How to Build and Grow a Newsletter as a Business Model

[DWX]

For The Hustle:

The Hustle Founder Sam Parr: Attract Attention | A Newsletter Crew Blog by Yaro Bagriy

Sam Parr founded The Hustle newsletter in 2014. In 2020, he sold the business — with over one million subscribers — to Hubspot for an undisclosed amount. But how did Parr become a newsletter writer? Here, he shares his strategy for growing an initial subscriber list, creating viral blog content...

www.newslettercrew.com

(mostly blogging)

Morning Brew:

How Morning Brew Became a $75 Million Company in 5 Years

A deeper look into the company’s road to success

bettermarketing.pub

(word of mouth and referral program)

Here's an article written by a guy who grew his newsletter to 130k subscribers in 20 months:

How I grew my newsletter to 130k subs in 20 months

Since starting TLDR (a tech newsletter targeted towards the kind of people who read Hacker News, Slashdot, Indie Hackers etc.) in August of 2018, I've b...

www.indiehackers.com

Here are some ideas as well:

21 ways to grow your newsletter faster in 2021

The top tips, strategies and channels that'll help you get more subscribers this year!

sparkloop.app

Awesome share, @MTF!

 

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[DWX]

And vulnerability makes you more relatable.

You're not that experienced guy who already knows everything about everything. You're someone similar to your audience. That makes you a "real" person and someone they can emulate easily.

I have no problem admitting I'm a student and make mistakes and fail all the time. Way better to be a student than a fake expert.

I fully agree with this and what @Andy Black has said.

I love watching other people's journeys in real-time. There's something about vicariously living through others, feeling their hardships and celebrating their triumphs, that is so compelling. It gives you a sense of "Hey, if they can do this, maybe I can too."

So, yeah — great points.

The only drawback with this type of content is that it's more geared towards someone building a personal brand versus a business one.

One way to mitigate this, I suppose, is to make this one "arm" of your content. Perhaps have different "editors" or "contributors" for different content arms?

That might prove a workable solution for those who intend to exit their newsletters one day.

 

[Andy Black]

The only drawback with this type of content is that it's more geared towards someone building a personal brand versus a business one.

My thoughts would be to start by leveraging whatever personal brand you already have. You can always change things up later.

 

[MTF]

The only drawback with this type of content is that it's more geared towards someone building a personal brand versus a business one.

One way to mitigate this, I suppose, is to make this one "arm" of your content. Perhaps have different "editors" or "contributors" for different content arms?

That might prove a workable solution for those who intend to exit their newsletters one day.

As long as you write it under a brand name I wouldn't worry too much about it. The first concern is to build your newsletter. Once you have loyal subscribers, you can take it in many directions. And if you ever want to sell it, then the new owner would want to roughly stick to your strategy anyway (else subscribers would unsubscribe) so I don't think it's that big of a deal.

I remember subscribing to a newsletter on alternative investments. At first it was more of a personal brand than a brand newsletter as the name of the guy was always included along with the name of the newsletter. Eventually the guy decided to partner up with someone else and they turned it into a regular brand start-up.

I'm talking about Alts | World's Largest Alternative Assets Site It all started with a newsletter, now it's a regular business with the newsletter still being their core offering.

 

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[MTF]

I recently found a newsletter targeting a similar audience to mine. I asked the newsletter owner if he offers sponsorship. Turns out he does. I paid $50 for a shoutout to his 5,000+ list.

So far, 24 hours after he sent it, I got 44 subscribers from it (out of 66 visitors so a super solid conversion rate). I think that at least a few more people should sign up over the next 24 hours so in the end I'll probably acquire 50 relevant high-quality subscribers for $1 per person.

Unfortunately in my niche there aren't countless similar newsletters so this strategy is limited. But even if I can find a few more such newsletters, I'll be able to get to a few hundred subscribers relatively easily and with very little work and financial investment.

A cool thing about newsletters is that word of mouth may eventually account for a lot of growth so the hardest job is probably the first 1000 subscribers or so.

 

[GSF]

A successful newsletter I stumbled upon years back, market beat by Matt Paulson, has evolved to a bit more than a newsletter now I think.
If I remember he successfully used coregistration to grow and monetise.

