Interview Date: April 27, 2025
Table of Content
- Meet Matthew Campbell
- Newsletter Identity Card
- Tools he uses to run his newsletter
- How he started his newsletter
- How he grew over 8,000 subcribers
- His paid subscription strategies to become a Substack bestseller
- Personal & professional impact of running a newsletter
MEET THE CREATOR
Matthew Campbell is a long-time wedding industry pro who turned his passion for music into a full-fledged media brand.
From running a DJ company in the ’90s to launching My Wedding Songs, a website that’s helped thousands plan their perfect playlists, Matthew has built an impressive ecosystem that now includes books, a podcast, and his Substack newsletter, Wedding MusicLetter.
Launched in May 2022, Wedding MusicLetter is now a Substack Bestseller with over 8,000 subscribers and 100+ paid members. But Matthew didn’t just grow a newsletter, he built a niche brand trusted by wedding professionals year after year. While many newsletters fade once a couple says “I do,” his strategy has always been to serve wedding pros with long-term value and relevant insights.
In this interview, Matthew shares:
- How he turned his DJ career into a sustainable publishing business, and how his newsletter became a key part of that journey
- How he grew Wedding MusicLetter from 0 to 8,000+ subscribers using SEO, lead magnets, and trade shows
- How he became a Substack Bestseller in 16 months
- Professional impact of running a newsletter under his main business
Enjoy!
NEWSLETTER IDENTITY CARD
TOOL STACK
- ESP: Substack
- Writing: Substack, Grammarly, ChatGPT, Gemini
- Podcasting: BuzzSprout, Descript
- Design of visuals design: Napkin AI, Canva
- Growth: Kit, MailMunch
- Webinars: Zoom
- Digital Products: Amazon KDP, Etsy
- Social Media Tools: Buffer
- App: GoodBarber
- Payments: Stripe, MiloTree, Amazon
START
You run your own media company with several channels such as a podcast, books, and a newsletter. How and why did you start Wedding MusicLetter in the first place and how do you position it in your business?
I owned a wedding DJ company called DJ Express in Montana in the 1990s. When I moved to Las Vegas in early 2000, my love for weddings and music continued, so I built a website all about weddings and music.
It was awesome helping couples plan their wedding playlists and educating DJs. The website and brand today, My Wedding Songs, continues to feature all my products and services—including the newsletter.
Carving out my little niche of wedding song ideas has been a game-changer. For the people who know of me, think of “the wedding songs guy”. This has helped spread the word throughout the wedding industry.
Wedding companies will tell you that targeting couples is very difficult because once the wedding is over, they don’t want anything to do with weddings. That is why my strategy has been to work with wedding professionals because they will be subscribers for years to come.
For an overall timeline—first came the website, then came the podcast in January 2020, and finally, the newsletter in May 2022. My first book was published in September 2020 and, to this date, has only sold 14 copies. But I learned what to do and not do. I took those lessons into new guides released in 2023, with the latest versions released in 2024.
I am currently expanding my book offerings through 2025. What’s great is that most of the content in the books comes from newsletters.
GROWTH
Which strategies did you use to grow over 8,000 subscribers?
0 – 100 Subscribers
I was fortunate to be knowledgeable in SEO. This resulted in many visitors coming to my website. A simple email signup form was created to get people to sign up for the newsletter.
It was important to focus on the benefits of the newsletter rather than just signing up. Things like, “Get Wedding Song Ideas to your Inbox”.
100 – 1,000 Subscribers
Once I realized the importance of lead magnets, website visitors gravitated to them to obtain free information. This was as simple as offering music guides, popular songs, and industry insights.
1,000 – 5,000 Subscribers
The big explosive growth of my newsletter came from attending trade shows that included wedding professionals.
I would ask for their email address at the booth. However, we would also get a list of emails of attendees. I would not automatically add them to the list. Instead, I would send an email thanking them for attending the show and asking them to sign up for the newsletter.
5,000 – 7,000+ Subscribers
Over the past year, I have removed inactive subscribers so overall growth has been minimal. However, some of the big takeaways have been collaborating with other newsletter writers in similar industries.
The growth of my podcast has hit 75,000 downloads, which has resulted in newsletter subscribers. Newer podcast episodes include an ad for the newsletter about halfway through, which has resulted in subscribers. In addition, I’ve been trying to say yes to every opportunity, from guest podcasting, guest blogging, participating in relevant Facebook groups, etc.
Regarding growth efforts, what would you do differently if you had a chance to start over?
If I had to start over from the beginning the biggest thing I should have been doing from day one is focusing on improving my lead magnet on my website and capturing emails.
I did not do this until many years later. The website should also have good calls to action to join a newsletter, and I should have been sending at least a monthly newsletter.
MONETIZATION
When did you launch your paid subscription and how did you decide that it was the right time for you to activate it? How long did it take for you to become a Bestseller?
As they say continuously on the TV show Shark Tank, “Know your numbers!”
I started on Substack in May 2022 with zero paid subscribers. I turned on paid January 2023. Frankly, I was tired of doing a ton of work (that I thought was valuable) for no money. There were several emails sent at the end of 2022 notifying readers of going paid and what they would get.
