The Power of Newsletters: with Charlotte Henry

[00:00:00] Welcome back to another episode of Beyond the Post, where we take you behind the scenes of content creation strategy and the ever-changing digital landscape. And on this episode, we are talking about newsletters. Newsletters have become an essential tool for creators and journalists alike. But how do you make one that actually works? Today, we're diving deep into the world of newsletters and independent media with someone who knows the space inside and out.

[00:00:27] Charlotte Henry is an award-winning journalist and the creator of The Edition, which happens to be not only a newsletter, but also a podcast that explores the intersection of media, technology, sports and culture. She's worked with major publications like The Telegraph, The Times and Mac Observer, and now she's building her own media brand on her terms. In this episode, Charlotte's going to break down the power of owning your audience and why every creator should consider a newsletter and the

[00:00:57] lessons she's learned from growing the edition into a recognized award-winning publication. Plus, we talk about the importance of monetization, platform independence, and her newsletter masterclass to help others get started. If you've ever thought about launching a newsletter or making an existing newsletter better, this episode is packed with insights you won't want to miss. So let's go ahead and get into it.

[00:01:29] So once again, Charlotte, thank you for hanging out with us this afternoon. And I wanted to dive right in. So you run a newsletter. I believe you are the first person that is newsletter first. I think we've had other folks who have newsletters, but you are a newsletter publisher. So can you just tell us a little bit about the edition and what you've got going on over there?

[00:01:56] So it's certainly true that the newsletter was the first thing that I did when I started the edition. The edition is a newsletter and now a blog and podcast that brings together the crossover bit between culture, media and sport, which I think work very nicely together.

[00:02:15] And so, yeah, we do. I've done, you know, covering how sports coverage is going, all that kind of thing. And yeah, it is all about that crossover space. And I think it is fair to say newsletter first, because the newsletter is the key product. It's the one I want to sort of, maybe I'm telling the secrets now, but it's obviously the one I want to funnel people towards.

[00:02:42] I'd love everyone to take out a paid subscription. I'd love you to read even the free version that, you know, that's where ultimately I want everyone to end up there. And, you know, of course the podcast as well, which covers similar topics. And I've had you on a couple of times, Rob. Yeah, I've been on, I've enjoyed myself both times we've been on. I'm glad you didn't ask me to write anything that I could just get behind the microphone and talk because that seems to, I think that's where my skill set is, is being behind the microphone.

[00:03:09] But I am also a huge believer in newsletters. I would say so much to the point that I think that almost every creator, regardless of what your, what your main medium is, you probably, if it's, if your main medium is not a newsletter, you probably should have a newsletter to accentuate whatever it is, the thing that you do.

[00:03:29] So I'm a podcaster probably should have a newsletter to accentuate my podcast. If you are a YouTuber, you probably should have a newsletter to accentuate your YouTube videos or what have you. If you are a TikToker, you definitely probably would hope you have something right now in case they tend to shut that down here in the United States here, you know, within the next month.

[00:03:47] So as I said, although writing is not my forte, I, I tend to believe that newsletters are just incredible, you know, you know, pieces of, you know, content that you can push out to your, you know, to your followers without having to go through a algorithm. So I totally agree with a lot of that. But I also think we've slightly got overexcited by the newsletter as well.

[00:04:15] So yes, I think if you're a TikToker and you're relying on a third party platform for your audience and you don't have any other way of communicating with them, that's could be a problem one way or the other in the not too distant future. I also think though, that we've, you know, newsletters like it's bizarre to me that we've got so overexcited about a very old fashioned technology and email, right?

[00:04:39] In relative terms, email is really like old school and we're talking about it like it's this brand new revolution, but what is wonderful and it's what you're touching on it. And it's what I really love about running a newsletter is that you, it's a way to communicate directly with the people who are interested in your stuff. Um, you know, if I get a good story, I can send it straight to the people who I think are going to want to read it.

[00:05:04] If I find a bunch of links and stuff like that, I can put it at the top of the email direct to people who I think are going to read it. And that's really good. Um, so that bit I love about emails. And I also think, and I think I brought you about this before, Rob, so I'm sorry if I have, but I am now almost obsessive about this idea of owning your own stuff and not being dependent on platforms.

[00:05:29] So owning your own newsletter list, your mailing list, really important. Having a website that's just yours and not a TikTok page, really important. Don't like, I think it's so important. We don't rely on the platforms of TikTok, Instagram, a Facebook page, whatever you want to call it. Because as you might possibly see in the U S like those things are not permanent. And one little tweak to the algorithm can change that.