How Matt Paulson Grew MarketBeat.com to $10 Million a Year | Niche Pursuits

In 2014, I interviewed Matt Paulson for the Niche Pursuits podcast and I was blown away by how successful his financial network of sites was doing. He was earning somewhere around $100,000 a month from display ads. Matt and I…

www.nichepursuits.com

 

[Andy Black]

A successful newsletter I stumbled upon years back, market beat by Matt Paulson, has evolved to a bit more than a newsletter now I think.
If I remember he successfully used coregistration to grow and monetise.

How Matt Paulson Grew MarketBeat.com to $10 Million a Year | Niche Pursuits

In 2014, I interviewed Matt Paulson for the Niche Pursuits podcast and I was blown away by how successful his financial network of sites was doing. He was earning somewhere around $100,000 a month from display ads. Matt and I…

www.nichepursuits.com

I link to a good video by Matt in my progress thread. I have his book somewhere too I think, but haven’t opened it yet.

 

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[Andy Black]

I recently found a newsletter targeting a similar audience to mine. I asked the newsletter owner if he offers sponsorship. Turns out he does. I paid $50 for a shoutout to his 5,000+ list.

So far, 24 hours after he sent it, I got 44 subscribers from it (out of 66 visitors so a super solid conversion rate). I think that at least a few more people should sign up over the next 24 hours so in the end I'll probably acquire 50 relevant high-quality subscribers for $1 per person.

Unfortunately in my niche there aren't countless similar newsletters so this strategy is limited. But even if I can find a few more such newsletters, I'll be able to get to a few hundred subscribers relatively easily and with very little work and financial investment.

A cool thing about newsletters is that word of mouth may eventually account for a lot of growth so the hardest job is probably the first 1000 subscribers or so.

You could submit a story or article for him to send to his list, and then mention how they can pick up a related cheat sheet / checklist at some URL.

I did that about 10 years ago and fell off my chair when 150 people subscribed in 24 hours.

 

[Taktik]

Very interesting topic.
Can you recommend a good software solution for creating a newsletter?

 

[MTF]

Very interesting topic.
Can you recommend a good software solution for creating a newsletter?

I tried a few different solutions and I haven't found better software for my needs than https://www.ghost.org.

 

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[The Questioner]

I'm like that, too which is why I found one topic that relates to a lot of stuff I do and sort of connect everything back to it.

In your case, something related to philosophy could work well as it's a broad subject that allows you to explore whatever you're interested in.

Other than that, you can also pick a topic you'd like to study and use your newsletter as a tool to document your journey. Maybe it'll take off. And if it doesn't, you'll still at least do something and learn.

That's a great tip. Although I am wondering, is there a way to validate an idea for a specific topic?
At the moment, I'm pretty torn between different topics I could write about. It would certainly be a help if there was a way to measure potential interest and so on, and then make a decision based on that data.

Would you recommend writing in your native language if that's not English? My mother tongue is German for example. Would it be better to write in that language? The potential audience would be bigger in English, but of course also the competition, I figure.

 

[MTF]

That's a great tip. Although I am wondering, is there a way to validate an idea for a specific topic?
At the moment, I'm pretty torn between different topics I could write about. It would certainly be a help if there was a way to measure potential interest and so on, and then make a decision based on that data.

Is there any way you can write about all of them in the same newsletter or are they too different?

A trick I highly recommend is to write at least 5-10 issues in advance before you do anything with the newsletter (don't even buy a domain name).

After writing just a few issues you'll probably know which topic is easier and more interesting for you to write.

Remember that writing new issues may be your job for a long time. If after 5 issues you're already tired of the topic or can't find ideas for new issues then it's better to go with a different topic.

Other than that, you can guesstimate potential interest by:

• Finding similar newsletters and trying to figure out how many subscribers they may have.
• Finding relevant subreddits and seeing how engaged people are.
• Finding relevant blogs and trying to figure out their traffic and engagement.
• Finding Twitter profiles of people who write about this topic and checking out their engagement (not just followers by how many replies and retweets they get).
• Finding anything else, ideally text-based, that may give you an idea of how many people are reading it.
• Checking out YouTube channels or podcasts about this topic but this may not give you the best idea as people who watch videos or listen to podcasts don't necessarily sign up for newsletters.

