Newsletter Business Update

December, and almost at year’s finish line 🏁, so it must be time for a semi-regular update on the progress of building a newsletter business here at Godspeed.

(For new subscribers, (Subscribers = Speeders?), this might be your first update – and when I say they occur semi-regular, I mean semi-regular almost verging on semi-irregular.)

To any of you out there thinking about building a newsletter business, the word from our front lines is “hard,” not defined as rigid or solid but as something requiring great effort .

It’s not the writing or the content piece that’s burdensome – these things seem to come to me readily, or easily enough that awhile back I increased frequency to 2X weekly (certainly nothing semi-regular about that).

What’s hardest (as in challenging) is growing a subscriber base and turning it into a business that generates do-re-mi 💰.

A few numbers for you:

Since I started publishing Godspeed in March of 2023, I’ve cranked out 102 issues.

We’ve accumulated 517 subscribers over that time, mostly organic though I imported some from an old newsletter list from my business, Oliver Russell.  I recently went through and weeded it out – nothing new for a farmer to do – and dropped 100+ subscribers who hadn’t opened an email.

Currently, I’m on the molasses growth plan:  I get about one new subscriber per week.

Another way to look at it:  For every post I have generated five subscribers.

I promote posts on LinkedIn, through syndication on Medium, and via cross-promotion on the email publishing platform, Ghost.

(I have a niggling suspicion that Substack does a better job of cross-promoting to spur subscription growth, but I’m a sucker for aligning my supply chain with a mission-driven business model:  Ghost is a non-profit foundation.)

Eighteen subscribers are paid supporters 🙏, which amounts to 3% of the subscriber base. I’d have thought that 10% would be a realistic number here — another hard-earned lesson for me.

I haven’t yet gated any of the content, a common tactic to spur paid subscriptions, so perhaps that’s an option, though I’m more motivated by spreading the word of business for good to as many people as possible – so don’t want limit this to people who aren’t able to pay.  (Hmmm.🤔  I’m sensing a reason why I’m having a hard time building this as a business.😉)

The encouraging side of things:  Godspeed readers are very engaged.  Open rates are 60%+ and engagement measured by clicks is 5%.  Both exceed industry averages, which, depending on what source you consult, come in at 40% for open rates and clicks at 3%.

And every issue generates a couple of comments – for the first year of publishing Godspeed, I don’t think I had any comments.

I entered 2024 with a goal of achieving 1,000 subscribers.  I have a long way to get there unless lightning strikes. ⚡️

Back to the business side:  many “creators,” or companies, use newsletters as a positioning tool (subject matter expert!) or lead-gen tactic; email addresses are captured then marketed to for consulting, educational courses, community, or other offerings to subscribers.

I don’t really push any of that, and maybe I should.

I guess at this juncture in my career of 4+ decades the real objective is to use what influence I have to effect positive social and environmental impact – and to share my knowledge with others to help them use their businesses or careers to do the same.

But hey, sure, it would be great to have my writing become something that pays for more than the expenses of operating a website.  And the idea for all of us with social impact companies is to build a business model that’s sustainable, INCLUDING making a profit – it’s how we use our profits that makes our ventures is truly different and impactful.

Thanks to all of you for hanging here with me.  And I’d be interested – what advice can you give to me (and others) on the business of newsletters?

Godspeed, friends. 

Russ

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