The Part of Your Marketing Funnel You're Forgetting

Read Time: 3 Minutes 18 Seconds

Hey there,

In today’s edition:

• Why your content is failing to convert (and what's missing)

• The strategic value of newsletters in your marketing efforts

• Real examples from creators & brands who've mastered newsletters

Let's be honest.

Most marketing strategies look something like this:

1. Make viral social content to grab attention

2. Hope they convert viewers into users

3. Maybe run some paid ads

And sure, that works... kind of.

But here's what's happening:

Your audience scrolls through a video, thinks "that's cool," and then immediately forgets about you.

Or worse, they see your ad and think, "Who are these people and why should I care?"

The problem?

There's a massive trust gap in your marketing funnel.

And today, we're breaking down exactly how to fill it.

1. The Missing Part of Your Funnel

Think of your marketing funnel like this:

• Top of funnel (social media): Great reach but limited by viewing conventions (short attention spans)

• Bottom of funnel (sales page/paid advertisements): The place where you’d sell your offer.

• Middle of funnel (newsletter): Aka the missing link, it’s where you can nurture a direct relationship with your audience and build trust.

When you skip straight from attention to conversion, you're asking people to make a leap they're not ready for.

Let's look at the data:

• 6 out of 10 consumers admit that they’ve made a purchase as a direct result of a marketing email they’ve received (Constant Contact)

• 96.5% of 4 billion email users worldwide check email every day (OptinMonster)

A newsletter bridges this gap by transforming casual viewers into an engaged audience.

2. How Newsletters Build Trust

Here's what makes newsletters so powerful:

1. Direct access

No algorithm decides if your message gets seen.

When someone subscribes, you get direct access to their most personal online space: their inbox.

2. The right depth at the right time

Social feeds are for scrolling. Newsletters are for reading.

Your audience is in a completely different mindset when they open your email.

Rather than giving you only 3 seconds to hook your attention, they're ready to engage with deeper ideas over a longer period of time.

It's a freeing experience overall since you have more leverage to share complete thoughts and build more sophisticated arguments.

You're not fighting against an algorithm that rewards shock value and quick dopamine hits.

3. First-party data (that you own)

Instagram followers aren't really "yours." Your YouTube subscribers aren’t really “yours.”

But email subscribers? That's an asset you control completely.

4. Consistent touchpoints

Social posts vanish in crowded feeds within hours.

Newsletters arrive predictably, whether it’s 1x a week, every Tuesday or Friday, or every weekday.

This reliability is the foundation of trust: your audience knows exactly when and how they'll hear from you.

3. Newsletters in Action

Let's look at how creators and brands are using newsletters effectively in their respective niches:

The Dink: Pickleball

Product Growth: Product & growth

McKinsey Quarterly: Thought pieces by industry leaders

The Muse: Careers

Morning Brew: Business

The Publish Press: Creator economy

Marketing Examples: Marketing Campaigns

The Finance Newsletter: Personal Finance

Neil Patel: SEO

The 3-2-1 Newsletter: Mindfulness and Habits

What do all these successful newsletters have in common?

They prioritize value over promotion.

While many businesses bombard audiences with endless advertisements and marketing campaigns, these standout newsletters have taken a different approach:

putting audience needs first and building trust through consistent, valuable content.

4. Building Trust Through Consistency

When you think about what makes newsletters effective, it comes down to a simple idea:

Trust = Consistency × Value

When you show up reliably in someone's inbox with valuable insights, you build the kind of relationship that transforms casual followers into a dedicated audience.

You're no longer a random brand they scrolled past.

You're a trusted voice they welcome into their day.

Thanks for showing up this week. We’ll see you in the next :).

Sincerely,

Ryan & Thomas