Would you recommend writing in your native language if that's not English? My mother tongue is German for example. Would it be better to write in that language? The potential audience would be bigger in English, but of course also the competition, I figure.

As long as your topic is broad you can go with German as there are many German speakers and all German-speaking countries are rich. If it's more niche then I'd go English.

But...

You also need to consider a potential exit strategy and in general how newsletters are perceived in the German-speaking world. It may be much harder to potentially sell it, find sponsors/places to advertise it, etc.

In my case, I use English almost 24/7 online anyway so this is the only choice for me (English isn't my native language, either).

 

[Andy Black]

Very interesting topic.
Can you recommend a good software solution for creating a newsletter?

I’ve used Substack, Revue, and MailCheat(Chimp) / Thrivecart. I currently like New Zenler and have started a new paid email newsletter with it.

 

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[Andy Black]

Is there any way you can write about all of them in the same newsletter or are they too different?

A trick I highly recommend is to write at least 5-10 issues in advance before you do anything with the newsletter (don't even buy a domain name).

After writing just a few issues you'll probably know which topic is easier and more interesting for you to write.

Remember that writing new issues may be your job for a long time. If after 5 issues you're already tired of the topic or can't find ideas for new issues then it's better to go with a different topic.

Other than that, you can guesstimate potential interest by:

• Finding similar newsletters and trying to figure out how many subscribers they may have.
• Finding relevant subreddits and seeing how engaged people are.
• Finding relevant blogs and trying to figure out their traffic and engagement.
• Finding Twitter profiles of people who write about this topic and checking out their engagement (not just followers by how many replies and retweets they get).
• Finding anything else, ideally text-based, that may give you an idea of how many people are reading it.
• Checking out YouTube channels or podcasts about this topic but this may not give you the best idea as people who watch videos or listen to podcasts don't necessarily sign up for newsletters.

As long as your topic is broad you can go with German as there are many German speakers and all German-speaking countries are rich. If it's more niche then I'd go English.

But...

You also need to consider a potential exit strategy and in general how newsletters are perceived in the German-speaking world. It may be much harder to potentially sell it, find sponsors/places to advertise it, etc.

In my case, I use English almost 24/7 online anyway so this is the only choice for me (English isn't my native language, either).

Also check the Google Keyword Planner for search volumes.

I take the opposite stance and don’t write any emails until I get a signup. Although it will be on a topic I’ve already written about in forums and Facebook groups.

 

[jeffrost]

• Writing
• Content marketing (SEO, writing, research, etc.)
• Technology (especially helping people fix their PC issues)
• Philosophy
• Literature
• Gambling (lol)
• Gaming

I think the real problem is that I don't particularly care about any of those. I'm more of a "know a little bit about everything" person.


I talk to lots of people on the daily (thanks Internet), but they're mostly "casual" friendships. We talk about whatever happens to be the topic at hand. They are mostly interested in consuming entertaining content.



This is an interesting idea. As I said earlier, my biggest hurdle is that I don't really care about any subject in particular. I have a lot of horizontal knowledge so to speak, but in-depth...meh. Maybe in content marketing, but even then I'm not a fan of it.

What do people ask you about?
What are you famous for in your world?
Interesting list above, and I overlap with you on IT and writing.

 

[Madame Peccato]

What do people ask you about?
What are you famous for in your world?
Interesting list above, and I overlap with you on IT and writing.

Usually people ask me to edit / proofread what they've written in English (here in Italy English is a low-priority subject for the majority of people). Online, I've had native English people ask me to edit their writing too.

In my world I'm famous for being knowledgeable about many different topics. I know the basics of a lot of subjects. I can have an intellectually stimulating discussion about a million different things. Such a breadth is cool in conversation, but it doesn't feel useful at all in business. Or maybe I know more than I think and I'm just limiting myself.

