Do you want to grow a profitable content business? If so, join 25,000 readers. I share daily insights about personal brand building, writing online and growing a profitable business. It's for creators, coaches and business owners.
I Abandoned My 6-Figure SEO Business for a Newsletter
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Hi Reader, For years, I ran a content publishing business. I published 100s of articles a month with the help of a team of freelance writers. I got millions of page views from SEO. I earned five figures a month from display ads and affiliate revenue. Last year, I let my editorial team go. I sold off most of my niche websites. And I changed my business model. Now, I run a daily newsletter. And I provide content strategy and coaching services to a few high-paying clients. When I posted about this change on LinkedIn, one follower asked: “Why are you changing your business model?” “I’m having a mid-life crisis!” I said No… I quit because… AI tools are lowering the barrier to entry for niche website owners. Most people consume content on social media, not on a content website. The Google algo favors big brands like Forbes and Reddit over smaller creators. And… I was tired. SEO content is boring to write and publish. Slam keywords into an over-optimized article, all in the hopes of some more traffic? No thanks. I’d rather write story-driven content for my newsletter. Content that converts a few readers into clients. As for staring at Google Analytics and Google Search Console? I’d rather help a few clients and creators get what they want. I haven’t replaced income from my old business model yet, but my newsletter and revenue is growing. I’m attracting higher-quality readers than from SEO. By higher quality, I mean readers willing to invest in themselves and their creator businesses. It’s more profitable and less work. You can do the same.
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Letters From the Desk of Bryan Collins
Do you want to grow a profitable content business? If so, join 25,000 readers. I share daily insights about personal brand building, writing online and growing a profitable business. It's for creators, coaches and business owners.
Hi Reader Over a million of young Italians left their country in the past 10 years. These 25–34-year-olds are saying arrivederci to cities like Rome, Florence and Milan because of low salaries and job opportunities. A few years ago, Ireland faced the exact same problem. Thousands of Irish my age quit the country and boarded planes to countries like Australia and the US because the Irish government bailed out the banks. A good chunk of these emigrating Irish never came home. A few friends of...
Hi Reader, Forget the algo. Don't worry about going viral. The real action lies in building an email list or newsletter. Many paths to monetization exist for newsletter owners. Here's one: Build an email list, and you'll get invites to 3rd party bundles and promotions. I say no to most 3rd part promotions. They're either not a good fit or I don't believe they'll convert. But, I regularly partner up with InfoStack. If you haven't heard of them, they bundle courses and products from across the...
Hi Reader Google is facing BIG problems in 2025. And I don’t just mean the US Justice Department telling the boffins at Mountain View to sell off Chrome. Search is one of Google’s core products, and frankly, it’s broken. As a search user, finding what I want is harder because the results are often wrong, unhelpful, or take ages to wade through. As a content publisher and creator, ranking a site in search is harder because the algo favors Reddit and giga-chad brands like our ex-friends at...