Thinking about bootstrapping a paid newsletter platform for writers and journalists.
Does it make sense to give it a shot and spend a few months building a prototype of a paid newsletter platform?
The main competitors in this space are substack, tinyletter, revue and a few others.
I feel like I can improve on some weak spots, reduce friction for writers that go from zero -> writing a newsletter.
I'm thinking of also offering quality resources for others to learn writing, and how they would go about starting their newsletter.
Any thoughts?
My 2 cents
I used to run digital operations for LATAMs largest mass media company.
This days we are building new media brands, several of then start as newsletters (I consider them our MVP)
I definitely wish there as a better solution.
One of our fastest growing in paid subscribers was validated in Substack.
But it presents plenty of challenges.
## 1. Substack gets expensive really soon.
We are now moving out of substack to ghost. The commissions substack gets from us is now high enough for us to want o develop our own stack. We can't scale on substack.
## 2. Newsletters will be enough to build a strong media brand
I guess for some writers a paid newsletter is enough. But even for one-man operations, newsletter is but a delivery channel. Very soon as the audience grows, we find ourselves in the need for better CMS. Readers go back to our content, and need better ways to consume it than just a daily/weeky letter.
## 3. Tech is not the problem to get traction .
I agree with @ksp a better tech stack is not what will get people to write.
We've given the same tools to several media entrepreneurs, and to doesn't make a difference. Those who work hard are the ones growing and making money.
Tech is a problem of scaling the business, but not for the getting started phase.
If you can help people write more and better, that's a solution.
If you help media entrepreneurs scale beyond substack or a simple newsletter, that's a solution
In regards to:
##1. I felt like 10% isn't too expensive, compared to some media outlets paying out 70% of the revenue to the writer. But I understand your position on it, and if it's cheaper to use another stack, then it makes sense
##2. I feel like a hybrid between a newsletter delivery platform and a platform like Medium would work. Even with a "Discovery" feed to find newsletters and articles users will love reading. I agree, a better CMS would be useful.
##3. Teaching people how to write properly, tips and tricks, and how to form a habbit out of it in order to get seriously started with it is what's most valuable I feel.
So focusing on helping people write better might work, while also offering them the platform to put their newsletter out there.
Yes, 10% isn't expensive when you are starting/validating.
That's why we use Substack to validate audience/content fit.
But as soon as we grow, it's more expensive than having a full-time developer to customize Ghost for our needs.
BTW.
I just stumbled across this post in Axios
https://www.axios.com/everything-bundle-substack-newsletters-bf5abb23-322a-4113-bd07-52a81172f574.html
The TL;DR
Very interesting article, thanks!
I think the biggest hurdle for writers is writing. They procrastinate, have writer's block, bad habits that prevent consistent production, etc.
If those are the things that will differentiate your platform, then maybe what you should build is a business helping writers write instead of a platform on which to publish their work.
Anyway, that's my 3 cents. ALl the best!
yeah i agree, I've been thinking about this aswell, since I also want to write more and build some good habits for my writing