How small newsletters can compete with big publishers

This sponsorship pitch from the team at Kit landed in my inbox a while ago.

I run sponsored slots a few times a month, and they wanted to connect me with a newsletter advertiser.

I don’t accept all of these pitches. I usually review the advertiser and check that it aligns with my brand or content.

When I find one I like, I edit the copy, write an email, and hit send. It’s a nice way of getting paid to write a newsletter.

If you’ve an engaged list or a large list, you’ll attract the pitches organically. My inbox is stuffed with dozens of pitches, most of which are irrelevant.

Kit is making it easier for newsletter owners of all sizes to find sponsors. They’ve rolled out Sponsy, a platform connecting newsletter owners with sponsors.

If you’re not on Kit, you can still source sponsors independently.

My local newsletter isn’t on Kit. I run that on Ghost. It currently has 2,500 subscribers and is ripe for sponsors.

Ghost doesn’t connect owners with sponsors, though. So, last Friday, I opened up ChatGPT and wrote:

“You will help me monetize my local newsletter about things to do in Ireland. I need some easy-to-implement sponsors that I can test with my list. Output as a table with links “

Most of the available sponsors were on affiliate marketing platforms like CJ, Awin, and Impact.

These platforms feature hundreds of brands and companies seeking to collaborate with publishers of all sizes. They’re eager to collaborate with active newsletter owners because email has a higher conversion rate compared to social media.

The more niche, the better.

Here’s a sample of advertisers I found for my local Irish newsletter inside Awin.

I searched for advertisers by country (Ireland) and industry (events, retail). Then, I filtered the advertisers by conversion rate and approval rate. I found 5-10 that I liked and hit apply.

I’m not looking for hundreds of sponsors. I only need to find one or two that are a good fit, which actually convert.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll write the ad copy for those who accept me and test each one to see which converts with my list. I only have to do this a few times. Then, I’ll stick to my preferred sponsors. Essentially, I place converting creative next to relevant and useful content.

If I can do this for a niche local Irish newsletter, anyone can do it. Many more newsletter monetization models exist.

Sponsors are just one way of monetizing a newsletter. If you need help running a profitable newsletter, I’ve opened the doors on the Newsletter Operator Bundle. Check it out​