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the big idea is today's newsletters are text and in 2025 they are going to be more and more visual.

💨 tl;dr

Newsletters are a goldmine for building communities and profitable businesses in 2025. Focus on niche markets, leverage AI, and diversify monetization strategies like job boards and premium subscriptions. Local engagement and positive content are key to thriving.

💡 Key Ideas

• Newsletters are a powerful tool for building community and launching profitable businesses.
• Targeting overseas marketers presents a significant opportunity due to the skill gap in marketing.
• Key newsletter components: job listings, marketing news, actionable tutorials, and templates.
• Monetization strategies include job boards, sponsored emails, local business ads, and premium subscriptions.
• Local newsletters can thrive by focusing on positive content and community engagement.
• B2B newsletters targeting executives can be lucrative, especially with high-value subscriber bases.
• Visual newsletters and engaging formats (memes, infographics) are the future.
• Utilize AI for creating relevant content, tools, and software for newsletter audiences.
• Successful newsletters often require a pre-existing audience and clear niche for monetization.
• Scale opportunities are high, with potential for six to seven-figure revenues in local markets.

🎓 Lessons Learnt

• Starting a newsletter is a cheat code for building a business. It's an easy way to create a community and unlock various business opportunities.

• Focus on niche markets for targeted newsletters. Targeting specific audiences, like overseas marketers or local events, allows for better monetization and engagement.

• Collect subscriber data at signup. Gather detailed information about your audience to tailor content and advertising, maximizing revenue potential.

• Leverage job boards and targeted email blasts for monetization. Offering job boards for overseas talent and charging for targeted recruitment emails can generate significant income.

• Utilize existing platforms for growth. Promote your niche newsletter through relevant SaaS tools or community content to scale your audience quickly.

• Engage in value-driven promotions. When promoting your newsletter, focus on providing value to avoid being seen as overly promotional.

• Consider premium offerings and local events. Adding premium subscriptions and local events can significantly enhance your revenue alongside traditional ad sales.

• Scale horizontally across regions. Once successful in one area, replicate your newsletter model in neighboring cities to expand reach and profitability.

• Diversify monetization strategies. In addition to ads, explore software sales, consulting, or hosting events to maximize income potential.

• Capitalize on local news gaps. Create positive, community-oriented newsletters to engage your audience effectively and stand out from negative news trends.

• Aim for low subscriber acquisition costs. Use targeted Facebook ads to grow your local newsletter audience efficiently, ensuring profitability.

• Newsletters are still relevant and valuable. Despite digital content saturation, newsletters continue to hold significant potential in 2025 and beyond.

🌚 Conclusion

Starting a newsletter is a smart move. With the right approach—targeting specific audiences, utilizing existing platforms, and offering value—you can unlock significant revenue potential and make a real impact in your community.

In-Depth

All Key Ideas

Newsletter Insights and Strategies

• Starting a startup can be daunting, but newsletters are a 'cheat code' for building a community and business.
• Matt McGary, known for his expertise in newsletters, presents 10 profitable newsletter business ideas.
• The rise of overseas talent has created a skill gap in marketing, presenting an opportunity for newsletters targeting overseas marketers.
• A suggested newsletter structure includes job listings, marketing news, and actionable tutorials.
• Monetization strategies for the newsletter include a job board, collecting subscriber data, and offering targeted sponsored email blasts.

Business Opportunities in Recruiting and Marketing

• Partnering with an overseas recruiting agency can generate leads and equity stakes in the business.
• Creating a course targeted at an international audience of marketers can be a profitable venture.
• A newsletter can generate significant revenue through job postings and recruiting blasts.
• Creating a platform-based newsletter focused on specific tools and educational content can be monetized through affiliate partnerships.
• Offering templates related to specific tools (e.g., HubSpot) can enhance subscriber value and generate revenue through affiliate links.

Newsletter Strategies

• Digital assets like templates have great margins and ecosystems built around platforms can enhance newsletters.
• With AI, you can find or even build SaaS tools relevant to your newsletter audience.
• An unofficial sports team newsletter can be viable by sourcing content from forums and subreddits, but may require multiple newsletters for significant revenue.
• Local real estate investor newsletters can generate substantial income by targeting investors in cities with populations between 200,000 and 1 million.
• Successful real estate newsletters enrich listings with mortgage rates and investment return forecasts to add value.
• Growing a newsletter can be achieved through Facebook ads and promoting in local groups while providing value to avoid bans.

Strategies for Newsletter Monetization

• Pre and post call-to-actions (CTAs) are effective strategies for converting social media followers into newsletter subscribers.
• Focus on building an audience on one platform while using paid ads to gain subscribers.
• For initial ad sales, approach local businesses and charge a flat fee based on agreed clicks.
• Local businesses with high lifetime values (LTVs) are ideal sponsors for newsletters.
• Once you have a steady stream of ad revenue, you can replicate the newsletter model in nearby cities.
• Additional monetization options include selling local real estate investment seminars and offering premium subscriptions.
• With a smaller subscriber base (5,000-10,000), significant revenue can be generated from ad sales and event promotions.
• The economics of newsletter businesses improve as they scale, allowing for profitable exits.