Also, I'm known for being a good listener, which comes naturally to me. I shut up and ask prodding questions to move the conversation forward or to let the other person dive deeper in what they're talking about.

 

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[MTF]

Usually people ask me to edit / proofread what they've written in English (here in Italy English is a low-priority subject for the majority of people). Online, I've had native English people ask me to edit their writing too.

In my world I'm famous for being knowledgeable about many different topics. I know the basics of a lot of subjects. I can have an intellectually stimulating discussion about a million different things. Such a breadth is cool in conversation, but it doesn't feel useful at all in business. Or maybe I know more than I think and I'm just limiting myself.

Also, I'm known for being a good listener, which comes naturally to me. I shut up and ask prodding questions to move the conversation forward or to let the other person dive deeper in what they're talking about.

I have a feeling you'd do very well with Farnam Street style of a newsletter:

Learn faster, Think better, and make Smart Decisions

Timeless lessons and insights that help you think better, learn faster, and make smart decisions.

fs.blog

Their description is exactly what you wrote in your post:

Brain Food. A weekly newsletter packed with timeless insights and actionable ideas from a wide range of disciplines.

Do it, @Madame Peccato. I'd be happy to provide any tips I can.

 

[Madame Peccato]

I have a feeling you'd do very well with Farnam Street style of a newsletter:

Learn faster, Think better, and make Smart Decisions

Timeless lessons and insights that help you think better, learn faster, and make smart decisions.

fs.blog

Their description is exactly what you wrote in your post:



Do it, @Madame Peccato. I'd be happy to provide any tips I can.

Funny you say that, I've been subbed to fs for some time, and I also read their blog a lot. It all makes so much sense suddenly.

My other 2 favorite newsletters/blogs are:

• Hi, I'm David Perell. — this one is pretty broad too
• Honey Copy by Cole Schafer. — this one focuses on writing

I also subbed to the Daily Stoic recently but I'm not a fan, I'm unsubscribing real soon from it.

Here's my biggest fear with this, please help me shatter it:

I'm afraid I won't find ideas / insights worth sharing. I feel like when I find insightful stuff it is common knowledge for everyone else (even though it OBVIOUSLY isn't). I can't believe I'm having writer's block at this stage.

Thanks for your help so far! I really appreciate it. Why is there no heart emoji on this forum?

 

[The Questioner]

Is there any way you can write about all of them in the same newsletter or are they too different?

The topics are quite different. I could write about a lot of them under the topic "personal development", but that seems way too diluted to me. I would have to niche down, but then I would only write about one or two topics again.

As long as your topic is broad you can go with German as there are many German speakers and all German-speaking countries are rich. If it's more niche then I'd go English.

But...

You also need to consider a potential exit strategy and in general how newsletters are perceived in the German-speaking world. It may be much harder to potentially sell it, find sponsors/places to advertise it, etc.

In my case, I use English almost 24/7 online anyway so this is the only choice for me (English isn't my native language, either).

To be honest, I have no idea how newsletters are perceived in the German-speaking world let alone if there would be any sponsors or potential to sell it. I only ever read newsletters in English.
At the moment, it seems like a newsletter in English would be the more intriguing choice. It is also the more intimidating choice, as I have never written anything in English other than forum posts. But I am sure, that I could pull it off.

 

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[Taktik]

I have a question about monetising a newsletter if you start from scratch and don't have an audience yet.
Would you start monetising the newsletter from the get go or would you write for free for a set period of time? (But how can one then transition to a paid version, if you ever only wrote for free?)

 

[MTF]

Funny you say that, I've been subbed to fs for some time, and I also read their blog a lot. It all makes so much sense suddenly.

Sometimes we're blind to the things right in front of us. We also tend to discount them just because they're so obvious.

If you got the unmistakable feeling "it makes so much sense suddenly" I believe that's your gut telling you it's something aligned with you. I remember having this feeling when I committed myself to self-publishing. I'm feeling something similar with newsletters now.

The only question that remains is whether you'll stick with it or find a way to talk yourself out of it. I'm happy to keep you accountable to pursue this.

The simple fact that you speak English so damn well considering you're from a country notorious for terrible English proficiency shows you're a very driven and dedicated person.

