Discussing Sponsorships with The Founder of Wonder Tools Newsletter

Welcome to a new issue of Swapstack newsletter Founder Stories, where we connect with and share the origin stories of hot, up and coming newsletters in all different industries. Each issue of this series will consist of a deep dive into a different newsletter, and give you insight into how they launched, grew, and sustained their growth. Of course, we’ll also touch upon sponsorships and monetization strategies as well 💰. Let’s get to it!

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Today’s publication:

Name: Wonder Tools

Published by: Jeremy Caplan

Current Sub count & open rate: 14.5K subs / 48% avg. open rate

Topics covered: Creators, Education, Future of work, Lifestyle, Productivity, Start-ups & Tech

1-line description: Discover the most useful new sites and apps

Some Background On Wonder Tools

Wonder Tools started as a pandemic-period side project to help people struggling with their new work-at-home life. My aim is to introduce readers to terrific new resources to help make life a bit more creative, productive, and enjoyable. 

Wonder Tools’ Take On Sponsorships

Q: How do newsletter sponsorships add value to your readers?

Readers appreciate finding out about new services. And because they know I’m vetting everything I publish, they trust that the sponsors’ products and services are worth exploring. 

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Q: For advertisers, what strategies have you seen work best when running sponsorships in your newsletter?

Offer a clear and specific benefit for readers. That’s the most crucial thing. A few other principles that might increase clicks/conversions: 

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• Be concise. Shorter is better. 
• Avoid jargon. Don’t use acronyms. 
• Be human. Use relatable language and examples. 
• Include a simple call-to-action.

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Q: Are there certain verticals or types of advertisers that you see work best with your audience?

We saw sites, apps, and services that offer a clear, simple consumer benefit perform best on Wonder Tools.

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Q: Share your thoughts on why advertisers should consider newsletter advertising according to you?

Readers have an open mind when reading Wonder Tools and other newsletters like it. They’re in a curiosity, exploration, try-things mindset when they open the newsletter, so it’s a good place to reach out to invite them to try something new. They’re in a clutter-free environment where there are few if any other marketing messages, so any sponsored message they see is likely to get their full attention. And they’re in email mode, so they’re often ready to take a little action, like clicking through to find out more.

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Q: Any recent highlights about Wonder Tools that our advertisers should know?

Wonder Tools’ posts are now syndicated to Fast Company, so posts have an increasingly broad reach. And Wonder Tools is now recommended by 45 other newsletters on Substack, which helps consistently extend its reach to new readers. That benefits sponsors, who can reach this growing, engaged readership.

💡 1 Tip to make the best out of newsletter advertising:

Build long-term relationships with writers! On Deck chose to sponsor Stacked Marketer and Quastor multiple times because of the strong fit their audience has with On Deck’s target audience. They’ve both consistently driven high-quality applicants to On Deck which is a great fit for what they’re looking for. 

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Read how On Deck cut their cost-per-acquisition by 50% through Newsletter Marketing

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Want to Work with Wonder Tools? Find them on Swapstack.

Do you have a founder story to share? Email us at: hello@swapstack.co

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