@_jacksmith@jason My intuition says people don't subscribe to newsletters just because it's on a topic they're interested in, but because they vibe with the unique perspective coming from the human(s) behind it.
If I were running this, I'd put a face and a name next to each newsletter and recruit an awesome person to "own" each newsletter. Each newsletter would also get it's own branding and voice. I'd basically build the Vox Media of newsletters.
Curious to hear what you think about this idea, @Jason!
@nbashaw@_jacksmith that's on the roadmap... if we have 1,000 folks subscribed to the topic we can actually just ask them: 'who would you like to write this?' // or we could put 10 people on the page and say 'vote / nominate who should write this!' -- lots of potential to crowd source the editors!
hey everyone... if you have questions, let me know! really hoping that the crowd tells us not only which of these newsletters we should launch, but also what newsletters you would like to see us add to the page!
if we hit 5,000 subscribers we will launch anything.... well, I think almost anything! (is there a topic we would do if we got 5,000 subs?!).
Report
@jason loved your product.. will soon create something there.. :)
Report
@jason already the daily round up adds so much value. I'd love to see a digital health & wellness specific newsletter probably merged with breakthrough research. Your on to something I will continue to be a subscriber to all newsletters.
@jason@LaunchTicker is superb. Just signed up for another. I like the crowdsourced newsletter concept and the UI. I'm not sure this will save journalism as per your Medium article since distribution and overhead costs are only a couple of their problems. However, it may well create another more effective distribution model that benefits from scale economies.
This is a great idea however, why is there a submit button below an auto-load content? With a lot of newsletters this button will become close to impossible to click on. :)
@rotemthegolfer thanks! we were trying to figure out how we would pick the next 50 newsletters to launch -- and how we would get the first 5,000 subscribers for each -- when it dawned on me: KICKSTARTER/TILT that sh2#$%t!!!
whichever newsletter gets the most votes we invest in next... that simple! your vote counts!
Great design Jason. I believe email is here to stay and it's the best place for a call to action. Do you think you'll ever build a bot for inside, or a bot for each newsletter?
@paul__walsh we could easily take these newsletters and deliver them to other messaging platforms, but to be honest I'm tired of building up other people's platforms for them. Right now I want to build a direct relationship with the 10,000 most important people in each of 250 important topics. If we can do that I'll have 2.5m emails and the ability to launch a new, 10,000 subscriber email newsletter anytime a new topic comes up.
this isn't going to be the biggest cash cow or page view machine in the world -- but it will be very high-quality and something we can all be very proud we built!
@itamarw now... that would be hyperniche!! if we did a handcurated newsletter for someone, it would probably cost about $10k a month to make it worth it (i.e. if IBM or Disney wanted us to do an internal service, where we read about them and curated back to their 10-250k employees what we found).
@jason@itamarw Really interesting - do you mind breaking down what that $10K price tag consists of? I'm a huge (HUGE) fan of Launch Ticker and am curious what kind of work goes into it.
Report
@jason This is a great way to source interest for new topics. How did you pick the threshold of 5K emails? Is that where the economics work out (Cost < LTV)? Or, is it just an arbitrary number to gauge engagement/value of a topic?
@webjoe we picked a number that would show clear demand and a path to at least breakeven. The key to success in the media business I've learned, is to not over spend and under monetize. 5,000 should keep us honest and profitable!
Report
@jason do you ever look back and wish you had a co-founder for the Mahalo/Inside journey?
@patrickedgett well... if i could have had Brian Alvey, who is my long-time partner, along I would have... but frankly, I don't think I'm at a place in life where my enjoyment of the startup is based on having a co-founder or not. What i really like having is a driven team that is candid and open with each other about the reality of the business, and relentless about growing it.
Love the idea/product. Been a paying subscriber for Launch ticker for awhile and love the high SnR ratio there. Huge kudos to Jason and team on the pivot to these live newsletters!
@trevin thanks pal... we think we've figured out a really hard, slow but important business we can build, that appeals to people who want to get smarter, faster and easier.
This is my go-to newsletter every day. Two questions for you, @jason:
*You've built an incredible product (and a better audience). To what extent to you attribute the growth to your influencer status...an, beyond that, what were your core growth channels?
*What's the current process for curating any given newsletter? Is there significant crowdsourced news vs. editorial control tension?
@eytanbuchman My following get my products -- & my angel investments -- their first 10,000 customers... But at the end of the day consumers are VERY sophisticated and the product must rise and fall on its own merits. My friends and followers will check out what I do, but the truth is they are so candid and honest with me that they will actually tell me something sucks -- we have that level of trust!
Replies
Hustle X
Lex
SponsorGap
Inside
Arbor
Horizon
Inside
Inside
Voicebot.ai
Pollpass
Podcash
Pollpass
Inside
Inside
Trusted News
Inside
Day
Inside
Day
Freightos
Inside
Inside
Tally: Sports Predictions
Inside
Freightos
Inside