B2B Newsletter Insights

• A newsletter for B2B decision makers can be highly profitable even with a small subscriber base, especially if targeting high-level executives.
• The hardest part of creating this type of newsletter is acquiring subscribers that fit your ideal customer profile (ICP).
• To start, pick a niche and focus on one industry, such as CEOs at Fortune 500 companies.
• Create hyper-relevant content that summarizes important industry information for executives.
• Analyzing subscriber data can help leverage sponsorship opportunities based on the composition of your audience.
• High-value customer bases are attractive for monetization due to their disposable income and budget control.
• There's potential to develop additional software or services on top of the newsletter, beyond just ads and events.
• There's a lack of newsletters focused on ad creative for specific industries, presenting an opportunity in that niche.

Newsletter and Monetization Ideas

• Create a spreadsheet to determine niches and source high-converting ads from Meta's ad library.
• Monetize by putting 80% of content behind a paywall, selling Canva templates, sponsorships, and community memberships.
• The idea of a newsletter combining memes with news stories, summarizing them in a witty and concise way.
• Visual newsletters are the future, moving away from text-heavy formats to more engaging visuals like memes and infographics.
• Industry-specific AI newsletters can be profitable by offering targeted prompts and cheat codes for specific professions.
• The success of a newsletter can depend on pre-existing audience size, influencing customer acquisition costs.

Insights on Business Opportunities and Audience Engagement

• People are more willing to pay for tools that save time or money in 2025 compared to 2015, but the challenge is doing this without a social audience.
• A newsletter featuring lessons from inspirational leaders can grow a broad audience quickly, though it may be trickier to monetize due to a lack of clear niche.
• Readers appreciate predictable formats with short, actionable content, like highlighting key quotes or advice from leaders such as Warren Buffett.
• There are multiple business opportunities around popular leaders, including raising a fund, consulting, selling courses, or creating an AI portfolio optimizer.
• Local newsletters present a big opportunity by focusing on positive, community-oriented news rather than crime-heavy stories, catering to people's desire for uplifting content.
• Monetization for local newsletters can be achieved through local sponsorships, and acquiring subscribers can be done cheaply through targeted Facebook ads.

Local Newsletters Insights

• Local newsletters can grow to six-figure businesses in one city and have the potential to scale to seven figures by expanding into multiple cities.
• Example of success: Naptown Scoop generates 400k per year; 6 a.m city grew to 8 million in revenue with 1.4 million subscribers.
• Key insight: keep it positive, community-oriented, and curated to stand out in a content-saturated world.
• Newsletters are more relevant than ever, presenting easy startup opportunities with low initial costs.
• Utilizing Facebook ads can help generate subscribers while building a growing organic audience.
• AI coding platforms can be used to create products and software for newsletter audiences.

All Lessons Learnt

Strategies for Building a Newsletter Business

• Starting a newsletter is a cheat code for building a business. It's an accessible way to create a community and leverage it for various business opportunities.
• Focus on overseas marketers looking for US-based jobs. There's a skill gap between overseas and US marketers, creating a niche for a newsletter targeting this audience.
• Monetize the newsletter by targeting a Western audience. To make a real business, focus on monetizing Western companies that want to hire talented overseas marketers.
• Collect subscriber data at signup. Gather detailed data like work experience and skills to better tailor your content and advertising, enhancing monetization potential.
• Create a job board for overseas talent. Offering a free job board where companies can post jobs for overseas marketers can be a lucrative revenue stream.
• Targeted sponsored email blasts can be profitable. Charge companies for sending targeted recruitment emails to your newsletter subscribers, which can bring in significant income.

Strategies for Monetizing Newsletters

• Partnering with an overseas recruiting agency can be more effective than building your own. This approach allows you to generate leads and take equity, reducing management hassles.
• Creating a platform-based newsletter focused on a specific niche can be profitable. Pick a tool or program, make your content digestible, and monetize through affiliate partnerships for recurring commissions.
• Lean into templates for added value. Offer templates related to your newsletter's topic and monetize them through affiliate links or direct sales, enhancing subscriber engagement.

Newsletter Growth Strategies

• Utilize existing platforms: If your newsletter focuses on a niche, like Shopify, you can find SaaS tools that align with your audience to promote or create. This helps in building additional revenue streams.
• Leverage community content: For an unofficial sports team newsletter, source content from subreddits and forums instead of creating it all yourself. This saves time and can help scale your newsletter quickly.
• Focus on high-value real estate listings: In a real estate investor newsletter, enriching listings with mortgage rates and potential returns adds value and makes the newsletter more appealing to subscribers.
• Use targeted advertising for growth: To grow your subscriber list for local newsletters, consider using Facebook ads with a target cost per acquisition (CPA) of $2 or less. This can effectively increase your audience without overspending.
• Engage in value-based promotion: When promoting your newsletter in local Facebook groups or subreddits, provide value in your posts and include links to your newsletter at the end. Avoid being overly promotional to prevent bans.

