Why a local newsletter isn't enough

Local newsletters are great. You own the audience, you show them exactly what you want, and there is no algorithm in the way. But TJ's point in this episode is that to make this a real six-figure business, you need to be seen as more than a newsletter. He also says plainly that this is a lot more work, and that if you are doing it as a casual side hustle, you can keep doing what you are doing.

A website that looks like a real publication

The one TJ just launched this week is a full website. He built it on Beehiiv's new website builder, which currently needs their Max plan. He likes it because it is all in one place, and he hates connecting tools and hoping things carry over. You do not have to use Beehiiv. WordPress works too, it is just a little more complicated.

His first reason is how professional it looks. He wants to be the local media company in town that people trust, and he wants them to see him more than once or twice a week, when the newsletter lands.

Setup was easier than it sounds. The site is a Beehiiv template, so there was no design work. The sections are just tags: tag a post about a new Chick-fil-A as a restaurant post and it lands in the restaurant section. The site also has business and news sections, the local podcast and old newsletters. TJ admits it took real effort to get all the little details right, and the popup asking visitors to subscribe loaded slower than he wanted.

The risk, and the email gate

The obvious worry is that if people can read everything on your site, why would they subscribe? TJ says that is a real risk. His plan is to do what paywalled news sites do, except you pay with an email address. Visitors see the first couple of paragraphs, then get the rest free if they give you their email. He is still checking whether Beehiiv can do this, and he does not think the risk is that big a deal.

Nobody else knows you exist

This is the problem the website helps solve. Your readers may love it, but if only your subscribers get it, nobody else knows it exists. You may have 5,000 or even 10,000 subscribers in a town of 100,000 or 200,000 people.

If you want advertisers, and want an impact beyond those 10,000 readers, that perception matters. Everything else on this list is about getting seen by the rest of the town.

Google News only picks up real articles

TJ's own example: the day before, he found some big breaking news in his area through Google News. He posted it on Facebook and it went kind of viral. Google News has a local section for his three cities, and the sources in it include Liberty Hill Independent, a tiny local paper, and Community Impact, which he calls his most direct competitor.

A newsletter never gets shared there, because it is one long email and not individual articles. So now, after writing the roughly three-sentence version of a story for the newsletter, his team writes a full article and posts it on the site. TJ says he is not an SEO expert yet and will start digging into it. The hope is to become an SEO magnet and show up in Google News.

There is a second money angle he has not solved. He wants to sell ads inside the website articles too, but still needs to figure out with Beehiiv how to place them. Doing it manually would be a pain, though not the worst option.

Instagram is the number everyone can see

TJ has talked to a bunch of people with big Instagram followings who run local newsletters. They sell more ads, and every business they talk to says Instagram is huge. The catch is that you need custom content for it, mostly video, which is a lot of work. The upside is more attention, and Instagram is easier to share than a newsletter.

The bigger idea is that Instagram is the public number of your brand. You could have 50,000 newsletter subscribers, but unless you announce it, nobody knows. It is like the money in your bank account. Instagram is the visible number, so businesses and people can see 10,000 or 50,000 and think you must be doing really well.

Events, with a trade instead of a budget

TJ has not run an event yet, but he and his wife are thinking about doing one soon. Mike in the Catskills is probably doing it best, making $1,000 to $3,000 per event. TJ points out that Mike has an unusual area with a lot of out of towners, so it may be easier for him than for most.

TJ's version is a family event for young kids, with a bounce house and a food truck. He does not plan to pay for any of it. He would trade an ad spot to the bounce house company and the food vendors. The goal is not even to make money. It is to build relationships and make people feel connected to a brand that does interesting things in the community.

The podcast is how you get in front of advertisers

Interviews are great for creating shorts for Instagram, and with a website you can post each one as an article too. TJ still needs to post transcripts. But the best part is that you are interviewing your ideal clients. They are business owners who could become advertisers, or customers of the marketing agency TJ is working toward.

It also works because you give first. TJ points to Robert Cialdini's book on persuasion, which he highly recommends. A business owner you promoted for free will not necessarily buy ads. But they will think of you, and maybe they know the hospital's marketing director you have been trying to reach.

A chat show, a directory and a job board

A few more ideas, from the bottom of TJ's list:

• A local chat show. On TJ's show, Alex suggested a show for locals, by locals. Spend 10 minutes a week talking through what is in your newsletter: the freeway delay, the new restaurant, the Easter egg hunt. TJ thinks you probably need a partner and need to be entertaining.
• Physical products. Not as necessary, TJ says, but Mike made a lot of money with a Monopoly board and it helped build his brand.
• A business directory. It is an easy pitch: "I built this site to market you for free, can you check the info is correct?" List everyone for free so the directory is useful, then charge for the top slots, the way Google sells its top results.
• A job board. TJ is about 40 minutes from the big city, so a hyper local board for jobs within 15 minutes could work. On Indeed you either sit at the bottom or pay every click. It could be another page on the directory or the main site.

The newsletter is still the foundation

TJ's closing point is that the newsletter is the unique piece and a huge advantage, so start there. But if you want this to be more than a side project, you have to build more. If you want help, our team can help you launch a local newsletter, partner with you, or do consulting.