---
aliases: ["Reach 50k Subscribers"]
Is A: Goal
Belongs to: "[[2024]]"
Status: Done
---
# Reach 50k Subscribers

Subscriber count is the foundational growth metric for the newsletter business. Reaching 50,000 subscribers by end of 2024 would put Refactoring firmly in the top tier of engineering newsletters, enabling premium sponsorship pricing and establishing the audience base needed for future product launches. This goal is the north star for all [[responsibility-grow-newsletter]] efforts.

## Success criteria

- End 2024 with 50,000+ total newsletter subscribers
- Maintain monthly net growth of 2,000+ subscribers
- Keep unsubscribe rate below 1.5% per issue
- Achieve organic growth rate of at least 60% (not purely paid acquisition)
- Maintain [[measure-open-rate]] above 45% as the list scales

## Key milestones

- Cross 35,000 subscribers by end of Q1, validating early-year growth tactics
- Launch [[24q2-10-pillar-articles]] to drive SEO-based organic acquisition
- Cross 42,000 by mid-year, on pace for the 50k target
- Experiment with [[24q4-linkedin-crossposting]] as an additional growth channel in Q4
- Hit 50,000 by December with a sustained final push through [[responsibility-grow-newsletter]]

## Notes

- Final count: 53,000 subscribers by December 2024. Exceeded target by 6%.
- Organic growth accounted for approximately 65% of new subscribers. Top sources: Twitter/X, SEO from pillar articles, and word-of-mouth referrals.
- The [[24q2-10-pillar-articles]] project was the single biggest organic growth lever. Those 10 articles now account for ~30% of monthly organic signups.
- [[measure-open-rate]] held at 47% even at scale, which is strong for a list this size. This is a key selling point for sponsors.
- LinkedIn cross-posting ([[24q4-linkedin-crossposting]]) added ~150 subscribers directly but had an outsized brand awareness effect.
- The path to [[2025-reach-85k-subscribers]] is clear but will require new channels. Organic growth from existing channels alone will not close the gap.
