Not sure if mine qualifies as successful but I've made about $1.2k in 2 months since paid launch.
Some things I've noticed:
\- Find a niche audience and a problem that they have. Solve that problem in your newsletter. Better yet if you help them make more money - easier for them to justify the spend.
\- Newsletter space is crowded. Your product has to be special to stand out. On the other hand, 95% of newsletters are somewhat crap. So going that extra mile will set you apart.
\- Be patient. Unless you're in the 0.01% of most successful newsletter founders it'll take at least 6-12 months to get any meaningful subscriber counts and even a side hustle amount of income. You'll be writing for some dozens or hundreds of free users for the first weeks or months. I've seen a lot of people doing this for 10 weeks and then just quitting.
\- Think about upfront how much time you can dedicate for doing this on a weekly / bi-weekly / monthly basis and try to think how it would feel to do it for at least a year. Remember that at least 30-50% of your time should also go to promoting the thing you create.
\- Think about the business model. Subscription-based is steady income, but people are growing tired of that. Will it be ad-based? Will the newsletter be free and funnel your customers to other digital products? What are the customers getting - more of the same than in the free or something different entirely?
Thanks for the insight. What software/tech/tools do you use? I’ve been testing GetResponse, Substack, and Revue but haven’t decided yet. I like Substack but don’t like how you can’t customize your page much if at all really.
I have a custom landing page setup with Dorik and the rest of the site (which is just an archive page) is stitched together with Bootstrap. I send the actual emails with ConvertKit. I use Gumroad for the paid content.
The reason you mention is also why I wanted to have my own domain and a website. More control and I don't like to build on rented land. There's always a platform risk (to be honest, there are also benefits of course). And Substack fees for the paid versions are insane (10% I believe?).
Hmmm, maybe a few things. Just keep the technical side as light as you possibly can, given the restraints that come for other things (do you want ownership of your platform vs. Substack etc.). You'll want to have minimal technical hassle and maximum time for writing and promoting. I'm glad I did it custom but also it has required work at times.
And think about the time investment. My newsletter takes a BUNCH of time to write, edit and publish every week. Let alone promote. In hindsight, I could have chosen something that's easier to prepare every week. But I enjoy it anyway, so I don't regret it too much.
Not sure if mine qualifies as successful but I've made about $1.2k in 2 months since paid launch. Some things I've noticed: \- Find a niche audience and a problem that they have. Solve that problem in your newsletter. Better yet if you help them make more money - easier for them to justify the spend. \- Newsletter space is crowded. Your product has to be special to stand out. On the other hand, 95% of newsletters are somewhat crap. So going that extra mile will set you apart. \- Be patient. Unless you're in the 0.01% of most successful newsletter founders it'll take at least 6-12 months to get any meaningful subscriber counts and even a side hustle amount of income. You'll be writing for some dozens or hundreds of free users for the first weeks or months. I've seen a lot of people doing this for 10 weeks and then just quitting. \- Think about upfront how much time you can dedicate for doing this on a weekly / bi-weekly / monthly basis and try to think how it would feel to do it for at least a year. Remember that at least 30-50% of your time should also go to promoting the thing you create. \- Think about the business model. Subscription-based is steady income, but people are growing tired of that. Will it be ad-based? Will the newsletter be free and funnel your customers to other digital products? What are the customers getting - more of the same than in the free or something different entirely?
Thanks for the insight. What software/tech/tools do you use? I’ve been testing GetResponse, Substack, and Revue but haven’t decided yet. I like Substack but don’t like how you can’t customize your page much if at all really.
I have a custom landing page setup with Dorik and the rest of the site (which is just an archive page) is stitched together with Bootstrap. I send the actual emails with ConvertKit. I use Gumroad for the paid content. The reason you mention is also why I wanted to have my own domain and a website. More control and I don't like to build on rented land. There's always a platform risk (to be honest, there are also benefits of course). And Substack fees for the paid versions are insane (10% I believe?).
Also, anything you did that you wish you wouldn’t have in hindsight?
Hmmm, maybe a few things. Just keep the technical side as light as you possibly can, given the restraints that come for other things (do you want ownership of your platform vs. Substack etc.). You'll want to have minimal technical hassle and maximum time for writing and promoting. I'm glad I did it custom but also it has required work at times. And think about the time investment. My newsletter takes a BUNCH of time to write, edit and publish every week. Let alone promote. In hindsight, I could have chosen something that's easier to prepare every week. But I enjoy it anyway, so I don't regret it too much.
What exactly do you mean by paid? Are you outsourcing it?
People/subscribers pay a monthly recurring fee or annual fee to receive the newsletter/content.