BI 358: How To Start A Newsletter For Profit (Ft Codie Sanchez)

Episode Highlights

[04:11] — Codie introduces Contrarian Thinking and her background

Codie started as a conflict journalist working in Wall Street asset management.
Her experiences led her to create a newsletter dedicated to sharing knowledge with others and help people gain financial freedom.
The newsletter aims always to ask questions about what we think we know about finance.

[08:42] — What are the pros of having a newsletter?

Having an email campaign is more reliable than social media platforms. Social media platforms can change their algorithms, directly affecting you.
An email campaign ensures that you have a direct link to your readers and consumers.
With more media going for clickbait, there will be a rise in local newsletters and those that have a specific niche.
Newsletters have a great margin for profit.

[12:29] — What are the cons of having a newsletter?

You have to produce content regularly. Also, newsletters are less scalable than other businesses.
There are also a lot of people who have newsletters and email campaigns.
People often underestimate and are not aware of what can be monetized in this business.

[13:52] — Codie shares her revenue lines

Codie shares her different revenue lines for Contrarian Thinking: info products, premium membership, mastermind, ads and sponsors, affiliates, ancillary channels, and merchandise.
She encourages people to start first with info products and eventually to build more revenue lines.
For more information about the different types of revenue lines, tune in to the full episode!

[17:44] — How to continuously grow your subscribers

Codie shares her first time reaching out to immediate contacts about her new venture.
She eventually reached more people through social media marketing.
Cross-promotion is also encouraged — Codie shares how she reached out to other newsletters to do this.
You need to be consistent with your content.
Even if you lose subscribers, don’t feel discouraged. You need to get over the hump and continue producing content.

[23:29] — How to know if you can handle having a newsletter

Codie advises understanding the 3 C’s before starting a newsletter. These are cash, check, and curiosity.
You need to make sure you have something that people can pay cash for.
Next, you need to check how big the potential market is, and true fans will only make a small percentage.
Be curious about everything. Continuously learn from people and situations around you.

[26:57] — Codie’s reminders about newsletter growth

There will always be pushback in your success. Your growth can make people in your life nervous.
You will not be able to know what will happen to you.
You cannot answer everyone. There will be times you have to say no to people reaching out to you.

[33:14] — How to buy newsletters instead of building from scratch

If you don’t want to build a newsletter, you can buy it from someone else instead.
At its core, newsletters are assets and can be sold. You just need to know how to value them properly.
You can also use other newsletters to support and funnel their subscribers back to your newsletter.
There are several platforms where you can buy newsletters. Tune in to the full episode to hear Codie’s discussion.

[39:27] — Where to start a blog

Codie herself uses several platforms to host her blog, each with different pros and cons.
Now, she is using Substack, MailChimp, and FUB (FollowUpBoss).
Listen to the full episode to hear Codie’s experiences with the different platforms!