Wow... You people are way too nice!

I tried to share a thread today, and didn& #39;t realize it got cut off 2 tweets in.

To everyone nice enough to like it anyways, here& #39;s the FULL scoop on the newsletter engine

(a model we developed to explain the newsletter business) https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧵" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">...
This is the Newsletter Engine. It shows how money/attention flow through a newsletter business.

What& #39;s really cool - when you understand how it works, you can use it to deconstruct any newsletter biz, diagnose problems, and find new opportunities.

Let& #39;s break it down.
There are 3 levels to the Newsletter Engine, starting from the foundation and building upward.

The levels are:
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="1️⃣" title="Tastenkappe Ziffer 1" aria-label="Emoji: Tastenkappe Ziffer 1"> Product - What you make
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="2️⃣" title="Tastenkappe Ziffer 2" aria-label="Emoji: Tastenkappe Ziffer 2"> Monetization - How it makes money
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="3️⃣" title="Tastenkappe Ziffer 3" aria-label="Emoji: Tastenkappe Ziffer 3"> Growth - How you get new readers
There are 3 levels to the Newsletter Engine, starting from the foundation and building upward.The levels are:https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable= Product - What you makehttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="2️⃣" title="Tastenkappe Ziffer 2" aria-label="Emoji: Tastenkappe Ziffer 2"> Monetization - How it makes moneyhttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="3️⃣" title="Tastenkappe Ziffer 3" aria-label="Emoji: Tastenkappe Ziffer 3"> Growth - How you get new readers" title="There are 3 levels to the Newsletter Engine, starting from the foundation and building upward.The levels are:https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="1️⃣" title="Tastenkappe Ziffer 1" aria-label="Emoji: Tastenkappe Ziffer 1"> Product - What you makehttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="2️⃣" title="Tastenkappe Ziffer 2" aria-label="Emoji: Tastenkappe Ziffer 2"> Monetization - How it makes moneyhttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="3️⃣" title="Tastenkappe Ziffer 3" aria-label="Emoji: Tastenkappe Ziffer 3"> Growth - How you get new readers" class="img-responsive" style="max-width:100%;"/>
Product is the foundation of any newsletter. It& #39;s made up of 3 components:

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="1️⃣" title="Tastenkappe Ziffer 1" aria-label="Emoji: Tastenkappe Ziffer 1"> Content - your editorial strategy
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="2️⃣" title="Tastenkappe Ziffer 2" aria-label="Emoji: Tastenkappe Ziffer 2"> Tech - tools that power your company
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="3️⃣" title="Tastenkappe Ziffer 3" aria-label="Emoji: Tastenkappe Ziffer 3"> Community - how you craft a sense of belonging among readers

Let& #39;s take a closer look at each...
Product is the foundation of any newsletter. It& #39;s made up of 3 components:https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable= Content - your editorial strategyhttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="2️⃣" title="Tastenkappe Ziffer 2" aria-label="Emoji: Tastenkappe Ziffer 2"> Tech - tools that power your companyhttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="3️⃣" title="Tastenkappe Ziffer 3" aria-label="Emoji: Tastenkappe Ziffer 3"> Community - how you craft a sense of belonging among readersLet& #39;s take a closer look at each..." title="Product is the foundation of any newsletter. It& #39;s made up of 3 components:https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="1️⃣" title="Tastenkappe Ziffer 1" aria-label="Emoji: Tastenkappe Ziffer 1"> Content - your editorial strategyhttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="2️⃣" title="Tastenkappe Ziffer 2" aria-label="Emoji: Tastenkappe Ziffer 2"> Tech - tools that power your companyhttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="3️⃣" title="Tastenkappe Ziffer 3" aria-label="Emoji: Tastenkappe Ziffer 3"> Community - how you craft a sense of belonging among readersLet& #39;s take a closer look at each..." class="img-responsive" style="max-width:100%;"/>
Content: The structure of your email, as well as its voice and worldview.

When people talk about their favorite newsletter, most often, they talk about how it covers a topic, not what it covers.

You can write about anything as long as you have a voice that& #39;s unique.
Content: The structure of your email, as well as its voice and worldview.When people talk about their favorite newsletter, most often, they talk about how it covers a topic, not what it covers.You can write about anything as long as you have a voice that& #39;s unique.
Content: The structure of your email, as well as its voice and worldview.When people talk about their favorite newsletter, most often, they talk about how it covers a topic, not what it covers.You can write about anything as long as you have a voice that& #39;s unique.
Tech: ESP gets all the attention, but there are 5 key parts to a newsletter company& #39;s tech stack:

-Website
-Registration Software
-Payment Processor
-Email Service Provider
-Analytics

Together, these facilitate the key interactions you have with readers or ad clients.
Tech: ESP gets all the attention, but there are 5 key parts to a newsletter company& #39;s tech stack:-Website-Registration Software-Payment Processor-Email Service Provider-AnalyticsTogether, these facilitate the key interactions you have with readers or ad clients.
Tech: ESP gets all the attention, but there are 5 key parts to a newsletter company& #39;s tech stack:-Website-Registration Software-Payment Processor-Email Service Provider-AnalyticsTogether, these facilitate the key interactions you have with readers or ad clients.
Community: The sense of belonging you& #39;re able to create among readers.