Becoming a Substack Bestseller (100+ paid subscribers) took 16 months in April 2024. It was a gradual but steady climb.
What are your strategies to convert free subscribers into paid ones? What was the most effective growth action that helped you reach your first 100 paid subscribers?
I’m a little different in that I had a vendor booth at industry trade shows to capture emails. In addition, I had a website with lead magnets capturing emails before I started a newsletter. When I started my newsletter on Substack, I already had about 5,000 emails on MailChimp. As my readers grew, I no longer wanted to pay high email fees, so I switched to Substack in May 2022 and turned on paid in January 2023.
The most effective growth strategy was the conferences. It allowed for face-to-face conversations to grow my brand and get immediate feedback.
Of course, you also need a reason to get their email. Having a tablet so that they can give you their email is vital—reading handwritten emails is too difficult.
The growth push for me to get people to go from unpaid to paid was to offer year-end in-review playlists. This would go along the lines of knowing your audience. My audience wanted to see the biggest hits of the year in review.
So, I create 3-5 top playlists of the year, but they are only available to paid subscribers. The other paid offering is new and trending songs each month. Wedding pros like keeping up with the hot wedding songs. I’m aware that I am the only resource for this, so it doesn’t hurt either.
How did you decide what to offer differently to paid subscribers to make it compelling for them to join as paid members?
Every newsletter is different with different beliefs by their readers. You must figure out what works best for you. Start by giving an unbelievable amount of valuable information that people will want to pay for.
The biggest increase in paid subscribers was when I announced the newsletter was going from unpaid to paid and this would be the lowest you will ever have to pay and will be grandfathered in at the rate.
The second time was when I increased the price with the same tactic that paid subscribers would stay at the same cost.
Right now, paid subscribers get access to all article archives and a copy of one of my books. New playlists published are 60% available to unpaid readers. In addition, the month-end newsletter portion of newly released and trending wedding songs can only be seen by paid subscribers.
What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned from running a successful paid subscription? What would you do differently if you had a chance to start over?
You may find this funny, but I do not consider myself a successful paid newsletter author. Yes, I do have the Substack checkmark of 100+ paid subscribers, but to me, that is not my benchmark.
The comments from readers that I am providing something that’s valuable and helps them is my first measure for success. I also look at the overall revenue from all offerings. When that hits a set mark, I will consider it all a success.
Most paid subscription writers will tell you that they wished they turned on paid subscription offerings sooner. I believe that as well.
The sooner readers get accustomed to opening up their wallets for your newsletter, the faster they will be willing to purchase other offerings too.
Community Building: I am reminded of something I read in my journey: “Subscribers pay for the information and stay for the community.” Trying to build a community is extremely difficult. I have not been able to figure it out yet. It would have been part of my strategy from day one.
Collaboration: I’ve also learned that you cannot live in your own world. You must collaborate with others in your industry. Meet with others through conversations, podcasts, sharing guest spots on your newsletters, etc. Have a mentor, if possible, who can teach you the mistakes to avoid. There are so many writers out there; find your mentor.
Niching Down: Lastly, find a niche that is profitable enough but everyone is ignoring it. I follow the Category Pirates and I love their business philosophies. They are my mentors and give me direction in my business strategies.
IMPACT & LEARNINGS
How did building Wedding MusicLetter newsletter contribute to your life professionally and personally?
The newsletter gives me peace of mind that I own the audience. I do not have to rely on Google sending me visitors to get sales and I don’t have to rely on paid ads on a website for revenue. I created an ecosystem and connection with my readers that I strive to make a conversation.
There is nothing like writing in public. Writers get immediate feedback if they do something a subscriber does not like and occasional praise when an article stands out. I love the personal connections I have made with readers. It gives me motivation to be better.
What would you do differently if you had a chance to start over Wedding MusicLetter?
If I started over, the first thing I would do is get the newsletter on its own domain right away.
I want to be in control of the website as much as possible, and it’s better for branding, too. Having a long and awkward URL on Substack, I think, hurts branding. That way, if I decide to move the newsletter to another platform or run it myself on my own website, I can make that happen more easily.
Next, I would have figured out different revenue streams faster.
I didn’t know what I didn’t know. Creating digital books has created another revenue stream. My goal is to get to 1,000 paid subscribers, but that number is too far away. Other revenue streams are needed to pay the bills as you build your paying subscriber audience.
What would it be if you had the right to give one piece of advice to aspiring newsletter creators?
The biggest piece of advice for any newsletter writer is consistency. People want to be able to trust you and get accustomed to whatever writing frequency you set.
For my newsletter, I send it every Wednesday at 5 am PST no matter what. I also send my new and trending wedding songs newsletter on the last day of the month, no matter what.
It’s funny knowing my newsletters rarely get opened on Fridays and Saturdays because most wedding professionals are busy working those days and don’t read emails. However, if the last day of the month lands on a holiday or those two days, it still gets sent.
3 Popular Wedding MusicLetter Issues
- Music Knowledge is the Single Most Important Asset of a Wedding DJ
- Decades of Love: Analyzing Wedding Music Trends and Billboard Hits
- Creating a Unique Parent Dance
Where to find Matthew
- “Wedding MusicLetter” Newsletter
