Welcome to Trends, a weekly newsletter with the zestiest business trends and actionable insights for entrepreneurs.
Summary
- Great Margins: Newsletters are a simple yet profitable business (e.g., Ben Thompson’s Stratechery is estimated to gross between $6-7m.)
- Ads or Subs: Core newsletter business models include ad-supported (The Skimm, Morning Brew) and subscription-based (Stratechery, 2PM)
- Newsletter Media Firms Hitting 9-Figure Valuation: Notable media companies built through newsletter have hit multi-million dollar valuations. (The Athletic was acquired by the NYT for $550m.)
- Multiple Business Lines: Media firms that begin as a newsletter can extend into other offerings (e.g., premium research, e-commerce, community forums, networking tools, podcasts)
- Secret Sauce: Newsletters have a number of strengths vs. traditional media including a direct relationship with end users, higher engagement, and lean operating costs
- What’s Next: Opportunities include B2B content niches and tools that provide curation (bundling) or paywall services