How to Create a Paid Newsletter on WordPress? (Three Methods)

The success of platforms like Substack, which make money through helping you monetize a newsletter, obviously relies on one good old truth. A traditional email is still the most visited place, delivering high conversions to businesses.

WordPress is not a newsletter service but it can be easily connected to any of dozens of professional services that help you craft and manage free or paid newsletters.

If you are looking to send paid newsletters as part of your premium content subscription on WordPress, or want to make it part of any business site, we’ll walk you through the options we know.

Creating a paid newsletter on WordPress is a matter of an approach that you would like to choose! And here are the ones that we can offer. We’ll stick to a general overview.

1. Choose a Newsletter Service to Use with WordPress

Popular newsletter services have many integrations with other platforms, services, or website builders like WordPress.

You normally start by creating an account with the newsletter provider. All the work that goes into creating a paid email then happens on the side of that service. That includes email design, content, and sending options. One of them is making that newsletter accessible only if pre-paid (in case of our tutorial, paid on your WordPress site).

For example, services like MailerLite, offer a direct integration. We’ll use it as an example to show the benefits and specifics of this approach.

Firstly, you need to have an account with this service. Then, you install their MailerLite Signup Forms plugin for WordPress and activate it from your WordPress dashboard. From there, you connect it to your MailerLite account. That means you should already have an account!

You can use any embedded form you’ve created in MailerLite and place it on a blog post, specific page, or widget with a shortcode on your WordPress site. Popup forms will appear automatically once the plugin is active.

The first email subscription can be free – like a trial. You simply get the next lead email address via your blog. To make people upgrade to a paid newsletter, you then simply customize this option in MailerLite (or other tool) and choose a payment method, including recurring subscriptions.

Let’s sum up what’s required here:

• An account with a chosen email service (normally paid).
• Official WordPress integration with that account (a plugin).

Pros of the MailerLite solution:

• Create beautiful newsletters.
• Upsell regular subscribers to a paid newsletter subscription with automated emails.
• One-time purchases to weekly, yearly or custom subscriptions.
• Stripe with 135+ currencies and payment methods.
• Extra sales landing pages.

Many other email services work in a similar way, you should simply check how it integrates with WordPress and whether any limitations exist in this regard. And what the cost is, of course.

2. WordPress Membership Plugin + Email Newsletter

Membership plugins like ARMember allow WordPress site owners to sell subscriptions, charge per piece of content, and provide paid access to exclusive newsletter-only content.

With such plugins, you can publish content as private posts/pages only members can read (some creators prefer this model). Additionally, you can use just the same email platform connections and integrations (mentioned in the previous part) with external services. This way, you will be able to offer your content in different ways, including paid newsletters.

Here are third-party email services supported by ARMember to help you easily connect and use professional solutions:

• Get MailerLite
• Get Constant Contact
• Get Mailster
• Get Brevo
• Get Omnisend
• Get Kit

Using this approach, you firstly create a membership site with defined access and payment gateways. This lets you have restricted content with a paywall, where anyone can register to become a member and consume content that is paid for.

But if you also want to add a paid newsletter, simply connect one of the services and set up email preferences.

This way, instead of sending newsletters by email to your members, you’ll create automated paid newsletter for your content subscription website.

Moreover, you can also send paid email newsletters for trials to convert leads or, vice versa, send free newsletters to paid content subscribers.

3. (Almost) No Middleman Newsletter WordPress Approach

So, which plugin allows you to send a paid newsletter directly from WordPress? Yes, you still need a plugin but one instead of two.

For example, a few popular plugins like below can help you do different things when you need to set up a WordPress newsletter.

Jetpack

The Jetpack WordPress plugin allows your visitors to subscribe and receive email notifications for new posts. There is the Subscribe Block for WordPress that allows you to insert a subscription form within any post, page, or widget area.

The block also allows you to set up paid plans so that you can send premium newsletters to paying subscribers. The limitation is that people need to have a WordPress account, or they will be provided one upon registration. Moreover, you can import your Newsletter from Substack, including content and free and paid subscribers!

The Newsletter WordPress plugin

Plugins like this are trying to replace dedicated email platforms by enabling you to create and send newsletters directly from WordPress. Some of its capabilities include:

• Integrates with e-commerce plugins like EDD or WooCommerce to turn customers into subscribers.
• collect subscribers using popups, top/bottom bars, and in-post forms.
• subscription, automation, and reports in one plugin.
• connect to your WordPress forms or other plugins.

You may also search for similar list building and direct newsletter plugins on the wp.org directory. Popular names include MailPoet or FluentCRM. Some of them have more features that you might need, but if they meet your needs (like integrating with e-commerce plugins), might be worth giving a try.

Concluding: What’s the Best Way to Create a Paid Newsletter on WordPress?

It all depends on your needs, type of site, WordPress plugins you use, and (optionally) email subscription services you want to rely on.

In short if you are looking to build a newsletter WordPress page or entire site, here are working methods:

• Send emails directly – use dedicated newsletter WordPress plugins like Newsletter plugin, MailPoet or FluentCRM.
• Send paid newsletters on WordPress but manage its design, settings, and paywall through external services like Brevo, MailerLite and much more.
• Use membership plugins such as ARMember that integrate with external services for paid newsletters to convert trials, engage with the audience, or earn extra money.

Related articles:

• How to Build a Subscription Website on WordPress?
• How to Sell Educational Content
• How to Use AI to Grow Your Membership Website?

FAQs

What is the easiest way to start a paid newsletter on WordPress?

The easiest way to start a paid newsletter on WordPress is by using external email service like MailerLite, Brevo and many other popular services which lets you send your paid newsletters.

Do I need a membership plugin for paid newsletters?

Yes, you need a membership plugin like ARMember if only you are planning to make a subscription-based website for your paid newsletters. It helps you monetize your newsletters and starts generating a revenue stream.

What is the difference between a free and paid newsletter?

A free newsletter can be sent to anyone who subscribes to your newsletter for free. However,  a paid newsletter comes with exclusive news and content so readers need to pay to access it. Or become a member of your paid newsletter subscription website. 

How to create a newsletter in WordPress?

To create a newsletter in WordPress, you can have popular newsletter services that have many integrations with other platforms, services, or website builders like WordPress. You can use MailerLite to create and design beautiful newsletters in WordPress.

How can I monetize my newsletter?

You can monetize your newsletter by offering a paid subscription to access it. The best way is to create a membership site using ARMember. ARMember lets you restrict and monetize your exclusive newsletter and its content. Moreover, you can create multiple membership plans with different access rights and prices.

What are the three pillars of a great newsletter?

The three pillars of a great newsletters are: valuable content, appealing design and reader’s engagement.