The Entrepreneur Forum | Financial Freedom | Starting a Business | Motivation | Money | Success

Welcome to the only entrepreneur forum dedicated to building life-changing wealth.

Build a Fastlane business. Earn real financial freedom. Join free.

Join over 80,000 entrepreneurs who have rejected the paradigm of mediocrity and said "NO!" to underpaid jobs, ascetic frugality, and suffocating savings rituals— learn how to build a Fastlane business that pays both freedom and lifestyle affluence.

Free registration at the forum removes this block.

From podcasting to newsletters... the new HOT thing?

YelmisPravida

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
43%
Jan 23, 2012
72
31
And the end result is that people only pay attention to the few biggest podcasts like Joe Rogan, Tim Ferriss, etc. This makes it very, very hard for an average guy to stand out unless you happen to be in a very specific niche where there's much less competition yet a need for information is strong (say, you're the biggest expert on skincare and mostly talk about that).
You can probably do it if you target a really specific niche, and have a big value exchange (both ways) with that particular niche.

For example, I run a company that sells B2B marketing automation software for SMEs in a particular country with non-English speakers.

We are considering which marketing strategies to use next. I think podcasting could be one - because there really is not much competition, and gaining a only tens or hundreds of followers can yield a huge benefit for us since each "sale" we make on the product later on is worth around $1K-8K in ARR.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

MJ DeMarco

I followed the science; all I found was money.
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
445%
Jul 23, 2007
38,083
169,510
Utah
Good thread bump as I'm seeing this space growing quickly and getting saturated. I'm examining it (and trying to leverage) the shovel side of the equation, will report more on that later.

And that's the problem, it becomes such a noisy crowded space, that only the top few will remain. Opening your inbox every day to 19 newsletters is untenable, regardless of the content.

I'm subscribed to a dozen newsletters (all that seem valuable) and I'm having trouble consuming all of them. I've found they are contributing to information overload.
 

Andy Black

Help people. Get paid. Help more people.
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
370%
May 20, 2014
18,566
68,699
Ireland
Good thread bump as I'm seeing this space growing quickly and getting saturated. I'm examining it (and trying to leverage) the shovel side of the equation, will report more on that later.
Me too. It's why I'm trying to figure out how to grow newsletters with Google Ads.

I'm subscribed to a dozen newsletters (all that seem valuable) and I'm having trouble consuming all of them. I've found they are contributing to information overload.
I unsubscribed from loads of newsletters recently.

I also heard someone's nice tip of having a filter for all emails that contain "Unsubscribe".
 

YelmisPravida

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
43%
Jan 23, 2012
72
31
I'm examining it (and trying to leverage) the shovel side of the equation
You mean like helping people easily start a podcast? Sounds like it could work - everybody and their mom wants to do it.

C - If you create a sort of a "learning platform" combined with distribution and other types of tools that help people start, distribute, and manage their podcasts and the marketing / guest / etc. around it, you have full control.

E - Building a good platform for this requires a lot of effort - fulfilled.

N - "Everybody and their mom wants to start a podcast"

T - Definitely possible to build into a platform that serves customers without personal involvement.

S - A platform would be infinitely scalable.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Xeon

All Cars Kneel Before Pagani.
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
191%
Sep 3, 2017
2,427
4,628
Singapore
You mean like helping people easily start a podcast? Sounds like it could work - everybody and their mom wants to do it.

C - If you create a sort of a "learning platform" combined with distribution and other types of tools that help people start, distribute, and manage their podcasts and the marketing / guest / etc. around it, you have full control.

E - Building a good platform for this requires a lot of effort - fulfilled.

N - "Everybody and their mom wants to start a podcast"

T - Definitely possible to build into a platform that serves customers without personal involvement.

S - A platform would be infinitely scalable.


He's probably going to start his own version of MailCheat(Chimp) or Klaviyo lol

Edit: Not sure why the forum software auto-turns my "MailCh|mp" to "MailCheat(Chimp)" lol
 

Cameraman

Silver Contributor
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
207%
Sep 25, 2021
319
659
UK
Edit: Not sure why the forum software auto-turns my "MailCh|mp" to "MailCheat(Chimp)" lol
I think this answers it...
 

Attachments

  • 2023-04-12_10-40-37.jpg
    2023-04-12_10-40-37.jpg
    98.7 KB · Views: 23

Xeon

All Cars Kneel Before Pagani.
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
191%
Sep 3, 2017
2,427
4,628
Singapore
I think this answers it...

MailCheat(Chimp) is good for the free plan, but if you exceed that, the monthly fees is a huge cost center especially when there's better and cheaper alternatives. They're relying on being one of the first and most prominent names in this space to be able to charge this high.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Cameraman

Silver Contributor
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
207%
Sep 25, 2021
319
659
UK
MailCheat(Chimp) is good for the free plan, but if you exceed that, the monthly fees is a huge cost center especially when there's better and cheaper alternatives. They're relying on being one of the first and most prominent names in this space to be able to charge this high.
I used a mail service about 6 years ago that offered 12,000 free emails a month. MailCheat(Chimp) bought it and said nothing would change. They then slapped the 500 limit on me and I needed to find a better solution fast.

