Newsletter

48 Newsletter Success Stories [2024]

Updated: October 7th, 2024

Did you know that in the past five years, there has been more than a 50% increase in the number of people who read newsletters?

Newsletters are one of the few things you can use to market yourself as a trusted expert. A well-written newsletter can educate your subscribers and build connections with them.

Email newsletters are a great way to connect with customers and potential customers. It’s a newsletter’s job to inform, persuade, and sell to your audience.

In this list, you'll find real-world newsletter success stories and very profitable examples of starting a newsletter that makes money.

1. Morning Brew ($49.2M/year)

Back in 2014, Alex noticed that his college peers lacked knowledge about current business news while he was helping them prepare for interviews. In response, he decided to create a valuable resource for them and launched a daily newsletter called The Market Corner.

Initially, it was in PDF format, but it later evolved into what we now know as Morning Brew.

How much money it makes: $49.2M/year

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How Alex Lieberman Grew Morning Brew to 2.5M Subscribers & Sold for $75M

Case study about the rapid growth and successful acquisition of Morning Brew, a daily newsletter founded in 2017, which was acquired by Business Insider for $75M in 2020 after reaching over 70K subscribers and generating an average of $4.1M/month in revenue.

Read by 905 founders

2. MarketBeat ($36M/year)

Matt Paulson, the founder of MarketBeat, came up with the idea for his business while working as a freelance writer in college. He discovered that stock investors were eager for real-time information and news about their investments, leading him to create a newsletter that provided convenient and timely updates. Over time, MarketBeat evolved into a financial media company, generating $8 million in revenue in 2019 and boasting 1.3 million email subscribers.

How much money it makes: $36M/year
How many people on the team: 17

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How I Started A $36M/Year Stock Market Research Newsletter

Financial media company MarketBeat, founded by Matt Paulson, provides objective financial information and real-time market data to empower individual stock investors to make better trading decisions, generating approximately $8 million in revenue in 2019 and ending the year with over 1.3 million unique email subscribers due to a freemium model with 75% of revenue from advertising and 25% from subscriptions.

Read by 28,676 founders

3. Prime Publishing LLC ($7.2M/year)

Stuart Hochwert, founder of Prime Publishing LLC, came up with the idea for his business while noticing that traditional print publishers in the Arts and Crafts space were experiencing circulation declines. Seeing the shift of "eyeballs" moving online, he developed a plan to create a free website focused on Arts and Crafts, leading to the launch of FaveCrafts.com. This decision, along with strategic marketing efforts and the addition of premium content, has contributed to Prime Publishing's success, generating over $10 million in advertising revenues and diversifying their revenue streams.

How much money it makes: $7.2M/year
How much did it cost to start: $650K
How many people on the team: 46

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How I Turned Arts & Crafts Into A $7M Content Business

Stuart Hochwert grew his company Prime Publishing LLC to generate over 30 million monthly page views and $7 million in annual revenue by creating free, advertising-supported cooking and crafting websites and premium, ad-free digital products.

Read by 4,844 founders

4. Beehiiv ($7M/year)

Tyler Denk founded Beehiiv based on his deep involvement with the success of Morning Brew, where he built major growth and tech features crucial to its rise. When Morning Brew's readers frequently inquired about the tools and systems behind its excellent referral program and well-constructed newsletters, Tyler realized there was a significant gap in the market for an intuitive, all-in-one newsletter platform. During his tenure at Google, Tyler and his co-founders moonlighted on building Beehiiv, constantly seeking feedback from potential users to fine-tune their MVP.

They validated their idea through exhaustive conversations with prospective users, confirming the need for a user-friendly platform specifically designed for newsletter creators. The initial focus was on building core essentials like a text editor and basic website functionality, knowing they could grow the feature set rapidly once users were on board. Tyler's journey reflects the importance of user-centric design and adaptability, wherein they remained responsive to customer feedback and industry needs, ensuring their product evolved in line with real-world demands. This hands-on and adaptive approach enabled Beehiiv to stand out even in a crowded market.

