Kajabi Newsletter: Build Your Lead Generation System

Newsletters have become an increasingly popular method for lead generation, but it's important to consider whether this tool fits your specific business goals and personal strengths. In this article, I explore how to build a newsletter using Kajabi, walking through the process from selecting a strategy to setting up content and analyzing performance.

I'll cover practical steps for creating and managing a newsletter, including how to leverage Kajabi's features for audience engagement and content optimization. By sharing my approach, I aim to provide clear guidance to help you decide if a newsletter should be part of your online business toolkit.

Key Takeaways

• Assess if a newsletter suits your business and working style.
• Learn how to set up and customize a Kajabi newsletter.
• Use built-in analytics to improve content and audience engagement.

Should You Start a Newsletter?

Assessing If Newsletters Fit Your Business

Not every business or creator will benefit equally from starting a newsletter. I recommend considering your strengths and your preferred style of content creation before deciding. For example:

• If you are a copywriter or enjoy writing emails and blog posts, a newsletter could be a great tool for capturing leads and building your audience.
• If you prefer creating videos, then a platform like YouTube may suit you better for exposure and discovery.
• If you like conducting interviews or prefer audio, a podcast might be the better choice.

Focusing on just one main platform for lead generation helps maximize your results and reduce overwhelm. Kajabi's newsletter tool is especially suited for those who want to use writing as their primary way to engage and convert leads.

Comparing Newsletters with Other Lead Generation Tools

Newsletters are just one of several options for generating and capturing leads online. Here's a comparison of some common tools:

Tip: Only choose a newsletter if writing is your strong suit. If you are comfortable on camera or with audio, consider using those formats as your discovery and lead generation channel. I personally focus on YouTube for discovery and use embedded forms on squeeze pages for capturing leads, instead of a newsletter.

Key decision points:

• Decide if you want your newsletter to be free or paid.
• Consider how you plan to use it: for broad reach, lead capture, or as a product to monetize.

Make sure your chosen platform and format align with your business focus and your strengths.

Overview of Kajabi Newsletters

Kajabi as a Newsletter Platform

Kajabi now includes a dedicated newsletter feature within its suite of products. To start, I simply go to “Products,” click “Newsletters,” and follow the prompts to set up the basics:

There are options to run a free newsletter for maximum lead generation or a paid newsletter for subscribers. I can also use Kajabi's AI to generate initial post drafts, which helps with brainstorming even though I usually write my own content.

The dashboard is split into helpful sections:

• Overview: Analytics on subscribers, open rates, and click rates.
• Audience: Details on who’s subscribed or unsubscribed.
• Engagement & Health: Insights on engagement and newsletter performance.

Editing tools let me add bulleted or numbered lists, buttons, embedded content (like YouTube), and headings to make a newsletter more engaging. On each post, I can manage tags, authors, SEO details, and visibility settings. Comments can be set as visible, hidden, or locked, which is useful for gathering feedback.

Monetization Possibilities

Kajabi treats newsletters as a product, making monetization straightforward. I can choose between offering the newsletter for free or as a paid subscription. For the paid option, there are flexible payment settings:

• One-time payment
• Multiple payments
• Monthly subscription (commonly used for newsletters)

Setting a subscription price and enabling Kajabi Payments lets me collect recurring revenue from subscribers. This approach makes newsletters viable as a standalone product or an add-on for my existing online business.

A newsletter can function as a discovery and lead generation tool first, with monetization as a secondary benefit. I recommend considering your overall strategy before deciding to charge for your newsletter or keep it free for broader reach.

Building a Newsletter in Kajabi

Step-by-Step Creation Process

To start building a newsletter in Kajabi, I go into my account, click on Products, and select Newsletters. Then I click Get Started.

I need to choose a title, add a brief description, and optionally upload a thumbnail for the newsletter. For example, I might use "The Solo Creator Newsletter" as the title and add a short description like "Weekly tips and tactics for building and growing your one-person online business."

Kajabi uses AI to create three starter posts based on my title and description. These drafts can spark ideas, but I prefer to write my own content. From the dashboard, I can access analytics tabs including Overview, Audience, Engagement, and Health to monitor open rates, click rates, and subscriber activity. Each post can be edited, duplicated, previewed, or deleted. Posts remain in draft until published.

Branding and Customization

To brand my newsletter, I use my own artwork for the thumbnail. If I need visual assets, I design them in Canva. Within each newsletter post, I can add bulleted or numbered lists, heading tags, buttons, block quotes, or embeds—such as YouTube videos—to make the content more engaging.

