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💸 The Great Compression?
Is supply outstripping demand for newsletter sponsorships, beehiiv launches its ad network, giving away products to grow, and building a newsletter-first media company

Sponsored by
Hey there 👋,
In this issue we discuss:
Is supply outstripping demand for newsletter sponsorships?
Giving away products to grow
Building a newsletter-first media company
Cheers!
💰 Beehiiv To The Rescue
Last month, we featured that Michael Houck believes that the demand for newsletter sponsorships may not keep up with the supply of newsletters coming into the space. Marketing Max also posted that the increased supply will make landing sponsors 10x harder going forward.
This week, Manu from Stacked Marketer, who has sold more ads than most, categorically stated that, from his experience, ad budgets have now shrunk significantly:
Newsletter monetization in 2022 vs. 2023:
I compared newsletter content in my previous post.
Let’s compare monetization now.
(Hint: it’s changed a lot more than content, and I’m afraid for the worse. )
1. Ad budgets have shrunk significantly
And they haven’t just instantly… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
— Emanuel Cinca (@emanuelcinca)
3:01 PM • Sep 12, 2023
He also states that supply has increased, where there is now a competing newsletter in every niche meaning:
Combine 1 and 2, and you will see much lower CPMs and CPCs.
However, it looks like a case of beehiiv to the rescue, in launching their ad network yesterday.
Alex Valaitis, from Big Brain Daily, believes this is the biggest launch in the media space of the past decade:
The top newsletter platform @beehiiv just released an epic new feature:
The Beehiiv ad network.
Here's why this is the biggest launch in the media space of the past decade 🧵 twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
— Alex Valaitis (@alex_valaitis)
5:01 PM • Sep 14, 2023
Now, it’s possible for niche newsletter operators to be served up ads, without having to build an ad sales process, work on copy and report on numbers.
Will CPMs and CPCs be lower than what you could get yourself?
Possibly.
But combine this with earning from beehiiv boosts (both web and email) and newsletter operators will now be able to focus their efforts on creating great content.
Alex believes the result of this is a new wave of independent media at scale:
In summary:
Beehiiv is about to kickstart a massive wave of independent media at scale.
They already have many 6 and 7 figure newsletters on the platform.
But with this full feature suite, we will begin to see 8 and 9 figure newsletter platforms.
Watch out big media!
— Alex Valaitis (@alex_valaitis)
5:01 PM • Sep 14, 2023
The decreased friction for advertisers (not having to deal with lots of niche newsletters) will likely increase the amount of sponsorship $$$ flowing within the ecosytem.
And with that, over time, beehiiv may in fact be able to increase CPCs for newsletter operators.
Combine this with Wisdom Media’s own Sponsorships.com Newsletter Agency, and it’s an exciting time to be in this space!
🧑✈️ Grow Your Newsletter on Auto-Pilot
100+ newsletters are already growing with Refind’s new Conversion Ads. Set your own CPA (for example $1.5) and off you go.
How it works:
1. Refind recommends your newsletter to matching users
2. They can subscribe to your newsletter
3. You get their verified emails into your ESP
Refind is used by industry leaders in the newsletter business space:
When I worked at The Hustle, we saw a 60% open rate from Refind ad subscribers”.
Refind’s conversion ads work brilliantly.
Refind is super easy to work with. The traffic is definitely qualified.
🏆 Give It Away Now
Alez Zoo from 2nd Mountain posted how using digital products as referral rewards is the way to go, featuring the Sweaty Startup referral program by Nick Huber:
Create digital products
Sell digital products
Use digital products as newsletter referral carrotThis is the way
@sweatystartup's referral program is 🔥
— Alx zoo (@Alx_zoo_)
12:17 AM • Sep 12, 2023
The referral tool used in the image of the post above is Sparkloop, who just released a podcast with Louis talking with Aleyda Solis about how she uses giveways to maximise growth for her SEOFOMO newsletter:
📰 Classifieds
Duuce is the #1 marketplace for buying & selling newsletters. See what your newsletter is worth with their free valuation calculator. Check it out
Sponsorships(.com) Newsletter Agency helps newsletter operators earn more revenue through sponsorships with top brands. Check it out
The Newsletter Is The Business is everything we know about launching, scaling and selling editorial newsletter businesses. Check it out
☝️ One More Thing
From investment banker to pickleball newsletter operator to a newsletter-first media company…
This investment banker turned media entrepreneur built the Morning Brew of pickleball.
And he's already thinking way beyond advertising.
Thomas Shields (@readmynewslettr) has built a private equity firm disguised as a media brand.
It trades attention for equity in… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
— Michael Sikand (@michaelsikand)
6:38 PM • Sep 7, 2023
Disclaimer: Not financial or business advice. This newsletter is strictly for information and education purposes. There are no affiliate links in this issue.