How much money it makes: $7M/year
How many people on the team: 50

How Email Newsletter Platform Beehiiv Grew to $750K/Month

This case study reveals how Tyler Denk's Beehiiv transformed the newsletter industry by addressing key pain points and growing impressively to an average revenue of $583K/month, backed by $16.7 million in funding and leveraging a combination of customer-centric design, strategic investments, and highly effective referral programs.

Read by 87 founders

5. TLDR Newsletter ($5M/year)

Dan was a stock trader in NYC after his education, but his interest in software and engineering led him to create Scraper API, a tool for developers to extract data from web pages.

After running the business for a few years and scaling it to six figures in revenue, he decided to start a newsletter due to his growing fascination with technology and current news.

How much money it makes: $5M/year
How much did it cost to start: $500
How many people on the team: 0

Profile: Dan Ni Built A $5M Email Newsletter With 0 Employees

TLDR Newsletter generates an impressive $5M per year in revenue through strategic ad placements, with founder Dan Ni starting the business for just $500 and growing to 1,000 subscribers within his first month using a combination of Reddit and Quora ads.

Read by 2,488 founders

8. Contrarian Thinking ($3M/year)

Contrarian Thinking is a premium membership community that teaches people how to add cash-flowing income streams to their portfolios and achieve financial freedom.

Codie Sanchez, the founder of Contrarian Thinking, came up with the idea for her business after experiencing numerous career changes and realizing that money was the key to solving problems. After working in finance and investing, she decided to blend her love for writing, investing, and teaching others to create a company that helps people achieve financial freedom. Through her premium membership community, Contrarian Cashflow, she teaches members how to add more cash-flowing income streams to their portfolios and build the life they have always dreamed of. With over 100,000 newsletter subscribers, a community of 1.5 million people, and a run rate of $3 million this year, Contrarian Thinking is empowering individuals to challenge the status quo and shape their own destinies.

How much money it makes: $3M/year
How much did it cost to start: $5K
How many people on the team: 4

My Finance Newsletter & Community Hit A $3M Run Rate This Year

Contrarian Thinking is a premium membership community that teaches its 1.5 million members how to implement cash flow strategies to achieve financial freedom, with a current run rate of $3 million and a goal of $50 million ARR in five years.

Read by 6,036 founders

9. Stacked Marketer ($2.5M/year)

Emanuel Cinca came up with the idea for Stacked Marketer while working as an affiliate marketer. In 2018, seeking to create his own product and control the entire customer journey, he experimented with various ideas. During this period, he discovered Morning Brew, a finance-focused newsletter.

This inspired him to wonder if a similar newsletter existed for affiliate marketing, and finding that there wasn't one, he decided to create Stacked Marketer to fill that gap.

How much money it makes: $2.5M/year

How Emanuel Cinca Built Stacked Marketer to $2.5M ARR

Learn how Emanuel Cinca built Stacked Marketer from the ground up, growing it to over 2,000 active subscribers and generating an impressive $208K per month in revenue, all while sharing valuable lessons on content, testing, and audience building.

Read by 446 founders

11. The Milk Road ($1.5M/year)

Shaan Puri and Ben Levy were friends. While working on Shaan’s brand, they delved deep into the crypto ecosystem. Since they were talented writers, they decided to turn their hobby and interests into a full-time gig.

embed:tweet

Shaan's Tweet explaining how they started Milk Road

How much money it makes: $1.5M/year
How much did it cost to start: $2K
How many people on the team: 1

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How Shaan Puri Built Milk Road to 250K Subscribers and Sold for 8-Figure.

Discover how Shaan Puri grew The Milk Road crypto newsletter from a Google Doc to 250,000 subscribers in just 10 months, ultimately selling it to Bitfo for an eight-figure sum.

Read by 3,192 founders

12. I Know The Pilot ($840K/year)

"I Know The Pilot" is a free travel deal platform that sends airfare and accommodation deals to subscribers daily, with a focus on international travel.

