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- 📌 How to gain 1.2K subs daily for 2 years
📌 How to gain 1.2K subs daily for 2 years
Tactics for 0-830K growth
Anatoly Zaslaver
December 20, 2024
Hey there! 👋
This week’s spotlight is The Rundown AI - your go-to source for AI news and practical ways to integrate AI into your life.
This week’s 3 handpicked email gems…
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Backstory
You’ve probably heard of The Rundown AI by Rowan Cheung - one of the fastest-growing AI newsletters for a reason.
Back in 2022, when OpenAI launched Chat-GPT, many were amazed by its potential.
Rowan, a former competitive swimmer turned AI enthusiast after COVID, saw more than just a tech breakthrough - he saw a business opportunity.
With no prior tech background, Rowan spent 2022 diving into AI, learning its real-world applications.
By the time Chat-GPT went viral, he was ready to simplify complex concepts for a growing audience overwhelmed by the information flood.
The result? His Twitter following soared from 1,000 to 250,000, and The Rundown AI gained 150,000 newsletter subscribers in four months.
What's in it for you?
1. Learn how to repurpose content across platforms.
2. Discover how to carve a niche like The Rundown AI.
3. Download templates & get tips inspired by Rowan’s journey.
Opens, Clicks & Email Delivery
Getting emails into inboxes isn’t just luck - it’s strategy.
Rowan Cheung’s The Rundown AI nails email deliverability with a smart, user-friendly sign-up flow. Here’s what they do well…
Landing Page
A clean landing page with powerful social proof: “Join 750,000+ subscribers.”
Thank You Page:
Combines a personal touch (team photos) with actionable steps.
A Gmail button to check your inbox immediately - a smart feature.
Welcome Email:
Well-structured with clear actions.
Visuals of how to drag the email from the Promotions to the Primary folder.
Another GIF demonstrates how to add the sender to contacts.
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How effective are these methods?
With an enormous subscriber base of 830K, The Rundown AI boasts an impressive 42% open rate and 13% click-through rate - far above industry standards.
Content
Rowan Cheung’s The Rundown AI began as a simple effort to explain AI basics to friends and family.
By late 2022, Rowan was sending 2–3 emails weekly, sharing foundational concepts and the latest developments.
In 2023, he refined and scaled his approach:
Daily Routine: Spent hours scanning AI news, identifying trends, and summarizing updates.
Two-Pronged Strategy:
Twitter/X: Shared short, engaging summaries to drive immediate visibility and engagement.
Email: Delivered in-depth, listicle-style newsletters that catered to subscribers’ interests.
To support growth, Rowan introduced Supertools - a searchable AI tools database built with Notion and Super.
It provided readers with a centralized hub for discovering practical AI applications, seamlessly tying into his newsletters and driving newsletter signups via embedded forms.
By 2024, The Rundown AI had scaled significantly, supported by a growing team and delivering five newsletters per week (~1,200 words each), focusing on:
News: Timely updates on AI breakthroughs.
New Tools: Reviews of cutting-edge software.
Training: Practical guides for using AI effectively.
Jobs: Opportunities in the AI industry.
Ads: Monetization through high-quality sponsorships.
Building Beyond the Newsletter
To cater to advanced readers and those craving deeper engagement, Rowan expanded The Rundown AI into a broader ecosystem:
Supertools Integration: Offers subscribers easy access to curated AI tools, enhancing productivity and encouraging hands-on exploration.
AI University: Provides premium courses, prompt guides, and interactive lessons to help readers master AI skills.
Podcastle: Podcastle enables creators to produce high-quality podcasts
Growth
What Does 1.2K Subscribers a Day Look Like?
It looks like The Rundown AI.
That’s the growth pace Rowan Cheung achieved over 24 months with a blend of organic strategies, product innovation, and paid acquisition - all while managing churn.
Early Growth: Seizing the AI Opportunity (Late 2022 – Early 2023)
The journey began in late 2022, with Rowan Cheung launching The Rundown AI newsletter from scratch.
Armed with no prior audience but plenty of determination, Rowan focused on organic channels to attract his first wave of subscribers.
Starting Point:
Twitter/X: With just 1K followers, Rowan shared short, engaging updates on AI developments.
Newsletter: Sent 2 - 3 emails weekly, targeting AI-curious readers with digestible insights.
Key Milestones:
Late 2022: 0 subscribers.
May 2023: Newsletter reached 150K subscribers, and Twitter/X followers soared to 235K, driven by viral threads and CTAs directing readers to sign up.
Scaling Through Engagement and Diversification (Mid 2023 – End 2023)
By mid-2023, Rowan expanded his efforts across new channels and introduced innovative products to diversify his growth strategy:
Growth Tactics:
Continued leveraging Twitter/X, using listicle-style summaries to drive virality and convert readers into subscribers.
Embedded CTAs in every viral thread to maximize subscriber acquisition.
Product Innovation:
Launched Supertools, a Notion-based database of curated AI tools, driving an additional 10K newsletter signups via embedded forms.
Introduced AI-related job boards through partnerships with 160 major AI companies, adding value for professionals in the space.
Key Numbers (End of 2023):
Subscriber count ~ 400K.
Organic and product-led strategies continued driving high conversion rates.
Rapid Scaling with Paid Channels and Team Expansion (2024)
Paid Acquisition Channels:
Rowan’s strategy shifted gears in 2024, incorporating paid acquisition.
Leveraged Twitter/X, Beehiiv, and Meta ads to accelerate subscriber growth.
Newsletter Explosion:
May 2024: Newsletter surpassed 600K subscribers, and Twitter/X reached 500K followers.
End of 2024: Subscriber base exceeded 830K, sustaining an average growth rate of ~1.2K subscribers per day.
Team Expansion:
Hired a Head of Partnerships to manage sponsorships and collaborations.
Grew the content team to deliver 5 X emails/week (~1.2K words each).
Platform Diversification:
Launched AI University, offering premium courses, guides, and interactive lessons.
Released a podcast to engage the community and strengthen thought leadership.
Strengthened presence on additional platforms:
LinkedIn: Grew to 48K followers
Instagram: Built an audience of 31K followers
YouTube: Gained 6K subscribers
Monetization
Rowan transformed The Rundown AI into a thriving revenue generator by strategically combining sponsorships, premium subscriptions, and diverse product offerings:
1. Multi-Product Suite: Monetizing Beyond Newsletters
The Rundown AI evolved into a comprehensive platform offering:
Courses and Certifications: Covering advanced AI topics and practical applications.
Free and Paid Tools: Including Supertools, a curated AI tool database that boosts engagement and drives newsletter signups.
Premium Subscriptions: A flagship annual plan priced at $999, featuring exclusive content and resources.
Monthly Option: Available for $99, providing flexibility for subscribers.
Impact: With 5,000 students purchasing subscriptions, estimated annual revenue exceeds $495K+ from monthly plans, plus additional revenue from annual plans.
2. Sponsorships: Early and Ongoing Revenue
Sponsorships remain a significant monetization channel:
Streamlined Automation: Calendly and Stripe enable seamless booking and payment.
Controlled Quality: Every ad is subject to approval, maintaining alignment with The Rundown AI’s brand and audience.
Impact: Sponsorship calculators estimate $220K+ annually, supported by a 75% repeat sponsorship rate - a testament to consistent content quality.
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Did you learn something new today? |
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P.P.S.
Questions about newsletter growth, monetization, or other how-to topics?