This is what keeps people around.
These 3 -- content, tech, and community -- touch every part of your newsletter business.

They& #39;re core to who you are, and key to your success.

You can never grow or monetize your way out of a product problem.
Moving up, you have the monetization layer. There are 3 basic ways to make money from a newsletter:

-Free Subscriptions (monetized via ads)
-Low Price Subscriptions
-High Price Subscriptions

A newsletter business can have 1 or more of each.
The idea is that you (ultimately) build all 3. They feed into each other.

Your free newsletter drives sales for the low-priced subscription which in turn drives sales for the high-priced subscription.

I did a longer thread on how these work here: https://twitter.com/damn_ethan/status/1381969678399049730">https://twitter.com/damn_etha...
At the very top, you have growth funnels drawing new readers in. There are 3 main levers for growth:

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="1️⃣" title="Tastenkappe Ziffer 1" aria-label="Emoji: Tastenkappe Ziffer 1"> Time (e.g. social media & other free tactics)
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="2️⃣" title="Tastenkappe Ziffer 2" aria-label="Emoji: Tastenkappe Ziffer 2"> Money (e.g. ads and influencers)
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="3️⃣" title="Tastenkappe Ziffer 3" aria-label="Emoji: Tastenkappe Ziffer 3"> Audience (e.g. referral programs)
At the very top, you have growth funnels drawing new readers in. There are 3 main levers for growth:https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable= Time (e.g. social media & other free tactics)https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="2️⃣" title="Tastenkappe Ziffer 2" aria-label="Emoji: Tastenkappe Ziffer 2"> Money (e.g. ads and influencers)https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="3️⃣" title="Tastenkappe Ziffer 3" aria-label="Emoji: Tastenkappe Ziffer 3"> Audience (e.g. referral programs)" title="At the very top, you have growth funnels drawing new readers in. There are 3 main levers for growth:https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="1️⃣" title="Tastenkappe Ziffer 1" aria-label="Emoji: Tastenkappe Ziffer 1"> Time (e.g. social media & other free tactics)https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="2️⃣" title="Tastenkappe Ziffer 2" aria-label="Emoji: Tastenkappe Ziffer 2"> Money (e.g. ads and influencers)https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="3️⃣" title="Tastenkappe Ziffer 3" aria-label="Emoji: Tastenkappe Ziffer 3"> Audience (e.g. referral programs)" class="img-responsive" style="max-width:100%;"/>
All together, it works like this:

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="1️⃣" title="Tastenkappe Ziffer 1" aria-label="Emoji: Tastenkappe Ziffer 1"> A reader enters via your growth funnel.
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="2️⃣" title="Tastenkappe Ziffer 2" aria-label="Emoji: Tastenkappe Ziffer 2"> Their attention is turned into money w/ your monetization strategy.
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="3️⃣" title="Tastenkappe Ziffer 3" aria-label="Emoji: Tastenkappe Ziffer 3"> That money is re-invested in growth & product.
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="4️⃣" title="Tastenkappe Ziffer 4" aria-label="Emoji: Tastenkappe Ziffer 4"> The cycle continues.

Attention in >> Money out >> Reinvest >>Rinse Repeat
All together, it works like this:https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable= A reader enters via your growth funnel.https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="2️⃣" title="Tastenkappe Ziffer 2" aria-label="Emoji: Tastenkappe Ziffer 2"> Their attention is turned into money w/ your monetization strategy.https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="3️⃣" title="Tastenkappe Ziffer 3" aria-label="Emoji: Tastenkappe Ziffer 3"> That money is re-invested in growth & product.https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="4️⃣" title="Tastenkappe Ziffer 4" aria-label="Emoji: Tastenkappe Ziffer 4"> The cycle continues.Attention in >> Money out >> Reinvest >>Rinse Repeat" title="All together, it works like this:https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="1️⃣" title="Tastenkappe Ziffer 1" aria-label="Emoji: Tastenkappe Ziffer 1"> A reader enters via your growth funnel.https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="2️⃣" title="Tastenkappe Ziffer 2" aria-label="Emoji: Tastenkappe Ziffer 2"> Their attention is turned into money w/ your monetization strategy.https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="3️⃣" title="Tastenkappe Ziffer 3" aria-label="Emoji: Tastenkappe Ziffer 3"> That money is re-invested in growth & product.https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="4️⃣" title="Tastenkappe Ziffer 4" aria-label="Emoji: Tastenkappe Ziffer 4"> The cycle continues.Attention in >> Money out >> Reinvest >>Rinse Repeat" class="img-responsive" style="max-width:100%;"/>
So, how do we use this?