Garth Adams, the founder of I Know The Pilot, came up with the idea for his business after noticing that people were occasionally sharing cheap flights on shopping deal websites. He decided to start his own flight deals site, separate from his existing site IWantThatFlight.com.au, and launched IKnowThePilot.com.au as a WordPress site attached to a Mailchimp email list. The business grew rapidly, with over 780,000 email subscribers, 110,000 app users, and 550,000 Facebook fans at its height.

How much money it makes: $840K/year
How much did it cost to start: $1.5K
How many people on the team: 0

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How I Started A $140K/Month Flights And Holidays Deals Newsletter

I Know The Pilot founder Garth Adams shares how he grew his airfare and accommodation deals newsletter from a simple WordPress site to over 780,000 email subscribers, 110,000 app users, and 550,000 Facebook fans on a 100% free business model, and how he's pivoted domestically during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Read by 14,497 founders

14. Stacked ($720K/year)

Druce, one of the co-founders of Stacked, initially started the business as a platform to cut out the middleman in the real estate industry. However, they realized that the market wasn't ready for their product and shifted their focus to creating comprehensive and objective condo reviews, which set them apart from the competition. Their strategy of doubling down on content, including long-tail keywords, has resulted in immediate growth for the business.

How much money it makes: $720K/year
How much did it cost to start: $50K
How many people on the team: 10

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How I Started A $60K/Month Media Company Focused On The Real Estate Market

A real estate media company in Singapore skyrocketed its monthly revenue to $60k by providing in-depth condo reviews and leveraging high-quality multimedia content, gaining 700k page views, 43k Instagram followers, and 17k YouTube subscribers.

Read by 6,533 founders

17. ryrob.com ($480K/year)

Ryan Robinson started his blog ryrob.com in college as a way to share the lessons he learned from starting a business around his product, the iStash. After a viral post on HackerNews and Twitter, Ryan saw the potential to build a community around his blog and turned it into a full-time business. Now, his blog has around 500,000 monthly readers and generates between $25,000 to $55,000 in revenue each month through affiliate partnerships, sponsorships, and the sale of his own digital products.

How much money it makes: $480K/year
How much did it cost to start: $500
How many people on the team: 1

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How I Started A Blog With Over 500K Monthly Visitors And Generates $35K/Month

Ryan Robinson explains how he built a blog with over 500k monthly visitors and generates $25,000-$55,000 in revenue each month through affiliate partnerships, sponsorships, and his own digital products like courses and books.

Read by 9,235 founders

18. CoinSnacks ($360K/year)

Dillon, the co-founder of CoinSnacks, came up with the idea for the business after being fired from his job at a financial research company. With some severance and time on his hands, he realized there was a need for a beginner-friendly crypto newsletter. Since launching in 2017, CoinSnacks has become the longest continuously running crypto newsletter on the market, with over 70,000 weekly readers and a monthly revenue of ~$30,000 in 2022.

How much money it makes: $360K/year
How much did it cost to start: $500
How many people on the team: 3

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Getting Fired Led Me To Build A Crypto Newsletter That Makes $360K/Year

Crypto newsletter CoinSnacks co-founded by Dillon has been able to make $30,000 monthly by acquiring competitors and using lead generation techniques while offering a beginner-friendly layout.

Read by 5,746 founders

21. Warrior Lodge Media ($252K/year)

Wes O'Donnell came up with the idea for Warrior Lodge Media out of frustration with the lack of simple military information online. He wanted to create a website that compiled every piece of unclassified U.S. military information in existence, and with the help of his network of military and veteran writers, he built Warrior Lodge slowly and organically. Today, the site earns between $18,000-$22,000 per month through ads, t-shirt sales, and affiliate links, and is almost completely hands-off, generating passive income for O'Donnell.

How much money it makes: $252K/year
How much did it cost to start: $5K
How many people on the team: 2

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How I Started A $21K/Month Military And Veterans Media Company And Ecommerce

This case study is about the founder of Warrior Lodge Media, Wes O'Donnell, who started an all-in-one informational website for military and veterans and turned it into a $21k/month media company and eCommerce store, almost completely hands-off and generating true passive income.

Read by 9,389 founders

22. Yolo Intel ($240K/year)

Yolo Journal is a travel lifestyle media brand that publishes a physical printed magazine three times a year and has a successful travel-focused newsletter, Yolo Intel, which is the most popular travel newsletter on Substack.

