Thread by @packyM

Monday, I wrote about podcasts. Today, I'm tweeting about something nearer and dearer to my heart.

Newsletters are blowing up. 💥

Not Boring is growing but still small enough that what I'm learning is applicable to people just starting out. Now is the best time to write.👇

First, on newsletters. There is no good market sizing available, but a few hints:
- @TheAthletic is worth $500mm
- @MorningBrew has over 2 million subs
- @emorwee is #11 on substack, and makes $175k
- @benthompson makes ~$3mm
+ some very smart people are doing it full-time.

It's cool to see smart people starting to get interested in the business of newsletters, like @patrick_oshag calling out @nbashaw & @danshipper's bundle.

But it's still super early days.

https://twitter.com/patrick_oshag/status/1265401501977108487?s=20

Newsletters have replaced a lot of my non-fiction book reading. They're like an inbox MBA. Real-time & relevant.

@nbashaw @adam_keesling @polina_marinova @mwmoretti @ByrneHobart @sariazout @fkpxls @kanakhey @lennysan @JayCoDon @brettbivens @thatguyBG @_patriciamou @emily_singer

Continued (and I really do read all of these)
@nikillinit @iankar_ @PE_Feeds @nbt @Marc_it @can @ranjanxroy @sidharthajha @Leonlinsx @DruRly @derekbaynton @danshipper @ataussig @SarahNoeckel @itsmeeraclark @web @benthompson @LeanLuxe @david_perell @TurnerNovak @RuncieDan @ljin18

I learn a ton from reading those newsletters, and from the writers themselves. The newsletter community is a budding scenius - everyone is open to sharing their tips and tricks.

@lennysan's thread yesterday was newsletter school.

https://twitter.com/lennysan/status/1265072097849602048?s=20

Love what @DruRly is building with Trends.vc, and that he's transparent about his numbers from the earliest days.

Seeing this gives me more confidence to take the plunge and start charging at some point.

https://twitter.com/DruRly/status/1265375674166018051?s=20

I'm enjoying sharing what I've learned, too, and hope it helps people by seeing you don't have to have a big following to get started. A couple lessons:

1. Write about something you're passionate about - it comes through.
2. Don't worry about it being perfect, no one cares.

I started writing Not Boring (née Per My Last E-mail) a year ago on May 19, 2019.

It started as an assignment for @david_perell & @fortelabs Write of Passage. I begged my twitter following to sign up so I didn't have to ask people to subscribe directly.

https://twitter.com/packyM/status/1129355428008222720?s=20

Link above goes to "Ethel's Newsletter: The hottest Blog You see" b/c as soon as I switched from packym.substack to notboring.substack, some hacker grabbed the domain, hoping to sell beauty product to people who clicked on my old links.

Sign newsletters are getting big: hackers

It took me 124 days to get to the first 100 subscribers and 313 to get to 500. The newsletter was all over the place, I wasn't clear what it was about, I only occasionally wrote original content, and I didn't put much effort into growth.

As of March 23rd, I had 473 subscribers. But I was quarantined, and I wanted to make the newsletter a real thing, so I changed its name to Not Boring and told readers that I was setting a goal of getting to 1,000 subscribers before the end of quarantine.

notboring.substack.com/p/the-last-per…

Not Boring more than doubled and hit 1,000 in 43 days. It only took 20 to get to 1,500. A few reasons:
- I started writing in-depth analysis combining current business events, strategy, and pop culture
- People shared
- Posted on Twitter, LinkedIn & Reddit each time I wrote

Growth is starting to compound, which feels very cool. Tangibly, that means things like:

- 36% growth in March, 65% growth in April, 83% growth so far in May (🤞 on hitting 100%)
- 9 of the 10 best new subscriber days have all come this month.

+ Added a Thursday edition featuring Q&As and guest posts with really talented writers like @DruRly @ali_montag @Jer_Diamond (@Marc_it has a great one coming up on Worldconnectors Thursday). Readers get analysis from people who know their niches way better than I do.

My biggest bump yet came after @dpteran was nice enough to mention me among some great writers, and @_patriciamou did the same.

Lesson: After months of self-promoting, more people subscribed when someone they trust gave it his stamp of approval.

https://twitter.com/dpteran/status/1264015409700843525?s=20

Pro Tip: Getting linked in other newsletters is the best way to grow. People trust recommendations from the people they subscribe to.

I owe @polina_marinova @LeanLuxe @ByrneHobart @Alex_Danco @sidharthajha @matthewclifford @emily_singer @david_perell @p_millerd & more big time.

Last week, I wrote about three things I learned writing so far:

1. Pick a lane but keep it fresh.
2. Consistency is hard but worth it.
3. People are nice and secretly more curious than they let on

notboring.substack.com/p/looking-back…

I also set three goals, and in full transparency, I'm writing this thread in part to help me hit the first one.

1. 5k Subscribers by Labor Day
2. Make Enough Money to Cover Rent
3. Build an Ecosystem of Smart, Talented People

Subscribe here: notboring.substack.com/subscribe

I think newsletters are just getting started. A few things I'm excited to see:

- More bundles.
- Better consumption - they get lost in the inbox right now. Excited to see what @dhh & @jasonfried do here with Hey.
- Packaging newsletters as courses.
- Financing.

Viva la newsletter revolution.

I realize that I forgot my favorite newsletter writer out there: @drorpoleg

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