You have 560 subscribers.

You think: "Not enough. I need more."

But have you ever calculated what those 560 subscribers are actually worth?

If each subscriber is worth $50 lifetime, you're sitting on $28,000 in asset value.

Most newsletter operators have no idea what their subscribers are worth. They can't answer basic questions like: Should I spend $200 on ads? Is this collaboration worth my time? Which acquisition channel should I prioritize?

Without knowing subscriber value, you're flying blind.

Luckily beehiiv has a tool for this again and you can check out each and every one of your subscribers when clicking their subscriber email in the UI.

You earn $1,110 per month from 560 subscribers.

That's roughly $2 per subscriber per month.

Over 12 months, that's $24 per subscriber annually.

But subscribers don't stay for just 12 months. If average retention is 18 months, each subscriber is worth $36 lifetime. If retention is 24 months, each is worth $48.

You're not just adding subscribers. You're adding $36-48 assets to your business.

When you think about it this way, acquisition decisions become obvious.

Should you spend $100 on ads if it generates 50 subscribers? Yes, because 50 × $36 = $1,800 in lifetime value. That's 18x ROI.

Should you spend 5 hours creating a lead magnet that generates 40 subscribers? Yes, because 40 × $36 = $1,440 in value. If your time is worth $50/hour, you invested $250 to generate $1,440. That's 5.7x ROI.

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Here's the formula that changes everything:

Subscriber Lifetime Value (LTV) = Monthly Revenue per Subscriber × Average Retention (months)

Your numbers:

Now you can calculate ROI for any acquisition channel:

Channel ROI = (Subscribers Generated × LTV) ÷ (Time Cost + Money Cost)

Example calculations:

X Posting (5 hours/week, generates 30 subs/month):

Pinterest (3 hours/week, generates 15 subs/month):

Guest Post (5 hours once, generates 87 subs):

This math tells you exactly where to invest.

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Now you can answer the question everyone asks: "Should I pay for subscriber acquisition?"

Let's say Facebook ads can generate subscribers at $2 each.

Is that a good deal?

Math: Subscriber LTV = $36. Cost per subscriber = $2. Profit per subscriber = $34.

Yes. That's a 18x return on investment.

But you only know this if you calculated subscriber value. Without the math, $2 per subscriber "feels expensive" even though it's incredibly profitable.

The biggest acquisition mistake: Underinvesting because you don't know the ROI.

Most newsletter operators spend zero on paid acquisition because they don't know if it's profitable. Meanwhile, someone who understands the math is spending $500/month to generate 250 subscribers worth $9,000 lifetime.

Use this framework to calculate your numbers:

Step 1: Monthly Revenue per Subscriber Total monthly revenue ÷ Total subscribers = Revenue per subscriber per month

Your numbers: $______ ÷ ______ subscribers = $______ per sub/month

Step 2: Estimate Average Retention How long does average subscriber stay? (Guess if you don't track)

Your estimate: ______ months

Step 3: Calculate Lifetime Value Revenue per subscriber × Average retention = LTV

Your LTV: $______ × ______ months = $______ per subscriber

Step 4: Set Maximum Cost per Acquisition Rule of thumb: Spend up to 25% of LTV on acquisition

Your max CPA: $______ × 0.25 = $______ per subscriber

Step 5: Evaluate Current Channels

For each acquisition channel, calculate:

This reveals which channels to scale and which to fix or kill.

Now let's project what's possible.

Current state:

Scenario 1: Grow to 1,000 subscribers (same revenue per sub)

Scenario 2: Grow to 2,000 subscribers (same revenue per sub)

Scenario 3: Stay at 560 subscribers, increase revenue per sub to $4

The insight: You can grow revenue by adding subscribers OR increasing value per subscriber (better monetization). Both work. Combining both is explosive.

If you implement Week 9's lead generation systems and hit 2,000 subscribers in 6 months, you're looking at $4,000/month. If you also improve monetization to $3/subscriber (Week 10 sales systems), that's $6,000/month.

From $1,110 to $6,000 in 6 months. That's the math of systematic growth.

You calculated what subscribers are worth.

Now you need to convert them to buyers.

Week 9 filled your newsletter with qualified leads. Week 10 shows you how to turn those leads into customers without feeling like a pushy salesperson.

Topics coming in Week 10:

The bridge: Lead generation gets them in. Sales systems get them buying.

You learned how to generate leads systematically this week. Next week you learn how to monetize them ethically.

Subscriber value × Sales conversion rate = Your income.

You just calculated the first variable. Week 10 optimizes the second.

Your Weekend Action:

Monday starts Week 10: Sales Systems Without Selling.

Show up ready to convert the leads you're about to generate.

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