🧙‍♂️ Free vs. Paid Newsletters: Which Is Right for Creators?

Hey there,

As you know, this newsletter is (and always has been!) 100% free.

Sure, some of you will eventually invest in other things I provide like 1-1 coaching or my courses because of reading this newsletter.

But, at its core, my mission is to help as many people land paid sponsorships as possible, so it was always really important to me that this newsletter remained free.

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But... candidly, there's also a little voice in my head that says:

"Hey Flava J, some of the folks who read your newsletter land deals worth 4- and even 5-figures...so surely a percentage of creators would happily pay $X per month to keep receiving them?"

OR maybe I keep THIS newsletter free and make a new version with even more detailed sponsorship research?!

🙋‍♀️ Hit reply if you have any thoughts on either model 😅

To be fair, though...

Plenty of businesses are fueled by paid newsletters, which have allowed those creators (that provide valuable content) to go full-time and scale their impact - a win-win for everyone!

Honestly... I'm pretty confused, and while I have no plans to make this newsletter paid, I sometimes wonder if I'm leaving money on the table.

So, to help me figure this out, I invited two incredible creators on my podcast to debate the pros & cons...

Free vs. Paid Newsletters: Which Is Right for Creators? | Nathan Barry vs. Dan Shipper First up, you might be thinking: "Newsletters?! What is this, 1999?!" Well... you couldn’t be more wrong! Newsletters are back, baby! And they’re especially important if you don't wanna risk the future of your business on the whims & fancies of those sadistic social media algorithms. Even though the idea of making some extra dough with a paid newsletter sounds nice, I have some concerns. That's why I asked two experts here to settle this debate, once and for all. Nathan Barry is the founder of ConvertKit, an email marketing provider that powers the audiences of over 500,000 creators, including my own! (But I promise they had no editorial control over this episode! 😜) Dan Shipper, on the other hand, is the Co-Founder and CEO or Every, a bundle of newsletters and podcasts trusted by 60,000 curious business people. By the end of this episode, you’ll know: Whether there and RIGHT And WRONG times in your creator journey to consider charging for your newsletter. How to know what content to charge for and what to give away for free. Who is a better Creator Debater: Nathan or Dan? WATCH NOW

​Create & Sell - My friend Brennan's newsletter about how creators can make more money through email marketing. I literally read every single edition he sends because it's THAT good.

​TheFutureParty - This awesome (free!) daily newsletter curates stories for 100,000+ readers, spanning pop culture, entrepreneurship, entertainment, and tech.

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Have a great week ahead! ✌️