No B.S; dive right in:
(a) Social Media: Teasing with new issues, repurposing content, answering questions with a link to read more, memes, branding, sharing screenshots, reader replies, build in public, etc. I say read/subscribe as little as possible. Make socials interesting and people will dig the newsletter link themselves.
(b) Community as a lead magnet: I noticed the conversions are higher when you ask folks to join a community vs subscribe to a newsletter. So I started promoting the community more - events, chat screenshots, cheering for our members in public, etc. The community is free but the catch is it's "subscriber only." Most people happily say yes. A bit of hosting tip - I say "subscriber only," but let members stay if they're for the community vibes.
(c) No Strings Attached: Every month, I email my readers asking how I can help them. Think work reviews, connecting them with someone I know, a peek into my backend, etc. There are no strings attached. I help them and won't ask for anything in return. Paradoxically, these readers became my biggest cheerleaders across socials and communities.
(d) Guest emails: Briefly, I had guests write in my newsletter. It didn't work out content-wise (a story for another day), but I did manage to tap into a few of my guests' audience.
(e) Cross-promotions and Recommendations: You know how this works. Acquired around 150 subs this way.
(f) Sessions: I pitched communities with similar audiences and offered to take free sessions. I explained a few of my editions and plugged my newsletter.
(g) Cold DMs: Small account steps. I don't have a huge social capital so I do whatever it takes. Whenever I see a potential reader, I drop "here's something you might like" in a non-spammy, non-desperate way.