I'm afraid I won't find ideas / insights worth sharing. I feel like when I find insightful stuff it is common knowledge for everyone else (even though it OBVIOUSLY isn't). I can't believe I'm having writer's block at this stage.

I think that you answered your doubts here. You know that this isn't common knowledge. You know it's writer's block. You also know that writer's block is bullshit and goes away as soon as you decide to write whatever and take it from there.

And even if it is common knowledge, you can always give it a unique spin, offer more examples, explain it more simply, write more beautifully, write more concisely, write longer content, focus on a different audience (men vs women, young vs old, entrepreneurs vs freelancers vs employees), etc.

Also, the more you write, the easier it gets to find new ideas and insights worth sharing.

My new newsletter is about discomfort as a personal growth tool for men. You could say it's common knowledge that when you expand your comfort zone, you grow. Yet there are hundreds of topics I can cover under it, including angles nobody else thought about because everyone only thinks about it superficially.

For example, everyone talks about discomfort when working out at the gym or maybe dieting. This is the superficial level and common knowledge.

But how many people write long form quality articles on learning to be comfortable with death? Or learning to be comfortable when on a crazy adventure in the wilderness? Or learning to be comfortable when you're fighting for months to recover from an accident or a sickness? Or learning to be comfortable when attending to your stressful duties from a Roman emperor? Or learning to be comfortable walking barefoot? Or learning to be comfortable sharing your creative work?

I'm only sharing this to help you see that there's a ton of ideas you can explore even for a fairly "specific" topic. In your case, you can discuss a lot more, which can be both a blessing and also a curse (because sometimes limitations help us get more creative).

Either way, there ARE examples of successful newsletters you could emulate. You yourself said that you read their stuff a lot so I assume you enjoy it. Nobody is paying you to do it and you're spending your free time reading it. This shows that you're much more involved in it than an average person. And you also understand what your potential audience may be interested in as well because you're a part of them.

The Marginalian (previously Brain Pickings) is another example of a successful newsletter/blog covering something very broad, yet having a big, loyal audience. Curiously, her business model is donations which proves that it may work even with, arguably, a very bad monetization method.

 

[Mister]

Thanks for this post I think I will look a bit further into it.

I joined ones a newsletter that was like newspaper, you had the choice to pick a few fields that you find interesting.

I think that could be become the driving power for newspapers “revolution” (From offline to online).

 

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[Madame Peccato]

I had typed a long winded response, but you know...this.

The only question that remains is whether you'll stick with it or find a way to talk yourself out of it. I'm happy to keep you accountable to pursue this.

Some parts of my answer felt like resisting / talking myself out of it.

Let's go.

 

[MTF]

The topics are quite different. I could write about a lot of them under the topic "personal development", but that seems way too diluted to me. I would have to niche down, but then I would only write about one or two topics again.

Yeah unless you can find a unifying theme it might not be ideal. So try the other suggestions I mentioned as I'm sure they'll help you clarify your thoughts. Ultimately I wouldn't rely on market data alone but go with your gut as if you're going to write the newsletter yourself, you have to be deeply invested in the topic.

To be honest, I have no idea how newsletters are perceived in the German-speaking world let alone if there would be any sponsors or potential to sell it. I only ever read newsletters in English.

At the moment, it seems like a newsletter in English would be the more intriguing choice. It is also the more intimidating choice, as I have never written anything in English other than forum posts. But I am sure, that I could pull it off.

English it is then. Based on your forum posts you won't have any problems.

 

[MTF]

I have a question about monetising a newsletter if you start from scratch and don't have an audience yet.
Would you start monetising the newsletter from the get go or would you write for free for a set period of time? (But how can one then transition to a paid version, if you ever only wrote for free?)

I think it depends on the type of your newsletter and your chosen monetization method.

1. Paid subscriptions

The guy behind trends.vc does free reports on various business opportunities/trends and includes more examples/resources/thoughts in the pro version.

In this case, you could start with the first issue. By default, you'd write the paid version first and then cut stuff out of it to publish as a free version. These reports are still valuable a year from now so even if you get no paid subscribers in your first weeks/months, they'll still be useful for your archives.

