Paid newsletters

Paid newsletters ask subscribers to directly support with a recurring contribution for access to more in-depth or regular content.

This direct funding model creates a reliable stream of income that allows creators to focus on producing high-quality content.

There are so many examples to choose from here - it's a super popular model.

Important, Not Important

Here's a good example of a newsletter with a strong free offering that also monetizes through paid subscriptions.

INI publishes free and paid content at a ratio of around 2:1.

By not hiding all of your content behind the paywall, you can still consistently reach and provide to your free subscribers.

Whether it's in the newsletter itself or via social media, you need to be sharing enough for free so that your readers can see the value in a paid upgrade. The hope is that over time, your super-fans will eventually convert to a paid plan.

INI charges $5 per month for full access to their content, as well as access to a private Slack group. It's a no-brainer price for their loyal readers.

Charlotte Ledger

This local business newsletter monetizes exclusively through paid subscriptions - and it make a lot of sense.

As a news outlet, it's advantageous to be able to write in a way where you're unswayed by satisfying sponsors at the expense of your readership.

Like INI, they run a split of free and paid content so they can engage people who might be new to the brand.

For the Charlotte Ledger, that split looks like this:

• Free content on Monday, Thursday and Saturday
• Paywalled content on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday

And it's working really well for them. CEO Tony Mecia reports that around 20% of their 21,000 subscribers convert to a paid plan - putting their paid revenues at around $40k per month.