Yolanda Edwards, founder of Yolo Journal, came up with the idea after realizing there was a gap in the market for a travel magazine that focused on providing trustworthy and insider information. With her background in the magazine industry and passion for travel, she launched Yolo Journal and quickly gained success, with her weekly newsletter now bringing in $20k a month.

How much money it makes: $240K/year
How much did it cost to start: $15K
How many people on the team: 1

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Losing My Job Motivated Me To Build The Top Travel Newsletter On Substack [$20K/Month]

Yolo Journal's founder, Yolanda Edwards, launched a travel lifestyle media brand with a magazine and newsletter that now generates $20k a month in revenue. Edwards' business success can be attributed to understanding the hole in the magazine market and creating trust-worthy insider information.

Read by 5,581 founders

23. Cup of Coffee ($221K/year)

Cup of Coffee is a daily baseball and culture newsletter that provides fans with a comprehensive summary of significant news in Major League Baseball, along with analysis, commentary, and coverage of other current events, reaching over 10,500 subscribers and generating average monthly revenue of $18,400.

Craig Calcaterra, a former lawyer and sports writer, came up with the idea for his baseball and culture newsletter, Cup of Coffee, as a way to continue sharing his writing and analysis after being laid off by NBC Sports. He wanted to provide readers with a daily briefing on the latest baseball news and other topics of interest, all delivered in the morning to start their day. Since launching, Calcaterra has built a loyal subscriber base through social media promotion, offering free newsletters, and running occasional sales. Word of mouth has also played a significant role in the growth of the newsletter.

How much money it makes: $221K/year
How much did it cost to start: $200
How many people on the team: 1

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I Started A $200K/Year Baseball Newsletter On Substack [10K+ Subscribers]

Craig Calcaterra's daily baseball and culture Substack newsletter Cup of Coffee has amassed just under 10,500 subscribers, with over 3,300 paying monthly ($6) or annual ($65) subscriptions, achieving average monthly revenue of around $18,400 and growing.

Read by 5,666 founders

24. Una Vida Online ($216K/year)

Pau, the founder of Una Vida Online, came up with the idea for his business when he was looking for ways to make extra income online. He discovered the world of affiliate marketing and started creating affiliate websites. After achieving success and making more money from his websites than his full-time job, he decided to quit his job and focus on his online projects. He then created an online course to teach affiliate marketing and expanded his business to offer WordPress templates and plugins, as well as a tokenized private community for bloggers and affiliate marketers. With a strong focus on SEO, Una Vida Online has seen significant growth and currently generates about 18K per month in revenue.

How much money it makes: $216K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100
How many people on the team: 1

We Make $18K/Month Selling WordPress Templates, Plugins, And Courses In The Spanish Market

Una Vida Online started as a side gig in 2018 to share knowledge on affiliate marketing and blogging, and has since grown into a business employing a full-time assistant and many freelancers with a monthly income of around 18K, offering online courses, WordPress templates and plugins, and a tokenized private community for people interested in generating income via blogging or affiliate marketing.

Read by 2,426 founders

25. Crowded Kitchen ($204K/year)

Lexi Harrison, the co-founder and CEO of Crowded Kitchen, came up with the idea for her plant-based recipe website and content business while studying abroad and facing dietary challenges. With the help of her mom, she grew their audience to 20k followers within the first year. With their expertise in photography and recipe development, they diversified their business by offering content creation services to food and beverage brands, which now accounts for 50% of their revenue.

How much money it makes: $204K/year
How much did it cost to start: $5K
How many people on the team: 3

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How I Started A $17K/Month Food Blog And Recipe Development Business

How co-founders of Crowded Kitchen, a plant-based recipe website and creative content business, grew their social media following to nearly 200k and became a leader in the plant-based recipe space, while also offering photography and recipe development services to major food and beverage brands.

