It’s Wednesday, July 10, 2024, and after a month-long break, I’m back with a great new issue for you!

In this issue, I’ve got an interview with Isaac Saul, who walked me through how he turned a side project, Tangle, into a million-dollar newsletter. Plus: If you’re job searching, I’m launching a new matchmaking service just for newsletter jobs. But first…

Hi from Inbox Collective’s new Rocky Mountain bureau. The move wasn’t easy — but hey, we made it!…

Beehiiv acquired Typedream to help their users build better websites. I’ll be keeping my eye on what they do with this...

ConvertKit announced a rebrand to Kit. Something I learned recently: It’s actually the second time they’ve rebranded — the story behind the original rebrand is fascinating...

Significant changes to the inbox are coming to iOS this fall...

—Dan (say 👋 via email or LinkedIn)

Four years ago, Issac Saul sent me a note to tell me about Tangle, his politics newsletter. “Tangle is special,” he said. “I know most people probably think that about their newsletters. But I truly believe I’m sitting on one of the next seven-figure giants in the industry.”

I get a lot of emails like that — lots of people tell me their newsletter is the next Punchbowl News or TheSkimm.

Except that Isaac was right.

Over the course of four years, Isaac took Tangle from a side project bringing in about $50,000 a year to a newsletter that now employs five people, has 100,000 subscribers, and is closing in on $1 million per year in annual revenue. He’s done it by making a lot of untraditional choices.

While other newsletters emphasize brevity and bullets, Isaac’s built a newsletter that regularly takes 10-15 minutes to read — and sends it five days a week.

While other paid products often hide the news that your credit card’s about to be charged, Isaac sends a super personal note to those paying subscribers — and it actually helps keeps his churn rate low.

When the team at Semafor wanted to buy Tangle, Issac decided to stay independent.

“I think we’ve zigged when many other places have zagged,” he told me.

So last month, we sat down over Zoom to chat. I wanted to know:

• How you know when it’s time to make a side project a full-time gig?
• Why is it so important to ask for money in the same voice as your newsletter?
• Is it possible to maintain relationships with readers when you’ve got 100,000 of them?
• What does the production process look like for a daily newsletter?
• How do you decide where to spend money to grow your list?

Issac was kind enough to share answers to all that and more. I think you’ll learn a ton from his story. Read the interview here →

A big thank you to GetResponse, the summer sponsor of Inbox Collective — they’re making everything you see here in the newsletter and on our website available for free to all readers. 

If you’re not familiar with GetResponse, I’ll give you the quick no-background: They’re an email marketing and automation platform with comprehensive, affordable, and easy-to-use tools to grow, engage, and convert your audience. And when I say affordable, I mean that: On many plans, they’re up to 75% cheaper than many American email platforms. (GetResponse was founded in 1998 in the Polish seaport of Gdańsk.) Plus, new paying customers get free migration support, onboarding, and a custom-designed email template when they make the switch.

If you’re looking for an ESP with powerful automation and monetization tools, give GetResponse a try.
 

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