Well, one cool thing about the Newsletter Engine is that it offers a framework you can use to deconstruct and learn from any newsletter business.

Say we want to learn from Morning Brew...
We start with the product layer, and know we need to break down 3 things:

-Their content/editorial strategy
-The technology they use
-Their community strategy
Look at content/voice, and ask yourself:

1) What, specifically, do they offer? (e.g. How many newsletters? Published how often? etc...)

2) What editorial rules do they live by (e.g. describe their voice, use of graphics, etc...)

You& #39;ll learn a lot, and start seeing white space
Later, you look at tech.

You can unearth a lot about a newsletter& #39;s tech stack by plugging their URL into http://builtwith.com"> http://builtwith.com 

@denk_tweets has also written some interesting pieces on the tech powering MB:

https://medium.com/the-mission/the-tech-powering-the-morning-brew-machine-b7e8cd82121">https://medium.com/the-missi...
We round product out by examining community.

The Brew does some interesting things to create a sense of belonging.

For instance, they use the https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="☕" title="Heißgetränk" aria-label="Emoji: Heißgetränk"> emoji on Twitter as a calling card. That& #39;s an interesting tactic.
So basically, the structure of the newsletter engine gives us a template we can use for research.

When you know what you& #39;re looking for, you can spend more time learning rather than wandering.
Another example... Say we want to learn lessons on monetization from NYT.

The Newsletter Engine shows us exactly what to look for:

We want to know how they& #39;re using free, low-price, and high-price subscriptions to make money.
Another example... Say we want to learn lessons on monetization from NYT.The Newsletter Engine shows us exactly what to look for: We want to know how they& #39;re using free, low-price, and high-price subscriptions to make money.
Another example... Say we want to learn lessons on monetization from NYT.The Newsletter Engine shows us exactly what to look for: We want to know how they& #39;re using free, low-price, and high-price subscriptions to make money.
Reading their annual reports, we find that low-price subscriptions are of increasing importance.

They use dozens of free newsletters to promote a few paid subscriptions.

In fact, subscription revenue has begun to out-earn ad revenue.
Reading their annual reports, we find that low-price subscriptions are of increasing importance.They use dozens of free newsletters to promote a few paid subscriptions.In fact, subscription revenue has begun to out-earn ad revenue.
Reading their annual reports, we find that low-price subscriptions are of increasing importance.They use dozens of free newsletters to promote a few paid subscriptions.In fact, subscription revenue has begun to out-earn ad revenue.
As for growth, those same annual reports are a goldmine.

You can also learn a lot about how a website gets traffic by dropping their URL into http://similarweb.com"> http://similarweb.com 
And if you want to know what& #39;s working for them in paid ads, look at Facebook& #39;s Ad Library, and sort by the longest-running ads.

Then click through to study their landing pages. Go through their funnel. Pick it apart.

https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/ ">https://www.facebook.com/ads/libra...
And if you want to know what& #39;s working for them in paid ads, look at Facebook& #39;s Ad Library, and sort by the longest-running ads.Then click through to study their landing pages. Go through their funnel. Pick it apart. https://www.facebook.com/ads/libra...
And if you want to know what& #39;s working for them in paid ads, look at Facebook& #39;s Ad Library, and sort by the longest-running ads.Then click through to study their landing pages. Go through their funnel. Pick it apart. https://www.facebook.com/ads/libra...
So that& #39;s it.

The Newsletter Engine gives you a framework for understanding how the business works, deconstructing other businesses, and even finding white space in the industry.
If this was helpful, go ahead and share it with someone who needs it.

We developed this model over 6+ months of dedicated research. I& #39;ll be sharing a lot more from our findings in the coming weeks.

DM if you have questions or want me on your podcast too. Happy to share more!
You can follow @damn_ethan.
Tip: mention @twtextapp on a Twitter thread with the keyword “unroll” to get a link to it.

Latest Threads Unrolled:
There are a lot of misconceptions about the Turkish diaspora in Germany. Since i just finished writing an essay about this topic I thought it's time to give other people
Read more
Las mejores calculadoras online en 2020A thread http://totumat.com/2020/11/26/las-mejores-calculadoras-online-en-2020/ Cuando se estudian asignaturas que requieren de cálculos complicados, nada mejor que contar con una buena calculadora.
Read more
Mitigating #ClimateChange is as much about taking up new techs as about leaving others behindMost studies focus on #coal's global downfall but another #energy tech decline is loomingRead my new
Read more