Strategies for Growing Your Newsletter Audience

• Use Pre and Post Call to Actions (CTAs): Tease valuable content to encourage your audience to subscribe to your newsletter, making them feel they’re missing out if they don’t.
• Focus on One Platform: Build your audience on a single social media platform first, rather than spreading yourself thin across many.
• Transition from Paid to Organic Growth: Aim for your organic subscriber growth to eventually surpass your paid advertising spend.
• Start Small with Ad Sales: Approach local businesses for your first ad sales, setting clear expectations for clicks and charges to establish a revenue stream.
• Reinvest to Scale: Use initial ad revenue to reinvest in more subscribers, which allows you to attract higher-paying sponsors later.
• Consider Premium Offerings: Offering premium subscriptions or local events can significantly boost your revenue alongside ad sales.
• Scale Horizontally: Once you have a successful newsletter in one area, replicate the model in nearby cities to expand your reach and profitability.
• Understand Revenue Potential: Realize that you don't need 100,000 subscribers to start making significant income; even 5,000 subscribers can yield substantial revenue through various monetization strategies.

Strategies for Growing a Newsletter Audience

• Pick a niche and focus on one industry: Selecting a specific industry, like CEOs at Fortune 500 oil and gas companies, helps in targeting the right audience for your newsletter.
• Acquire subscribers through networking: Talk to executives in your target industry about their reading preferences, then leverage their networks to gain more subscribers.
• Create hyper relevant content: Summarize important information executives normally consume (like press releases and earning reports) into a concise newsletter format to keep them engaged.
• Use LinkedIn and X for promotion: Share your newsletter content on social media platforms to drive traffic and gain subscribers.
• Consider cross-promotion with other newsletters: Team up with other newsletters read by your target audience for cost-effective growth strategies.
• Conduct a subscriber survey: Collect data on job titles, industries, and locations to understand your audience better and leverage this information for sponsorship opportunities.
• Focus on high-value customer bases: Target subscribers with disposable income and decision-making power, as they are more likely to provide lucrative sponsorships.
• Diversify your monetization strategies: While ads are a starting point, consider selling software or hosting events as alternative revenue streams for your newsletter.

Newsletter Monetization Strategies

• Create a spreadsheet and determine which niches you want to cover. This helps in organizing and focusing your newsletter on specific target markets.
• Source high converting ads for each niche by checking Meta ad library. It’s important to select ads that have been high performers, as this increases your chances of monetizing effectively.
• Put 80% of the content behind a paywall. This strategy maximizes revenue potential by offering valuable content that subscribers are willing to pay for.
• Create Canva templates for each ad for subscribers to download. This adds value to your newsletter by providing practical resources that enhance user experience.
• Sell sponsorships to advertisers targeting paid marketers. This is a straightforward monetization strategy that leverages your audience for additional revenue.
• Consider creating visual newsletters using memes. Visual content can make newsletters more engaging and enjoyable to read, capturing more attention than text-heavy formats.
• Focus on prosumer niches for better monetization opportunities. Catering to a professional audience (B2B) generally leads to higher revenue potential compared to consumer audiences (B2C).
• Create industry-specific AI tips and tactics newsletters. This concept has proven successful and can be replicated across various fields, offering valuable insights that help save time and money.
• Build an audience before launching a paid newsletter. Having a following can significantly ease customer acquisition and improve chances of success for subscription models.

Newsletter Strategies

• Focus on Inspirational Leaders: Create a newsletter that highlights lessons from leaders like Warren Buffett, as it can attract a broad audience and has viral potential on social media.
• Use Predictable Formats: Readers prefer short, actionable content in a predictable format. Structure your newsletter to include sections like best quotes or advice from featured leaders.
• Leverage Credibility: By profiling well-known figures, you can reduce risk and build a business around their credibility, making it easier to attract an audience.
• Explore Monetization Options: Consider various monetization strategies, like consulting, courses, or even creating a hedge fund inspired by the leaders you profile.
• Capitalize on Local News Gaps: There’s a big opportunity for digestible local newsletters focusing on positive community news rather than crime-heavy stories, as people are tired of negative news.
• Promote Local Events: A newsletter featuring local events can engage the community; highlight unique, lesser-known happenings to stand out.
• Utilize Facebook Ads for Growth: Use straightforward Facebook ads to acquire subscribers by linking to landing pages that promote your newsletter.
• Aim for Low Subscriber Acquisition Costs: Local newsletters can be profitable with low subscriber acquisition costs, as demonstrated by acquiring subscribers for less than 50 cents.

Local Newsletter Strategies

• Local newsletters can be highly profitable. They can grow to six-figure businesses in one city and have the potential to scale to seven figures by expanding into multiple cities.
• Keep it positive and community-oriented. A successful local newsletter thrives on being curated and fostering community engagement.
• Position yourself as the anti-AI. In a content-saturated world, focus on unique, high-quality content that stands out against automated content.
• Leverage Facebook ads for subscriber growth. Use targeted ads to generate consistent monthly subscribers, ensuring your revenue model remains strong.
• Utilize AI tools for product creation and experimentation. Platforms like Repet and Bolt can help create tailored products and allow for new experiments to engage your audience.
• Newsletters are more relevant than ever. Despite the rise of digital content, newsletters continue to hold significant value in 2025 and beyond.