The Why We Buy newsletter

Why We Buy is a weekly newsletter for marketers that “demystifies buyer behavior so you can market smarter”.

The numbers are *chef's kiss*...

• 10k → 50k subscribers
• $300k+ revenue booked
• growing > 20% MoM

...all in the last year.

We caught up with Katelyn Bourgoin, the cofounder of Why We Buy to get all the details.

In this Friday Feature, you’ll learn Why We Buy’s 3 keys to newsletter success — and how you can steal them:

1. Creating “chocolate-covered almond” content
2. Using gamification to increase engagement & virality
3. Turning on paid growth with a Partner Program

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#1 - Creating “chocolate-covered almond” content

Katelyn realized early on that most newsletters are either almonds or chocolate.

Almonds are wholesome & nutritious—but incredibly boring. You know you should eat them but have to force yourself to choose them as a snack.

Chocolate’s the opposite: it’s delicious & indulgent. Easy and enjoyable to consume—but not making you healthier.

Some newsletters are pure almond: packed with valuable information... but without that "feel-good feeling" that keeps you engaged.

Some newsletters are all chocolate: flashy & engaging but lacking substance. Even if you feel good after reading, you didn't come away smarter.

But combine them and you get a chocolate-covered almond: Valuable AND engaging.

That's what Katelyn built Why We Buy to be.

As she put it, “What if I used [my newsletter] to primarily, exclusively, just educate and inform and delight people?”
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🧐 Why it’s awesome

The Chocolate-Covered Almond strategy is awesome—and works!—because it does what many newsletters fail to: crafting educational, helpful content and delivering it in a delightful way. Not only do you feel smarter after reading it, you actually are.

Get really good at writing a newsletter that effectively educates, informs, and delights readers, and your subscribers will be…

1. Excited to open it
2. Engaged when reading it
3. Eager to share it

But how does Why We Buy create delicious chocolate-covered almond content?

🙋‍♀️How Why We Buy does it:

Figure out the almond first. They find relevant, valuable learnings for their readers.

Then dunk it in chocolate. They take their content and make it fun, interesting, and engaging by:

→ Making you the main character of the story. The first two words of Why We Buy are often “Imagine this…” which opens up a curiosity loop you have to finish reading for the result.

→ Using images & graphics with examples to help you visualize the concepts. Images also help break up the text, improve readability, and offer readers who scan first something visual entice a full read.

→ Infusing simple, fun, conversational language full of imagery. The newsletter is easy to understand and relate to, while steering clear of marketing jargon and dry technical speak.

✏️Steal this for your newsletter

1. Create the almond. This is your valuable, informational core. Craft the newsletter’s educational, informative, helpful content. This could include in-depth research, fact-checking, and providing actionable insights. You could even:

→ Analyze data to offer insightful commentary
→ Conduct interviews with experts (primary research)
→ Provide case studies highlighting real-life applications

2. Dunk it in chocolate:

1. Use storytelling and real-life examples in your content. Capture attention and infuse vividness to less-than-exciting topics.
2. Create or curate images for your newsletter. Use charts, memes, graphics, infographics, and screenshots to help break up the monotony of text and help capture and keep attention. Visuals also add a shareable element to your newsletter.
3. Play around with your writing persona. Your in the era of information overload, your personality can be your USP. If readers enjoy getting their information from you, you’re winning. Experiment by infusing humor into a traditionally dry topic (like The Hustle did). Or, take a contrarian stance on a popular topic. Or try using a conversational tone like you’re writing to a good friend or family member.

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#2 - Using gamification

Nailing gamification in your newsletter can unlock a new level of opportunity. You can increase engagement, incentivize sharing, and improve retention when you gamify effectively.

And that’s exactly what Why We Buy has done with their monthly ​Brainy Battles​ edition.

With Brainy Battles, two brands duke it out in the marketing ring having their ad campaigns, landing pages, hero sections (etc) analyzed and judged. Then you—yes you, the reader—vote on who you think “won”.

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🧐 Why it’s awesome

Katelyn and her team created this unique newsletter format to draw readers in with curiosity and get them invested in the outcome.

