How to make money with a newsletter

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Most people think that growth a successful newsletter it is about the number of subscribers and open rates. However, the real opportunity lies in understanding a few key principles that experienced operators use to build valuable assets.

Here's what really moves the needle.

Bigger is not always better

There's a counterintuitive truth in the newspaper business: too much growth can hurt your bottom line. When Brew in the morning crossed the million subscriber mark, their revenue per subscriber fell by 23%. Think of it as a party – there is an optimal number of guests where conversations flow naturally. Add too many people and the quality of interactions suffers.

The sweet spot is usually between 10,000 and 50,000 engaged subscribers. Here your audience is large enough to generate meaningful revenue, but small enough to maintain quality engagement. With this size of audience, you can truly understand the needs of your readers, create targeted offers and maintain the personal touch that keeps subscribers engaged.

The new growth economy

Growing your subscriber base doesn't have to be expensive. Smart bulletin operators are making a comeback traditional marketing in the head using tools like Beehiiv and Sparkloop. Here's how: When someone subscribes to your newsletter, they're shown recommendations for other newsletters. If they subscribe to them too, you get paid – usually $2-$5 per referral.

This means you can spend $3 to buy a subscriber through Facebook ads, and if that person subscribes to two recommended newsletters during signup, you've earned $4-10 – making a profit before you send your first email. Many operators are growing into tens of thousands of subscribers this way, effectively getting paid to grow their audience.

Another powerful growth strategy is the unexpected use of cross promotions. Instead of using your newsletter audience to grow the same newsletter, use it to build entirely new assets. For example, if you run a technology newsletter and another publication approaches you for a joint promotion, don't promote your newsletter; ask them to promote your new course or consulting service instead.

This approach can transform the standard promotional opportunities into important revenue generators. While a typical cross-promotion of a newsletter might bring a few hundred subscribers worth maybe $1,000 to life, promoting a $997 course might get you 5-10 high-value leads that hypothetically generate 5,000-10,000 dollars from a single promotion.

Beyond the newsletter

The most successful newsletter operators understand a fundamental truth that the newsletter itself is not a business, but is the foundation for something bigger. Think of your newsletter as a powerful magnet that draws the right people into your ecosystem of products and services.

This could mean creating courses that solve specific problems for your audience, building a community where subscribers connect and share knowledge, offering consulting services to your most engaged readers, or developing digital products that extend the value of your newsletter. The key is to understand that your newsletter is often the beginning of the customer relationship, not the end.

Newsletter content builds trust and demonstrates expertise, while real income comes from affiliate offers. This is not about scamming subscribers; it's about providing more and more valuable ways to serve them.

Make every message count

Understanding how people interact with their inbox is key. Think about your email behavior – when you subscribe to five newsletters, you can read them all. But with twenty newspapers? You start scanning subject lines faster and pay less attention to each sender.

This reality makes audience engagement particularly attractive. Subscribers who come through paid channels typically stay engaged longer than organic subscribers. Why? Because they've already shown through their initial interaction that they value curated inbox experiences. These subscribers often create dedicated folders, set up filters and engage more actively with content.

The timing of your emails also matters more than most realize. Morning readers are more likely to make purchases, while evening readers tend to engage more deeply with content. Smart operators use this knowledge to their advantage and share different types of content at different times to maximize impact.

Measuring what matters

Traditional metrics like open rates and click-through rates only tell part of the story. The real value lies in understanding the nuances of subscriber behavior. Some subscribers may never click through a link but read every word you write, while others engage on multiple platforms and consistently purchase high-ticket items.

This understanding has profound implications for structuring your newsletter business. Success comes from identifying these different behavior patterns and creating appropriate paths for each segment. Some subscribers may be perfect for ad-based revenue, while others are better suited for premium offerings.

Building long-term value

When The Hustle was sold to HubSpot, only 40% of the valuation was based on revenue. Much of the value came from what investors call “community capital”—the proven willingness of audiences to take action, whether that's buying products, attending events, or advocating for the brand.

This shows that modern newsletter businesses are not just publications; they are community assets that appreciate over time. A highly engaged audience of 50,000 subscribers who consistently take action is often worth more than a passive audience of 500,000.

The newsletter space is changing fast, but that creates opportunities. While most creators chase subscriber numbers, you can focus on building something more valuable – an engaged audience that grows in value over time. Start with these basics, apply them consistently, and you'll be ahead of most other newsletter operators.

Source link