of email marketing and social media marketing:

Email Marketing

Return on Investment (ROI): Email marketing consistently delivers a higher ROI. For every $1 spent, email generates an average ROI of $36–$44.25 (3600%–4400%), compared to social media's average ROI of 28%1 29.
Reach: Email has 3.7–4.2 billion active users globally, surpassing social media platforms like Facebook with 2.96 billion monthly active users17.
Engagement Preferences: 72% of consumers prefer receiving branded content via email, while only 17% prefer social media1.
Conversion Rates: Email boasts an average conversion rate of 8%, compared to 3% for social media9.
Open and Click Rates: Email campaigns achieve open rates of 15–25% and click-through rates (CTR) of 2.9%, higher than social media's organic view rate of 2–4% and CTR of 1.36%9.

Social Media Marketing

Wider Reach Potential: Social media platforms provide access to billions of users and allow businesses to reach new audiences beyond their existing contact lists79.
Brand Awareness: Social media excels at building brand awareness and engagement, though it is less effective for direct sales compared to email9.
Organic Reach Challenges: Organic reach on platforms like Facebook is estimated at just 1.1%–2.2%, significantly limiting visibility without paid promotion.

The Power of Podcast Newsletters

1. Higher ROI and Conversion Rates

Email marketing offers a significantly higher return on investment (ROI), averaging $36–$45 for every $1 spent, compared to social media's lower ROI. Additionally, email achieves a conversion rate of 17.63%, far surpassing social media's 9.21% for paid campaigns1 24.

2. Direct and Personalized Communication

Email allows businesses to segment audiences and deliver highly personalized messages based on user behavior, demographics, and preferences. This targeted approach increases engagement and conversions, which is harder to achieve on social media platforms due to algorithmic limitations16.

3. Ownership and Control

Unlike social media, where algorithms dictate visibility, email gives businesses full control over reaching their audience directly. This eliminates the risk of content being buried or unseen due to platform changes or low organic reach34.

4. Preferred Medium for Marketing

A majority of consumers (66%) prefer receiving marketing messages via email rather than social media (23%). This preference aligns with the use of email for business and shopping purposes, making it more effective for driving sales2.

5. Better Engagement Metrics

Email consistently achieves higher open rates (15–25%) and click-through rates (2.9%) compared to social media's organic view rate (2–4%) and click-through rate (1.36%). These metrics demonstrate email's superior ability to engage audiences14.

6. Ease of Building Lists

Building an email list is often easier than growing a social media following. For example, experiments show that email opt-in pages convert visitors at higher rates compared to social media pages4.

7. Measurable Results

Email marketing provides clear analytics on open rates, clicks, and conversions, enabling data-driven decisions. Social media metrics are less precise in attributing direct sales or conversions16.

In summary, email marketing drives direct sales, offers personalization and maintains control over audience reach, making it a more effective tool for achieving measurable business outcomes than social media.

What Should I Write About?

Focus on creating easy-to-produce content, such as long-form written content, podcast/interview transcripts, or screenshots of text conversations.

Use your community as a source of content ideas. Look at common questions, pain points, and topics that come up and turn those into podcast newsletter content.

As always, deliver value (DUH!) and be genuine rather than overly salesy.

Include a clear call-to-action, but maintain a 3:1 ratio of value content to sales content, at least when starting out.

Make the newsletter feel like it's coming directly from you as a person, not just a generic company newsletter.

A Quick Look at Fathom Stats and Building Links

What Is Lead Magnet?

Takeaways:

A podcast newsletter is like a Swiss Army knife for driving traffic; social media is just a flimsy butter knife.
Crazy thought: newsletters give you more bang for your buck than social media ever will, who knew?!
Social media might be fun for scrolling, but newsletters actually get people to click and engage.
Turns out, people prefer their marketing via email rather than social media, shocking right?
If you're still chasing social media likes, maybe it's time to rethink your strategy and join the newsletter revolution.
Newsletters allow for better audience segmentation, making it easier to deliver personalized content that actually resonates.