Insideletter success story: Divya Sharma

Insideletter

You know, Insideletter hosted a newsletter cohort back in 2025. Around 32 people joined the cohort, out of whom 26 actually stayed till the end of the first week.

Then, eventually, 13 people completed the cohort. Out of them 5 were absolutely amazing, they actually did what I asked them to do. And today, I’ll share the story of one of them, Divya Sharma.

Divya is a Delhi based writer, expert in SaaS, Finance & E-commerce.

She started her newsletter and acquired 90 subscribers without spending a penny on paid ads.

So, I asked her to tell me what she did, how she grew her newsletter and everything. I’m copy-pasting her exact response.

If someone had told me a year ago that I’d still be consistently writing a newsletter and building an audience around it, I probably wouldn’t have believed them myself.

When I started, I genuinely had no idea what I was doing. I barely even understood what a newsletter really meant beyond ‘sending emails to people.’ There was no big strategy, business plan, or content framework behind it. It mostly came from curiosity. I just liked the idea of building something of my own, sharing thoughts online, and learning in public along the way.

Around that time, I happened to connect with Anirban. We were both following Jasmin, and when I mentioned that I had recently started a newsletter, he reached out and shared about his Insideletter cohort.

That honestly became one of the turning points for me because until then, I was mostly experimenting blindly.

The cohort lasted around a month with assignments and exercises around newsletters, audience building, positioning, and writing.

Trust me, when I started my newsletter, I had absolutely no clarity around things like:

I was simply writing.

But through that cohort, I slowly started understanding how important the foundation is. It made me realise that before growth, you first need clarity around what you’re building and who it is for.

I wouldn’t say I figured everything out instantly after that, but it definitely gave me awareness and direction.

For almost 10 months, I experimented on Substack. I tested different types of editions, writing styles, topics, and formats while slowly understanding what resonated with people.

Along the way, I worked on things like:

Some editions unexpectedly performed really well.

One of them was around how to get a SaaS byline. It was based on my real process, and after people started reaching out to me with similar questions, I turned it into an edition so more people could benefit from it.

That edition eventually started appearing in AI search results and stayed on the first page for a long time.

Recently, I shared 3 outreach/pitch DMs in one of the newsletter editions that had helped me get replies, and people really loved that edition because many of them were actively looking for practical outreach templates that could actually start conversations and bring responses.

I received several emails and DMs from readers saying they were going to try those approaches for landing projects, clients, or even new job opportunities themselves.

I think that edition performed well because it wasn’t theory or generic advice. It was based on my personal experience of what worked for me.

Moments like that made me realise that people genuinely connect with practical and honest experiences much more than overly polished ‘expert’ content.

Over time, people slowly started recognising me as someone who writes about:

Most of my editions come directly from real situations I’ve experienced myself, which is why the newsletter naturally became more personal and honest over time.

Recently, I shifted from Substack to Beehiiv because my needs evolved as the newsletter grew.

Substack was great while starting, but I started looking for better growth, analytics, and customisation features.

Before switching, I spent time researching Beehiiv and speaking to people already using it. Eventually, moving felt like the right decision, especially because I wanted to think more seriously about growth and reader experience.

Features like personalising editions using readers’ names genuinely made the experience feel much closer and more engaging.

Now, I approach newsletters very differently compared to when I started.

Earlier, I was just writing, but with time, it has gone much more deeply into:

Building my own newsletter over the past year has taught me a lot beyond writing itself.

I’ve learnt:

Interestingly, newsletters have now also become one of the strongest content pillars of my LinkedIn presence because it’s something I genuinely enjoy exploring deeply.

Over time, I’ve started adding newsletter strategy and writing as a service as well, and I’m actively looking to work with brands and creators who want to grow their newsletters more intentionally.

I still feel like I’m learning every day, but that’s also what keeps me excited about this space.

When I compare myself to where I started a year ago, I can see the difference in how I think, write, and approach building online now.

So, if anyone is trying to start or grow a newsletter and feels stuck anywhere, whether it’s positioning, writing, distribution, or just getting started, my DMs are always open.

I may not have all the answers, but I’ll genuinely try my best to help however I can.

Did you like today’s edition? I’ll share more such success stories of Insideletter. Also, I’m planning to launch the second batch of the Insideletter cohort. Will you be interested in joining?

Anirban ‘sharing a success story’ Das