Under the settings for each post, I upload branded images, use tags for categorization, assign authors for credit, and set the publication status. I can control comment visibility and manage SEO details by editing the slug, page title, and description. These options help me maintain brand consistency and ensure the newsletter looks appealing and professional.

Choosing Free or Paid Models

Kajabi allows me to offer my newsletter as either free or paid. A free newsletter works well for lead generation or wider exposure. Paid options let me monetize the content by charging a subscription fee, which is typically billed monthly. I can set up one-time payments, multi-payments, or recurring subscriptions through Kajabi Payments.

Here's a quick comparison:

Before choosing, I focus on my overall strategy and lead generation goals. For demonstration, I use the free model, but Kajabi gives the flexibility to switch based on my needs.

Optimizing Newsletter Content

Using Kajabi's AI Content Features

When creating a new newsletter in Kajabi, I start by entering a title, description, and optionally, a thumbnail image. Kajabi’s AI then generates three draft posts based on this information. These AI-generated drafts are useful for sparking ideas or providing a starting point, though I usually choose to edit or rewrite the content to suit my audience better.

The dashboard gives a clear overview of key analytics like subscriber numbers, open rates, click rates, and impressions. I can easily track who is engaging, unsubscribing, or just discovering my newsletter. Filtering options, such as All Time, Last 24 Hours, 7 Days, and 4 Weeks, help me drill down into data for better insights.

Post Creation and Editing Tools

Each newsletter post comes with two main tabs: Post and Settings. In the Post tab, I can use various formatting tools, including:

• Bulleted and numbered lists
• Heading tags
• Buttons
• Block quotes
• Paywall breaks

I can also duplicate, preview, or delete posts as needed. The editing options let me make each post look engaging and ensure the content matches my brand’s style.

In the Settings tab, I add post thumbnails, assign tags for better categorization, and credit authors if someone else contributes. There are also options for SEO, such as customizing the URL slug, page title, and description.

Embedding Media and Enhancing Engagement

I make use of Kajabi’s embedding features to include rich media. It’s simple to embed YouTube videos or link out to any online content, which helps keep the newsletter interactive and dynamic.

For increased engagement, I ensure comments are set to visible, allowing subscribers to share feedback directly on each post. This two-way interaction is valuable for gauging reader interest and sustaining an active community around the newsletter.

Adding branded artwork and thumbnails also helps each post stand out, reinforcing my brand identity and making the content visually appealing.

Managing and Analyzing Your Audience

Understanding Analytics

Inside Kajabi's newsletter dashboard, I have access to sections for overview, audience, engagement, and health. These analytics help me track who my subscribers are, their open rates, and their click rates for each email.

I can filter the data by All Time, last 24 hours, 7 days, or 4 weeks to see trends over different time periods. The dashboard also shows net subscriber growth, giving me a clear picture of those who subscribed and unsubscribed.

A simple table format summarizes key analytics:

Engagement Metrics

Engagement metrics are crucial for understanding how my audience interacts with my content. Open rate and click rate are the main numbers I watch. These tell me not just how many people receive my newsletter, but how many actually read and interact with it.

I can also check engagement for each post. It's possible to break down performance by draft, preview, and published status, providing more detail on what content works best.

Audience engagement sections include:

• Overview of total engagement
• Tracking specific posts and their individual stats
• Filtering data over various time periods for comparison

A high open rate means my subject lines and sender name are effective in getting attention, while a strong click rate suggests my content drives readers to take actions or explore links. This direct feedback helps me refine future newsletters for better audience results.

Improving Newsletter Performance

Tagging and Categorization

When creating a newsletter in Kajabi, I use tags to organize and categorize each post. This helps readers find specific topics easily, and it streamlines my content management.

• Tags: I assign relevant tags to each newsletter post to improve searchability.
• Authors: If someone else writes the content, I add their name as an author for clear attribution.
• Examples:

SEO and Sharing Settings

Optimizing newsletters for SEO and sharing is important for discovery. In the settings, I:

• Set a clear URL slug, so the newsletter link is easy to share and remember.
• Manually input the page title and meta description for better search engine visibility.
• Upload branded artwork or a specific thumbnail for sharing.
• Enable visibility on the web, making it accessible for a broader audience.

Checklist:

• Customized URL slug
• Manual page title/description
• Uploaded branded image
• Visibility enabled

Enabling Audience Feedback

For ongoing improvement, I keep comments set to "visible" in my newsletters. This allows readers to leave feedback or ask questions.

• Feedback Benefits: Provides direct input from the audience and increases engagement.
• Settings:
• Comments can be set to visible, hidden, or locked.
• I always select visible to encourage interaction.

The more feedback I receive, the better I can tailor future content to my subscribers' needs.