Read by 7,290 founders

26. Travel Mamas ($180K/year)

traditional methods of promotion like passing out postcards, handing out business cards, and sending press releases to traditional media outlets. However, I quickly realized that these tactics were not effective for growing an online business. Through trial and error, I learned the importance of SEO and how to optimize my content to rank higher in search engine results. I also discovered the power of social media in attracting and engaging with readers. Over time, I became more proficient in using these digital marketing strategies to grow my audience and generate revenue. Another valuable lesson I learned is the importance of persistence and perseverance. Building a successful blog takes time and consistent effort. It's easy to get discouraged in the early stages when you're not seeing immediate results, but I stuck with it and continued to create valuable content that resonated with my audience. This dedication has paid off as Travel Mamas has grown into one of the most popular travel blogs in the world. Overall, starting and growing my own business has been a tremendous learning experience. I’ve gained valuable skills in digital marketing, content creation, and business management. I've also developed a deep understanding of my audience and what they are looking for. These lessons and insights will continue to be advantageous as I navigate the future of my business and adapt to changing industry trends.

How much money it makes: $180K/year
How much did it cost to start: $1.5K
How many people on the team: 1

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How I Started A $15K/Month Family Travel Blog

TravelMamas.com founder Colleen Lanin shares how she turned a family travel blog into a business that generates $15K in monthly revenue through ad network sales, affiliate sales, sponsored posts, book sales, public speaking appearances, and media campaigns.

Read by 8,034 founders

30. Comprende ($103K/year)

Danny Miró-Chinea noticed an untapped market for promoting Latino-owned businesses and combating their underrepresentation in the media. Fueled by data showing U.S. Latinos have a $3.2 trillion economic output, he launched Comprende, a media and consulting agency, growing it to $8.6K MRR and aiming for $10K by year's end.

How much money it makes: $103K/year
How much did it cost to start: $19
How many people on the team: 1

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I Built An $8.6K/Month Media Agency For Latinos

By leveraging a $19 investment and clever use of newsletters and social media, Comprende is on track to hit six-figure revenue and boasts an impressive $8.6K MRR, showing aspiring founders how low-cost, high-impact strategies can rapidly scale a niche-focused media and consulting agency.

Read by 5,615 founders

32. Cheap Houses Japan ($96K/year)

After studying in Japan for a year, Michael has always wanted to buy a vacation house there.

A few years ago, after hundreds of hours of research and multiple trips to Japan to look at houses, he finally bought a vacation house — for the grand sum of $31,650.

That's something people are always curious about and have questions about. so he decided to start an Instagram account and a newsletter to help other foreigners do the same.

How much money it makes: $96K/year

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How Michael Built A $8K/Month Cheap Houses Japan Newsletter

Discover how Michael turned his dream of owning a vacation house in Japan into a profitable online newsletter, Cheap Houses Japan, making an impressive $96K/year since 2021 through a clever Instagram strategy and premium subscription model.

Read by 3,580 founders

33. World of AI by aitools.fyi ($72K/year)

where I send out the newsletter from. For aitools.fyi, I use React, Next.js, and Tailwind CSS for the tech stack. I also use Stripe for payments and Google Analytics for tracking website analytics. Additionally, I rely on social media platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn for marketing and promotion.

How much money it makes: $72K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100
How many people on the team: 0

How I Started A $6K/Month AI Newsletter [With Organic Marketing]

"Read about Rishit Patel's journey in building aitools.fyi and the World of AI newsletter, which now generates a combined monthly income of around $6000 and attracts an average of 150K pageviews per month."

Read by 2,384 founders

34. Seedtable ($60K/year)

Gonz, the founder of Seedtable, came up with the idea for his business while living in Argentina and missing the European startup scene. He launched a weekly newsletter on European tech and later expanded to include startup rankings and a Breakout List. With a focus on authentic coverage and the freedom to say whatever he wants, Gonz has attracted a loyal audience of investors, founders, and employees at top European organizations.

How much money it makes: $60K/year
How many people on the team: 1

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How I Launched A $1K/Month Newsletter Covering European Tech

Seedtable is an authentic weekly newsletter on European tech, business, and politics, with 10,000+ subscribers and 50,000+ monthly visitors to its startup rankings, providing an insight into the European tech industry for investors, founders, and employees of leading Euorpean tech companies and funds.

