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Journalists Pay Themselves

What a thrilling time to be alive! I love the promise of a fresh newsletter project.

The things I consider when starting a newsletter:

Who it's forWhat it will focus onHow I want to monetize or get rewarded for writing itWhich platform to put it onWhere to let people know about it

Who it's for/What it will focus on

I also think of this as content/market fit. What you write and who you write for go hand it hand. If you're interested in something, it's highly likely others are too. But a few writers have given me the advice to write for a specific reader (like one you can name and know a bit about). I find that very helpful so I think about readers I know when I write issues and as I decide whether or not something "fits" the editorial focus of the newsletter.

You don't actually have to know this full picture when you launch but it's good if you can give people some keywords they can latch onto about what you're planning to do. You'll know you nailed it based on reader replies, social shares and forwards.

How to monetize

The most common newsletter revenue streams are paid subscriptions, sponsorships/ads, products and services.

Paid subscriptions give you a lot of flexibility in what you write and how you operate but they often take more work to sell as they're cheaper and you need a volume of subscribers to make a living.Sponsorships can pay into the 5 figures depending on your target audience and how engaged they are. You can do sponsored content or just feature a sponsor. You can command higher rates even with a smaller audience if you scope a more in depth/cross-channel/thoughtful relationship.Ads tend to be booked programmatically or in slots and typically are a linear volume game. More traffic, more readers, more clicks = higher rates.Products can mean digital or physical products (like merch or books) and can work if you're already naturally making these but you usually need a separate sales strategy to sell them on top of your newsletter unless it's a direct line from what you write to what you sell.Services like coaching, editing or other types of engagements are a common stream for folks moving into newsletters from freelance work. They can be quite high paying and it doesn't take as much to sell these (the labor here is in the service)

Your monetization strategy will impact your editorial strategy and your newsletter set up so it's good to consider which revenue streams you're planning to deploy. You can also do them one at a time and experiment with them/end them if they don't work for you.

Which platform

The most common publishing platforms I hear about are Ghost, beehiiv and Substack. Check out this post comparing the three and this spreadsheet where you can add more things you're considering.

Where to let people know

Your first readers will be people who already know your work. Notify people on social media, via text/email/live conversations, in your bio on stories elsewhere and anywhere you run into them! 

Beyond that, check out my downloadable check list of 32 ways to grow your newsletter.

What a thrilling time to be alive! I love the promise of a fresh newsletter project.

The things I consider when starting a newsletter:

I also think of this as content/market fit. What you write and who you write for go hand it hand. If you're interested in something, it's highly likely others are too. But a few writers have given me the advice to write for a specific reader (like one you can name and know a bit about). I find that very helpful so I think about readers I know when I write issues and as I decide whether or not something "fits" the editorial focus of the newsletter.

You don't actually have to know this full picture when you launch but it's good if you can give people some keywords they can latch onto about what you're planning to do. You'll know you nailed it based on reader replies, social shares and forwards.

The most common newsletter revenue streams are paid subscriptions, sponsorships/ads, products and services.

Your monetization strategy will impact your editorial strategy and your newsletter set up so it's good to consider which revenue streams you're planning to deploy. You can also do them one at a time and experiment with them/end them if they don't work for you.

The most common publishing platforms I hear about are Ghost, beehiiv and Substack. Check out 

 where you can add more things you're considering.

Your first readers will be people who already know your work. Notify people on social media, via text/email/live conversations, in your bio on stories elsewhere and anywhere you run into them! 

Beyond that, check out my downloadable check list of 

Journalists Pay Themselves

I want to start a newsletter. What tips do you have for getting started and finding subscribers?

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Journalists Pay Themselves