Start a Paid Newsletter
Companion to "A Real Week in the Life" and "Your First Hundred Readers."
Realistic budget for a weekly publication: 8 to 12 hours a week once the machine is running, heavier the first two months. The business runs on the boring Tuesday, not on launch-week adrenaline.
| Day | Block | Done |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday (early) | Reading session: slow read through everything in the niche this week (trade press, regulatory updates, earnings calls, practitioner threads). Notes one line each into the capture file, tagged possible-issue or background. Most becomes compost. | ☐ |
| Wednesday | Draft block (2-3 hrs, door shut): strongest one or two ideas from the capture file into an ugly first draft. One idea per issue. The draft's only job is to exist; no deleting, no thesaurus, no formatting. | ☐ |
| Thursday | Edit block: cut the draft by a third, fix the opening three sentences, write five subject line options, set paywall placement, decide the free preview. Issue schedules for Friday morning. | ☐ |
| Friday | Publish; then replies: reader email, corrections, the conversations that become the best future issue ideas. | ☐ |
| Any day | Invisible hour or two: growth actions, platform maintenance, welcome-email updates, admin (invoices, taxes, bookkeeping). Budget for it or it eats your weekend. | ☐ |
Sixty to one hundred names who fit the niche or know people who do. A short individual note, not a blast. Send twenty a week for a month; expect a third to subscribe.
Hi Sam, quick personal note. Since leaving Acme I have been writing a weekly brief for procurement teams on exactly the contract-risk stuff we used to argue about, the thing with the force-majeure clauses. First issues are here if useful. No pressure either way, it was good working with you and this is me staying useful.
| Week | Notes sent (target 20) | Subscribed | Replies worth keeping |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |||
| 2 | |||
| 3 | |||
| 4 |
| Real comments on the best publications in and around the niche (add a fact or a counter-example) | ☐ |
| Recommend the ones you value (reciprocity over time) | ☐ |
| Short notes several times a week: one insight, one question, one link with a comment | ☐ |
| Off-platform: answer questions thoroughly in public where the niche gathers; be a useful member first, a publisher second | ☐ |
| Export saved this month (the list is the asset; platforms are rented land) | ☐ |
| Date of export |