This is awesome because…

→ Brainy Battles become appointment reading. They’re the epitome of chocolate-covered content: so fun and engaging to read you don’t even realize you’re learning. Plus, their monthly frequency builds anticipation.

→ Brainy Battles get the reader involved. You’re not only interested in the content, you get to vote on the winner. And you’re incentivized to vote (more on that below).

→ Brainy Battles offer additional monetization opportunities. This special edition is another chance to sell newsletter ad slots & sponsorships.
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🙋‍♀️How Why We Buy Does it:

With this new monthly feature, Katelyn and her team were able to…

→ Educate their audience in a unique way. Instead of a traditional “teardown”, they do something unique, fun, and interesting. It’s another way Why We Buy educates, informs, and delights its readers—significantly increasing the odds of readers reading and sharing it. Fun, informative, and innovative content gets shared.

→ Incentivize readers to open and engage. The engaging content in a Brainy Battles edition is enough to crush the opens and clicks. But they take it a step further by having you vote for the brand you think “won”. And every vote gets you entered into a prize draw. Click-to-win. Simple & effective.

→ Earn additional sponsorship revenue with each edition. Katelyn told us these Brainy Battles are a “heavy lift” to create. Smart media operators leverage high-quality content with sponsorship dollars. Katelyn ensured she could sell ad spots in her Brainy Battles before publishing the first edition.
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✏️ Steal this for your newsletter

You can easily increase newsletter engagement and build in virality with gamification, too.

→ Morning Brew added crossword puzzles.
→ Roca News includes a "20 questions" section each Friday.
→ Toby Howell launched his newsletter, The Game, with, well, a game—including a monetary prize for the winner.
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Try including one (or more) of the following in your newsletter:

• A riddle
• A question
• A poll
• A game or puzzle
• A meme

You can then drive additional revenue by finding a relevant brand sponsor for the section.

Bonus → learn more about a Puzzle strategy in our episode with Mary Tobler from Morning Brew.

​3 - Leveraging a Partner Program for Growth

Behind every successful newsletter is a sizeable list of loyal + engaged subscribers. The Why We Buy team has done a remarkable job monetizing, thanks to their readers.

And they’ve been able to because they know exactly what high-quality, engaged subscribers are worth—and how much they can pay to acquire them.

The challenge? Finding those subscribers.

Subscriber quality via paid social channels is unpredictable. And there’s no return policy for low-quality subscribers. Once you spend $ there, it’s gone.

That’s why Katelyn jumped at the chance to run a SparkLoop Partner Program when it launched. With a partner program you only pay for new subscribers that actually open & read your newsletter.

It was a no-brainer for Katelyn. And it worked.

Katelyn says, “SparkLoop is the number one growth lever we’ve pulled — it’s easy and effective.”

🧐 Why it’s awesome

Why We Buy acquired over 15k engaged subscribers in less than a year by running a SparkLoop Partner Program. Partner Programs are awesome because…

→ It’s an absolute no-brainer for newsletters investing in paid growth—you only pay what you can afford and want to pay.

→ Only pay for really high-quality subscribers—which translate to rapidly growing lists, major boosts in engagement, and skyrocketing revenue

→ All with no work and zero risk.
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✏️ Steal this for your newsletter

→ Try out a SparkLoop partner program of your own. They’re perfect for any newsletter operator who a) knows their CPA for engaged subscribers, and b) has a budget of $2k+ per month to spend on growth.

→ Talk with our resident expert ​Cole Bridge​ about which newsletters we could match yours with—the Partner Network is rapidly growing, we’re sure to find a good fit.

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Adding it up…

There is so much to learn from Why We Buy—it’s a shining example of a newsletter doing many of the “right” things. The best part is their strategy can be replicated for your own newsletter.

I’ll leave you with 3 things:

1. ​Check out Why We Buy if you haven’t already →​
2. ​My favorite Brainy Battles edition →​
3. Question: what newsletter is doing something different and innovative we should feature next? Hit reply and let me know!

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