I now use Amazon Web Services SES directly and pay around $2.00 a month for about 13,000 emails and +99% delivery. I'm using the newsletter plugin in WorPress to build my emails and hook up to AWS. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that some of the email providers are built on AWS SES.
 

MJ DeMarco

I followed the science; all I found was money.
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
445%
Jul 23, 2007
38,083
169,510
Utah
He's probably going to start his own version of MailCheat(Chimp) or Klaviyo lol

Because it's another good company that was turned into garbage by Intuit, forged by Intuit's primary manifesto of greed and extortive business practices.
 

Andy Black

Help people. Get paid. Help more people.
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
370%
May 20, 2014
18,566
68,699
Ireland
I used a mail service about 6 years ago that offered 12,000 free emails a month. MailCheat(Chimp) bought it and said nothing would change. They then slapped the 500 limit on me and I needed to find a better solution fast.

I now use Amazon Web Services SES directly and pay around $2.00 a month for about 13,000 emails and +99% delivery. I'm using the newsletter plugin in WorPress to build my emails and hook up to AWS. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that some of the email providers are built on AWS SES.
Thanks for this.

I'll check it out: Amazon Simple Email Service (SES)
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Cameraman

Silver Contributor
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
207%
Sep 25, 2021
319
659
UK

EngineerThis

Accelerate your New Product Launch!
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
179%
Nov 26, 2014
298
534
29
Traverse City, MI
I started a weekly newsletter, I'm on issue #4 and have 48 subs :D.. I have not advertised (yet), Here are my thoughts..
1. Having control over my leads and community is #1.. You don't get that with a FB page
2. I use my newsletter as subtle advertising for my business.. The value in the articles I write and share not only attracts new clients but retains old clients, 2 birds with 1 stone if you will..
3. I'm hoping the fact I will endorse the client's businesses I work with on my platform will attract new clients that want to be featured to my steadily growing subscriber list
4. Having access to a subscriber base in a niche, even if it's only 1000 subscribers, is worthwhile to many sponsors.
5. It's fun, and I enjoy the challenge of learning new concepts and deciding what to write about for the week.
6. Great way to keep in touch and stay relevant with the people I meet at events and such (This is where most of my subs came from actually, people I've met at events, groups, open houses etc.)

Bonus: It gave me the idea to promote my business on other's newsletters, as opposed to running meta ads or something.. I have yet to do this but, think it might be a great play, this way I can "Borrow" someone else's audience.
 
Last edited:

Cameraman

Silver Contributor
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
207%
Sep 25, 2021
319
659
UK
I started a weekly newsletter, I'm on issue #4 and have 48 subs :D.. I have not advertised, Here are my thoughts..
1. Having control over my leads and community is #1.. You don't get that with a FB page
2. I use my newsletter as subtle advertising for my business.. The value in the articles I write and share not only attracts new clients but retains old clients, 2 birds with 1 stone if you will..
3. I'm hoping the fact I will endorse the client's businesses I work with on my platform will attract new clients that want to be featured to my steadily growing subscriber list
4. Having access to a subscriber base in a niche, even if it's only 1000 subscribers, is worthwhile to many sponsors.
5. It's fun, and I enjoy the challenge of learning new concepts and deciding what to write about for the week.
6. Great way to keep in touch and stay relevant with the people I meet at events and such (This is where most of my subs came from actually, people I've met at events, groups, open houses etc.)

Bonus: It gave me the idea to promote my business on other's newsletters, as opposed to running meta ads or something.. I have yet to do this but, think it might be a great play, this way I can "Borrow" someone else's audience.
Well done. I like your approach.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

MJ DeMarco

I followed the science; all I found was money.
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
445%
Jul 23, 2007
38,083
169,510
Utah
t gave me the idea to promote my business on other's newsletters

I think this is still a great way to advertise, and likely should get cheaper as newsletters saturate the marketplace. My grandma and the next door neighbor now have a newsletter ... the stampede of entrants should follow the same pattern as podcasting in 2018.

The real money will be made by those who SERVE the newsletter industry... just like many entrepreneurs got wealthy SERVING the podcasting industry versus those Toms, Dicks, and Harriets who started another podcast, 1 amongst the other 3,110,401 podcasts.
 

MJ DeMarco

I followed the science; all I found was money.
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
445%
Jul 23, 2007
38,083
169,510
Utah
If you don't click, summation: Advertising dollars have dried up, and with it, so have people willing to invest in further episodes.


This could foretell what's going to happen to the newsletter boom in X years, or months.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Caminsky

Bronze Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
133%
Dec 27, 2022
100
133
Texas
If you don't click, summation: Advertising dollars have dried up, and with it, so have people willing to invest in further episodes.


This could foretell what's going to happen to the newsletter boom in X years, or months.
I was thinking about this earlier today. I enjoy listening to podcasts while driving, but I've noticed some good ones have stopped posting new content. Their Youtube channels are still active, but I guess even converting that to audio and posting it as a podcast isn't worth it anymore.
 

