Hey, Manny here.
Welcome back to this week’s edition of Growth Levers, where you get:
3 things happening in the newsletter world
2 winning newsletter ads and breakdowns of why they worked
1 pro tip to improve your ads and thus improve your CPA
Let’s get into today’s edition and see if you can find a lever to pull:
3 Things You Should Know
🐝 beehiiv Summer event is 1 month away! Their last event (Winter Release 2025) debuted web analytics, digital products, an AI website builder, and a link in bio product, among others. I'm admittedly extremely excited and curious as to what the summer release 2026 will bring.
🧑🏭 Emily Sundberg surveys 21 (phenomenal) newsletter writers on if/how they can take a summer vacation. Read if you want an inside look at how some of the top operators think about balancing work / life.
💰 The Rundown takes outside capital. Is venture-backed media…back? Seriously? I don't know, but we have not seen much of this lately. Rowan from the rundown wrote a great thread highlighting the deal.
2 Winning Ads
Ad 1: Famous Name “Endorsement”
Newsletter: The Simple Path to Wealth
What Makes It Great:
The name you pick is the scroll-stopper here in this format. And yes, you do have to be a mixture of brave and selective to use this format because if you’re a media company, your legal team may not like this. However, some names you choose have “suing a small newsletter” on the lowest bar of priorities.
We’ve tried these, they work when done right and you MUST input some form of the small clever asterisk in this.
NOTE: We stole this from one of the BOLDEST ad agencies out there that did this exact thing for a cereal brand. Check it out here.
Ad 2: Typed Out Copy + AI Voiceover
Newsletter: Small Cap Stocks (not our client)
What Makes It Great:
The first video ad making it into this newsletter is here and I need to note that this is not our client but this ad has been public for a while and used plenty.
Why it works is because this is the last thing you expect to see when scrolling on your feed and with the right hook it can make someone sit there and listen to the whole voiceover through to the CTA.
NOTE: This does take a bit more labor than most static ads we have highlighted but it can definitely pay off if you’re willing to type out the ad copy, slice in an AI voiceover recording, etc etc. Truth be told, a good video editor or some AI tool can get this one to a point where you can use and test it!
1 Meta Ads Pro Tip
Test your ad copy to bring down inflated CPMs and, by extension, your CPAs.
We've seen this a lot with B2B clients lately. Meta's algorithm is scanning your copy for keywords and using them to classify your campaign into premium audience buckets.
So, if your copy mentions "CTOs" or "VP of Product," Meta sees that and charges you a $55 CPM.
That matters because CPMs have a direct domino effect on CPAs. No matter how strong your creative or CTR is, an inflated CPM will kill your efficiency.
To combat this, we test copy variants that still speak to the right ICP but avoid handing Meta obvious keyword signals.
If you ever notice unusually high CPMs, audit your copy. Look for one to three words Meta might have latched onto. Swap them out, keep the intent, and watch what happens.
One caveat: the goal is not always the cheapest CPA. You're probably not getting a $1.50 CPA targeting CTOs. But you can test new variants that bring costs down while still getting the right subscribers on your list.
Before you go, here’s how I can help:
I've spent the last five years of my life driving 5M+ newsletter subscribers with Meta ads across newsletters from Morning Brew, Mark Manson, The Daily Upside, James Clear, Tangle News, and many more.
If you want to skip the hours of work in Canva and the overwhelming UI of Meta Ads Manager, my agency can make the ads and grow your newsletter without you lifting a finger - submit your newsletter details here.
That's all for today. I'll see you back here next week!