👋🏻 Welcome back to Newsletter Examples, where I highlight the formats, strategies, and best practices of leading newsletters to help you grow and monetize your newsletter.

Today, I explore how Mike D. Sykes II has turned The Kicks You Wear into a community hub for sneakerheads. Total examples: 5. Total reading time: 3 minutes.

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Example 1: Know your purpose

A big reason people read The Kicks You Wear is to hear about the latest shoe releases. Sykes wastes no time; a few words into his intro, he takes you inside his shopping cart, demonstrating his passion for new kicks.

Later in the email, he includes a whole section listing the week’s most interesting releases.

Example 2: Leverage social

Sykes is prolific on X. He’s tweeted 264k times (about 257k more than me 😲). His social cred has helped his newsletter grow: historically, about 2 of every 5 subscribers have come through Twitter.

Every Thursday, he urges his followers to share pics of their favorite kicks, using a cleverly named hashtag: #TheKicksWeWear…

Example 3: Elevate the conversation

Sykes doesn’t just highlight cool sneakers, he uses his platform to sound off on problems he sees in the sneaker biz that mainstream outlets rarely cover.

Example 4: Start a reader “mailbag”

One of the best ways to increase engagement with your audience: create a regular reader mailbag or AMA session, allowing your subscribers to ask you questions. It produces easy newsletter content and can further position you as a thought leader.

Example 5: Create a coda

I love it when writers have unique sign-offs. Sykes’s last section is always super short but super poignant—and makes me want to open his next email.

Hope you enjoyed this week’s examples. I’ll be back next week with a new batch.

-Brad

P.S. I love all the feedback y’all are sharing, keep it coming!

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