Read by 9,283 founders

35. Chief in the North Newsletter ($48K/year)

The Chief in the North Newsletter is a Substack publication that provides in-depth analysis and insights into the Kansas City Chiefs and the NFL.

Seth Keysor, a longtime football fan and writer, started the Chief in the North Newsletter as a way to provide in-depth analysis of the Kansas City Chiefs and the NFL. With over 5,500 subscribers in less than two years, the newsletter has become a legitimate side income of over $4,000 a month for Keysor. By offering unique insights and bypassing clickbait, Keysor has attracted a loyal following of diehard fans.

How much money it makes: $48K/year
How much did it cost to start: $0
How many people on the team: 0

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How I Started A NFL Newsletter That Earns $4K/Month [Side Hustle]

A sports writer launched a newsletter that now has over 5,500 subscribers in under 2 years and generates a legitimate side income of over $4,000 a month, with a subscription fee of $12 a year or $2 a month, by providing in-depth analysis for diehard Kansas City Chiefs and NFL fans.

Read by 4,810 founders

36. Book Club Chat ($48K/year)

Heather Caliendo, a journalist with a passion for reading, turned her love for books into a profitable business with Book Club Chat. Despite the saturation of the book blogging market, Heather stood out by creating a beautifully designed website and focusing on providing book club questions tailored to novels. With over 5,000 visitors a day and earning $4,000/month in ad revenue, Book Club Chat has become a go-to resource for book clubs around the world.

How much money it makes: $48K/year
How much did it cost to start: $50
How many people on the team: 0

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How I Started A $4K/Month Website Dedicated To Book Club Questions, Reviews And Book Lists

Book Club Chat founder Heather Caliendo started a website dedicated to book club questions, reviews, and book lists with no upfront costs by dedicating a lot of time to reading and writing high-quality content that attracts over 5,000 daily visitors and has made $4,000 per month in ad revenue alone by focusing on organic search, SEO, and Mediavine.

Read by 6,826 founders

37. KickFlips ($48K/year)

Casey Woodard, the founder of KickFlips, came up with the idea for his business after years of successfully flipping items and receiving numerous requests from friends to teach them how to flip sneakers. He noticed a gap in the market for an affordable and effective resource for learning to flip sneakers, which led him to create KickFlips. Since its launch in February 2021, KickFlips has gained over 1,500 users organically through word of mouth and referrals, and is generating $4,000 in monthly revenue with minimal expenses.

How much money it makes: $48K/year
How many people on the team: 1

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I Started A $48K/Year Newsletter For Sneaker Heads

Founder Casey Woodard started KickFlips, a sneaker and streetwear flipping resource, which currently brings in around $4,000 per month in revenue with roughly $150 in expenses, boasting a little over 1,500 users almost exclusively through word of mouth and referrals.

Read by 13,934 founders

38. Ticker Nerd ($48K/year)

Luc and his business partner Sam started Ticker Nerd after realizing the need for a more effective way to keep up with stock information. They decided to apply the model of another tool, Exploding Topics, to stocks by finding trending stocks through social mentions and conducting sentiment analysis. With a landing page, they were able to generate over $1,000 in sales within a week, validating the idea. They pivoted their approach, built relationships with Product Hunt members, and had a successful Product Hunt launch that resulted in around $5,800 in monthly recurring revenue. They continue to grow organically, implement an affiliate program, and have plans to offer new products and education components.

How much money it makes: $48K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100
How many people on the team: 0

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I Launched A $54K/Year Newsletter That Finds Trending Stocks

Ticker Nerd is a monthly subscription service for investors that surfaces and analyzes trending stocks before the hype train arrives, and now has $4.5k in monthly recurring revenue from its newsletter without spending a single dollar on advertising, having validated the business via subreddits and organic Product Hunt launch strategy.