Andy Black

Help people. Get paid. Help more people.
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
370%
May 20, 2014
18,566
68,699
Ireland
Are podcasts moving to YouTube? I heard that YouTube is the biggest podcasting platform (I don't know how true that is).
 

Kak

Legendary Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
493%
Jan 23, 2011
9,678
47,666
34
Texas
Are podcasts moving to YouTube? I heard that YouTube is the biggest podcasting platform (I don't know how true that is).
I’ve always done both the legacy podcast apps and YouTube.

Apple is BY FAR the biggest for me and it has never been close. Spotify is also handily bigger than YouTube. Google is about the same. But YouTube might be bigger than all the little guys like iHeart, Stitcher, PodcastAddict, etc.

But, it depends on what you call a podcast. There are informative YouTube channels with talking head videos and whatnot that I wouldn’t really consider a podcast.

Mine is a real podcast. There is no video element.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Epynok

Contributor
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
67%
Jun 20, 2023
104
70
I hope not. It's often the kiss of death when the masses latch on to an opportunity.

That said; when the "gold rush" is over and the people who want riches without working have cleared off, those with a professional approach will do very well. I saw this in the early days of Kindle publishing.

If newsletters do become the next hot thing (again), it will also begin to drive stricter email standards. Tools like SPF, DKIM, DMARC and BIMI will probably become essential if you want your mailing to be delivered.

Newsletters are a great tool for growing a business when done right. Hopefully developing a good newsletter will be too much hard work for most people and put them off before they start.
I dont think it will matter when the newsletter markets their own newsletter as something unique and not something generic.

I think physical newsletters are better as they feel like they have more substance than digital alternatives even though they are the same thing.
 

Sean Marshall

Independent since 2010
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
704%
Aug 17, 2011
304
2,139
San Diego, CA
If you are selling PRINTED copies-- and you have backup lists-- you can keep running.
Years ago I was on this guy's list and I paid $50/mo for a printed newsletter that came in the mail each month along with a CD (yes, a CD) of a recorded interview (basically a podcast but on a CD). It was a cute little package and I actually really liked the physical aspect of it.

Is there room for something like that again? Maybe a way to stand out in a crowded space. Perhaps if you increase the value somehow.... include the really great actionable info for sure, but depending on your niche, a physical product that goes along with it? Almost like combining the newsletter idea with the monthly boxes idea. Just spitballing here...

I'm subscribed to a dozen newsletters (all that seem valuable) and I'm having trouble consuming all of them. I've found they are contributing to information overload.
I wonder if there's some handy AI tool out there where you could plug in your favorite newsletters, tell it what you want to know, and then it sends you a TL;DR kind of thing?...
 

amp0193

Legendary Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
444%
May 27, 2013
3,639
16,159
United States
Is there room for something like that again? Maybe a way to stand out in a crowded space. Perhaps if you increase the value somehow.... include the really great actionable info for sure, but depending on your niche, a physical product that goes along with it? Almost like combining the newsletter idea with the monthly boxes idea. Just spitballing here...
I saw Taylor Swift's cds and records on an end cap at Target yesterday.

Made me really miss owning physical media.

Getting a new album you've been waiting for. Unboxing it, flipping through the included book.


That, and nothing arrives in the mail anymore that isn't an Amazon package or junk mail. I've got my kids on a monthly subscription to a kid's magazine/activity thing. They love getting that mail when it arrives for them.


I think there are some macro trends at play that could make a physical newsletter type product be successful.


In business it's often good to do something that's different from what the crowd is doing.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

StrikingViper69

Shredding scales and making sales
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
167%
Dec 3, 2018
1,452
2,419
UK
Years ago I was on this guy's list and I paid $50/mo for a printed newsletter that came in the mail each month along with a CD (yes, a CD) of a recorded interview (basically a podcast but on a CD). It was a cute little package and I actually really liked the physical aspect of it.

Is there room for something like that again? Maybe a way to stand out in a crowded space. Perhaps if you increase the value somehow.... include the really great actionable info for sure, but depending on your niche, a physical product that goes along with it? Almost like combining the newsletter idea with the monthly boxes idea. Just spitballing here...


I wonder if there's some handy AI tool out there where you could plug in your favorite newsletters, tell it what you want to know, and then it sends you a TL;DR kind of thing?...
Clickfunnels did that for a while with FunnelU. They'd send a booklet with the results of a bunch of split tests, it was pretty cool to receive. I'm not sure if they still do that.

I subscribed to a journal recently, to get the print copies in the post.

I sell a lot of physical copies of my book.

Physical media is still in demand.
 

Post New Topic

Please SEARCH before posting.
Please select the BEST category.

Post new topic

Guest post submissions offered HERE.

Latest Posts

New Topics

Fastlane Insiders

View the forum AD FREE.
Private, unindexed content
Detailed process/execution threads
Ideas needing execution, more!

Join Fastlane Insiders.

Top