» Business & Marketing Tips

Case Study: A Simple Newsletter Earns $140,000 in Six Months

Because competition is a real concern in this case study, I am not permitted to identify the particular niche.

Fortunately, this strategy applies to any niche where you can save customers money on something they currently buy. It will also function in a variety of other niches, but for the time being, let's focus on the money-saving aspect.

For the sake of argument, I'll modify the specialty to air travel, and we'll pretend it's not during a pandemic.

This gentleman – let's call him Vinnie – set up an information email list where he distributed free information about inexpensive flights. I've modified the niche again again, but let's go with it.

When airlines have cancellations, make mistakes, and so on, they may occasionally offer ridiculously low prices merely to fill the seats. Vinnie keeps track of these deals and sends them information that might save them a lot of money on their plane tickets.

But here's where things get interesting: while anyone may subscribe for free, he also offers a paid version. The cost is reasonable, around $40 for three months or $90 for a year. Savings on a single transaction can amount to several hundred dollars, making it an easy sell to air travelers.

The difference between free and paid subscriptions is that free subscribers receive just roughly one-third of the bargains.

Paid subscribers have access to ALL of the deals.

What's amazing about this company model is:

The content writes itself. All you'd be doing is relaying information to your readers. Essentially, it may sound like this: "Delta is providing 2 for 1 transatlantic trip savings for the next 24 hours." Here is a link to their website.” 

The subscription fee is reasonably affordable for readers. They can afford a $90 subscription if they can afford plane tickets. 

Getting only one discount per year more than covers the cost of the subscription. People who continue to fly do not cancel their subscriptions. 

Paid members enjoy a boost in their ego since they have "inside knowledge" that they may brag about to others. “My guy saved me $400 on my plane ticket.” 

It is simple to get new subscribers. Because he has a free version and customers desire to save money, his squeeze page conversion rate is exceptionally high. 

When free subscribers realize how useful the information is and that they are missing two-thirds of it, upgrading is a no-brainer.

In the first six months, he earned $140,000. He wouldn't tell me how much he's made since then, but I do know he bought an expensive new house and recruited three people to manage the majority of his business.

Another thing: after he understood how huge this was going to be (remember, I haven't revealed his real niche), he decided to bring on affiliates with a referral program. This caused things to explode while keeping his competition to a minimum.

What you can do is as follows: Keep an eye out for any niche where people require immediate, up-to-date information on something. It may not simply be about saving money on a specific item. Perhaps they require the most recent news or approaches in their field, such as investing, and so on.

When you locate a promising opportunity, make sure that people are willing to pay for it in the niche. People obviously pay for flight tickets, so that would be simple. And certain niches will astound you. I've heard of a guy who makes a fortune producing a monthly email about arrowhead collecting. In his one-man enterprise, he spends 5 to 10 hours per month and earns $10,000 in monthly subscriptions.

Create a free edition of your newsletter, go where your target audience is, and get them to sign up.

Show them how being an insider and upgrading to the paid version will benefit them.

Learn your numbers and begin advertising to expand the entire organization. Vinnie promotes in print and online.

Remember to sell your readers other stuff, too. Sell golf equipment and golf packages if your specialization is golf tips. If you specialize in dog training, sell high-end dog food, and so forth.

This is so simple that you may get started nearly quickly, as soon as you've identified a successful niche.