Read by 23,880 founders

39. SelectSoftware Reviews ($40.5K/year)

Phil Strazzulla, founder of SelectSoftware, came up with the idea for his business after building a personal brand in the HR space through a weekly whiteboard video series. He realized that HR professionals were struggling to choose the right software for their needs, and saw the opportunity to create an online review site, similar to NerdWallet or WireCutter, for HR software. With organic search traffic growing at 30% per month and revenues hitting $1k per month, SelectSoftware has gained traction in the market.

How much money it makes: $40.5K/year
How much did it cost to start: $50
How many people on the team: 0

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This VC Taught Himself How To Code And Is Bootstrapping His Own Startup

VC-turned-entrepreneur Phil Strazzulla, who previously built a successful b2b SaaS business, shares how he bootstrapped an online review site for HR software into a viable business with over $1k monthly revenues in just 3 months through organic search traffic growth and selling high intent leads.

Read by 17,674 founders

40. The Mallorcan ($29.4K/year)

Art has also been a great resource for overcoming creative resistance. In terms of podcasts, I love listening to How I Built This with Guy Raz. It's inspiring to hear the stories of successful entrepreneurs and how they built their businesses from the ground up. Lastly, I find a lot of value in online communities like Indie Hackers and Starter Story. These platforms provide a wealth of information and support for aspiring founders.

How much money it makes: $29.4K/year
How much did it cost to start: $200
How many people on the team: 1

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How I Created A $30K/Year Local Newsletter With $100

The Mallorcan is a local media brand in Mallorca, Spain generating $2.5k per month revenue, offering a weekly newsletter supported by web and social content, attracting over 2.5k subscribers across its website, newsletter, and Instagram.

Read by 5,871 founders

41. Workspaces ($24K/year)

Ryan Gilbert came up with the idea for Workspaces when he noticed Twitter users sharing pictures of their new setups during the pandemic. Wanting to preserve these inspiring workspaces, he started a newsletter that now has over 9,000 subscribers and generates $2,000 per month from sponsorships. He recently joined YC startup Loops as Head of Content and continues to publish Workspaces while exploring new marketing initiatives.

How much money it makes: $24K/year
How much did it cost to start: $500
How many people on the team: 0

How I Built A $24K/Year Newsletter Side Hustle That Shares Remote Workspaces And Got Acquired

The founder of Workspaces, a newsletter giving readers a behind-the-scenes tour of entrepreneurs' new desk setups, was making $2,000 per month from sponsorships and was recently acquired by YC startup Loops, with 9,000+ subscribers and open rates around 60%.

Read by 5,685 founders

42. Innovations and More Ltd ($24K/year)

George, the founder of Innovations and More, was inspired by a video showcasing the commercial success of a simple everyday product idea. Utilizing his design acumen and resurrecting an idea he had conceptualized years prior, George created the UStop Pee Stopper, a universal fit urine deflector that solves the problem of spillage beneath toilet seats. Since its launch in 2018, the product has exceeded expectations and the company continues to develop innovative products to solve common problems.

How much money it makes: $24K/year
How much did it cost to start: $500
How many people on the team: 0

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How I Created A $2K/Month Patent Pending Urine Deflector

Innovations and More's founder George launched the company in 2018 with "Essentials you never knew you needed" such as the UStop Pee Stopper and the Cell Phone Holder, with sales increasing by up to 50% each month since March 2020 with a range of different products at various stages of development.

Read by 6,407 founders

43. Fem 'n STEM ($18K/year)

Whitney Bowen, a college student, came up with the idea for Fem 'n STEM during the COVID-19 pandemic when she realized the need for educational extracurricular activities for students at home. She created science-themed boxes that contain all the necessary materials to carry out four experiments, aiming to encourage kids to pursue their passions in the sciences. Despite being a college student, Whitney has already achieved $1.5k in monthly revenue and hopes to continue growing her business.

How much money it makes: $18K/year
How much did it cost to start: $2K
How many people on the team: 1

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How I Launched A $1.5K/Month Science Box For Kids During COVID-19 Quarantine

College student, Whitney Bowen, launched Fem 'n STEM during the COVID-19 lockdown selling STEM boxes for kids between the ages of 8-12 and has earned $1.5k in monthly revenue within the first month of launch using social media to advertise and using WIX to create an online store.

