[HN Gopher] Milestone: My archaeology newsletter just hit 1K sub...
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       Milestone: My archaeology newsletter just hit 1K subs - next stop,
       monetization
        
       So excited! I'm having a ton of fun with it and growing organically
       (mostly reddit). Woohoo!  Next stop, monetization. I think I'll
       make the current format paid, and offer a truncated version to free
       subs. Pricing this type of thing is really hard, but I'm thinking
       $8/mo. Would really love feedback/thoughts if any of you have done
       this type of thing before!  ancientbeat.substack.com
        
       Author : jamesofthedrum
       Score  : 8 points
       Date   : 2022-09-18 19:23 UTC (3 hours ago)
        
       | softwaredoug wrote:
       | I love your newsletter!
       | 
       | Particularly I love reading the most interesting headlines to the
       | kids at the dinner table. Keep it up!
        
         | jamesofthedrum wrote:
         | Btw, since you're subscribed already, do you mind me asking
         | what you think about the $8/mo? I'd really value your opinion.
        
         | jamesofthedrum wrote:
         | Whoa, so awesome that this newsletter is being read around the
         | dinner table to kiddos! Really glad you're liking it :)
        
       | exolymph wrote:
       | Congrats, that's awesome! Simon Owens has many articles about
       | this - paywalled, ironically, but worth it IMO, and you could
       | just pay for a month and then cancel. His case studies based on
       | interviews with media entrepreneurs are especially good.
       | 
       | Link: https://simonowens.substack.com/archive?sort=new
        
         | jamesofthedrum wrote:
         | Nice - that's really helpful, thanks! I'll definitely check it
         | out.
        
       | radiojasper wrote:
       | Congrats on the 1k subscribers! I personally would feel violated
       | if i subbed to a newsletter and suddenly it was behind a paywall
       | of $8 a month.
       | 
       | Brand New [0] did the same a while back, but for a much much
       | lower price. And they offer their whole website with a massive
       | history and daily updates for $2 a month or $20 a year.
       | 
       | I would personally try to find a sponsor instead of hiding your
       | content that your 1k subscribers signed up for behind a paywall.
       | A sponsor for a newsletter is IMHO a very normal thing.
       | 
       | [0] https://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/subscribe
        
         | jamesofthedrum wrote:
         | Thanks for the feedback! I've thought a lot about sponsors and
         | ads, but I don't know where I would find people who want want
         | to sponsor a newsletter on archaeology/ancient news. If you
         | have any ideas, I'm all ears!
        
           | radiojasper wrote:
           | Museums?
        
             | Zircom wrote:
             | Museums are presumably gonna be interested in getting
             | people to visit them, and 1000 people isn't really a high
             | enough number to guarantee a significant amount of them
             | will be local to the museum and able/interested in
             | visiting. Maybe history/archaeology podcasts, or
             | websites/blogs would be interested in some plugs or ad
             | placements maybe? Those aren't restricted by locale.
        
               | jamesofthedrum wrote:
               | Thanks! Yeah, I think that's my best bet sponsorship-
               | wise. I don't think it's big enough yet, though. I've
               | reached out to a few youtubers and podcasters, but
               | haven't heard back from any of them. Oddly, I also
               | reached out to some about advertising on their channels,
               | and I didn't hear back about that either. I'll keep
               | trying!
        
             | jamesofthedrum wrote:
             | Really appreciate the idea, but I agree with Zircom -
             | they're too geo-restricted. Maybe if a museum had a course
             | or online experience that I could advertise... Something to
             | think about. Thanks!
        
       | cercatrova wrote:
       | Trends.vc does this, it works very well for them. I think they
       | make mid 5 figures a month. If people want, they can unsubscribe
       | but honestly I doubt most would.
       | 
       | Sponsorship could work, which is why you should add it in
       | addition to, not instead of, a paid newsletter.
        
         | jamesofthedrum wrote:
         | Yeah, I agree, that makes the most sense -- paid tier has paid
         | subscriptions, free tier has sponsorships. Thanks for the
         | feedback!
        
       | asdefghyk wrote:
       | Why not a survey to ask current subscribers this question?
        
         | jamesofthedrum wrote:
         | I mentioned it a few issues ago but didn't get any responses
         | about it. Maybe I wasn't explicit enough in my ask. Something
         | to think on - thanks for the feedback!
        
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       (page generated 2022-09-18 23:02 UTC)