He has over 1000 subscribers with current pricing tiers of $20/month (just the paid newsletter), $25/month (the paid newsletter and community) and $100/month (the paid newsletter + community + masterminds). Assuming that the middle tier is the average one he makes a nice $25k/month from this setup.

If your newsletter isn't like this and you'd publish more, different emails for paid subscribers, then in the beginning it makes little sense (particularly if your content isn't evergreen). I'd focus on building trust and authority first and then adding the paid tier later.

2. Affiliate marketing

Simple. Use affiliate links from the first issue.

3. Sponsorships

Won't hurt to advertise sponsorship spots from the first issue. It'll prepare your subscribers for future advertisements, too.

4. Your own products

I wouldn't start until you have at least a few hundred subscribers because otherwise it'll be a waste of your time.

5. A community

Same as above, only I think I'd wait for at least a few thousand members to make sure you'll have at least a few dozen active people in your community.

6. Consulting/coaching

From the first issue because one sale can potentially bring a lot of income.

 

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[MTF]

Thanks for this post I think I will look a bit further into it.

I joined ones a newsletter that was like newspaper, you had the choice to pick a few fields that you find interesting.

I think that could be become the driving power for newspapers “revolution” (From offline to online).

As long as people use email (and there's no alternative for the foreseeable future) newsletters will definitely grow, particularly those commenting news in an unbiased way (or in a non-mainstream way).

 

[MTF]

I had typed a long winded response, but you know...this.

Some parts of my answer felt like resisting / talking myself out of it.

Let's go.

Ha yeah, I'm guilty of writing these long-winded BS responses as well. It's good that you're aware of it.

Keep us updated with your progress!

What's the first step?

 

[Supa]

@MTF you got me excited for a business model with just one post. Well done.

Currently working on my first novel and was thinking about ways to get it out there as soon as it is done. Especially your posts on how Amazon works at the moment concerning self-published books got me thinking more about ways to promote a self-published book.

Your post convinced me to go with a newsletter as not just a marketing tool for my book(s) as I thought about it so far. And instead create one as a business itself that can then also be used to promote my book(s).

Within minutes of reading your post I had the topic of content, the name and ideas for this newsletter running through my brain. It’s been a long time that I’ve been excited about creating something, besides writing, so thank you for that

 

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[MTF]

@MTF you got me excited for a business model with just one post. Well done.

Currently working on my first novel and was thinking about ways to get it out there as soon as it is done. Especially your posts on how Amazon works at the moment concerning self-published books got me thinking more about ways to promote a self-published book.

Your post convinced me to go with a newsletter as not just a marketing tool for my book(s) as I thought about it so far. And instead create one as a business itself that can then also be used to promote my book(s).

Within minutes of reading your post I had the topic of content, the name and ideas for this newsletter running through my brain. It’s been a long time that I’ve been excited about creating something, besides writing, so thank you for that

That's super cool.

I think that a newsletter is an excellent way to grow your audience before launching a book because it allows you the most direct contact with your readers (and you're selling your "products" with each new issue of the newsletter).

 

[Taktik]

You know what, I'm in. Ever since I joined the forum, I couldn't stick to one idea. There were always things, that bothered me a lot. This happened with every idea I ever looked into. But with a newsletter it suddenly feels as if a lot of things are already going for me. That's incredible.

Now I just have to decide, which topic to choose. In the last couple of days I thought about it a lot and I have two ideas, that I think have some potential.

One is an overarching theme, under which I could write about a couple of different topics that I find interesting. In this newsletter I could write about the things I learn along the way, so this would be a student newsletter.

The other one is about a topic I was looking into lately. I found, that there is a lot of noise in this sphere, but that really good content/information is rare. So this could be a curated newsletter, that shows the best news in this specific area.

To be honest, I would like to start them both - as these are two different types of newsletters. But then again I am a fan of focus, as you can get farther with the same amount of energy invested, when you just focus on one thing.
This could be a classic case of FOMO. Or maybe the reason I am thinking of starting both is, that I don't really know, how much work it would take to produce a newsletter on a regular basis.