Read by 7,755 founders

44. Pete Codes ($14.4K/year)

Pete focused on promoting his website on platforms like Product Hunt and Hacker News to attract a large number of visitors. He also prioritized charging customers for newsletter ads and sponsored articles early on to test demand. Overall, his strategy of gaining exposure and monetizing the website quickly helped him attract and retain customers.

How much money it makes: $14.4K/year
How much did it cost to start: $40
How many people on the team: 1

How I Started A $1K/Month Blog And Newsletter Sharing Stories From Self-Taught Developers

No CS Degree founder monetizes website interviewing self-taught web developers earning an average monthly revenue of $1,100, with email marketing and sponsored articles from coding boot camps, and plans to grow the site through job board and online course resources.

Read by 11,173 founders

45. Failory ($12K/year)

Rich Clominson, the co-founder of Failory, came up with the idea for the business after experiencing multiple failures with his own startups. Recognizing the value in learning from these failures, he decided to create a platform where failed startup owners could share their stories and lessons, in order to help future entrepreneurs avoid making the same mistakes. Since its launch, Failory has gained traction and grown its community, with plans to monetize through sponsorships and affiliate marketing.

How much money it makes: $12K/year
How many people on the team: 0

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He Built A Profitable Website Dedicated To Sharing Why Businesses Fail

Failory is a community where failed startup owners come to tell their failure stories and the mistakes they committed, offering advice for future entrepreneurs.

Read by 13,573 founders

46. We Do It Remotely ($6K/year)

Joseph Solomon, the founder of We Do It Remotely, came up with the idea for his business after experiencing the freedom and fulfillment of a location-independent lifestyle as a freelancer. Through his own successes and challenges in the freelance world, he recognized a lack of powerful, actionable advice for freelancers and decided to create a resource to empower other freelancers. Starting as a content agency and evolving into a premium course and newsletter, We Do It Remotely aims to provide freelancers with valuable insights and strategies to grow their remote freelance businesses.

How much money it makes: $6K/year
How many people on the team: 0

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We're Using Our Agency Experience To Build A Paid Newsletter

We Do It Remotely founder Joseph Solomon began as a content agency, which then transformed into a 4-week training program earning $500-2500 per month and is now a paid newsletter focusing on offering actionable tips and insights to freelancers worldwide, most of whom are writers and marketers.

Read by 4,342 founders

47. Cars of Carlisle ($5.03K/year)

Darren Reighard, founder and CEO of the Cars of Carlisle Network Podcast, came up with the idea for his profitable podcast after a friend recognized the need for an automotive podcast in their hometown of Carlisle, Pennsylvania. With his love for cars and background in mass communications, Reighard quickly established a virtual product to fill this niche and market gap, resulting in over 12,000 downloads and an increasing annual revenue.

How much money it makes: $5.03K/year
How much did it cost to start: $3.11K
How many people on the team: 1

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How I Created A Profitable Podcast For Car Enthusiasts

Cars of Carlisle Network Podcast, founded by Darren Reighard, has grown into an increasingly successful entrepreneurial pursuit with over 130 episodes and is continuing to expand, with an annual revenue that is increasing, over 12k downloads from 45 countries, and a 18-month goal to expand sponsorship to become a full-time CEO managing the business with a 5 employee team.

Read by 9,431 founders

48. Money Talk ($1.92K/year)

Qin Xie, a journalist and editor based in London, launched her reader-funded newsletter, Money Talk, during her furlough period due to the pandemic. After coming across a post about the future of journalism on Substack, she saw an opportunity to write about personal finance, a topic she was already familiar with and interested in. With low overhead costs and a desire to equip herself and others with knowledge on handling finances during a recession, she quickly launched the newsletter and has received positive feedback and early success.

How much money it makes: $1.92K/year
How much did it cost to start: $0
How many people on the team: 1

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On Starting A Reader-Funded Newsletter About Personal Finance

Qin Xie launched Money Talk, a reader-funded newsletter on personal finance, in May 2020, and made £100 in the first month, chiefly promoting it on LinkedIn.

Read by 6,278 founders