[00:05:59] So you kind of touched on this a little bit. Uh, you're a journalist, you've worked for many different types of publications. What made you decide to make the transition to a newsletter, like starting something on your own that you, um, control that, that is specifically yours? Well, I think you've answered your own question. I think the, the point about control and that it's yours in a really difficult media industry is really appealing.

[00:06:29] How did you get there? Because you, you've worked for some, you know, when we say you've worked for some publications, I mean, they're pretty big. Like the Telegraph, Mac Observer, the Times Redbox. I mean, you, you, you, you've got some accolades to, uh, you know, what you did. Yeah. A lot of that was freelance, but yeah, it's been great to contribute to those publications. Mac Observer was a slightly different thing, but yeah, some of the, a lot of publications here in the UK have contributed columns and stuff as a freelancer, which is great.

[00:06:55] What, what are some, cause I'm, I'm not a journalist in any stretch of the imagination. So what are some of those challenges for either being a freelancer or working for one of these media companies? Look, the thing about being a freelancer is you're always chasing, like you're always chasing the next commission. You're always trying to convince someone that your story is worth publishing, um, that your opinion is worth publishing there.

[00:07:19] So that's always the thing. And so obviously if you have your own newsletter, you don't have to convince anyone of that, but that's also the problem, right? Cause sometimes it's good to have an editor to say, no, you're being dumb. This is a bad idea, or at least get rid of the typos. So that's the, that's the balancing act. So we said at the top of the show that the edition is actually an award winning newsletter.

[00:07:44] I think it was just over a year into its existence. You won best solo newsletter. Uh, you know, uh, you, you, you, you were just a baby. You were just brand new. So my question is how did, how did you go into it? Like I said, you, you, you've got, you, you've got receipts. You, you were doing this work well before you started the edition, but when you went into it, did you have a, did you have a, you know, a, did you see this is what I'm going to do?

[00:08:10] So that within a year or so people are going to notice what I'm doing to the point to where they award me for it. Well, I obviously always wanted to make the product as good as I could. And I was obviously thrilled when I, I, I won that award, the publisher newsletter award back in 2023. I was, you know, obviously absolutely thrilled because it made you feel like the effort was kind of worth it.

[00:08:30] And the people I knew I could see some of the stats that people were generally like what was going on, but yeah, to have a, an accolade from judges who are your peers or whatever, is obviously a really, really nice feeling. Um, I, I, as I say, I always knew I wanted to make it the best product possible. And I think in the UK, um, which is slightly different in the US, our coverage of the media industry is not so intense.

[00:08:56] Um, as I say, the edition is, you know, primarily focused on culture, media and sports. So that's what brings it all together. The media underlines all of that. And so that's not really what we do here in the UK. A lot of the papers that have maybe have one correspondent or so. Um, and so I, I thought there was a bit of a gap there. There are other media newsletters, but I, I really thought there was still a gap.

[00:09:20] I still think there's a gap and I hope I'm, you know, working to fill that, but that's where I really wanted to focus. So that's what I knew. And if there was people that liked it and awards and all of that, that was kind of, it wasn't something I considered when I started, but was nice when it happened. You've talked a little bit about like the goal, which is to put out a really good product. What are some of the challenges that you experienced when you first started?

[00:09:46] And then now that you're a little bit more than a year in, what are some of the, what are some of the challenges now? Yeah. Time, I think is always a challenge. I think both of you guys will recognize this when you're doing a lot of different things. I still write for other publications and so on. Um, when you're doing a lot of different things, that time is always the problem, right?

[00:10:07] You know, you always want to put out the best thing possible, but finding a spot where, you know, I'm going to do the thing for me can be difficult. Cause if someone else is demanding something or not demanding, you know, has a set you a deadline, that's the one you've got to reach for. Right. And so I think it's always easy to talk yourself out of doing the work you want to do and, or find, at least finding the time to do the work you want to do. And I'm guessing both of you guys have experienced that as well.

[00:10:37] No, absolutely. So, uh, you know, one of the things that I definitely wanted to dig into with what you're, what you're doing at the edition is that you've got something that you're calling the newsletter masterclass. Now, um, one of the things that we do here at beyond the post is we don't just talk about what, uh, you know, it is to be a creator. We actually talk about tactically, here's how you do things. And what really interested me about this is that, okay, wow.

[00:11:03] She, you know, Charlotte started a newsletter a little over a year after she started it in 2023. She won an award for the best, uh, you know, solo newsletters. She clearly knows what she's doing. And now it looks like you're actually monetizing the fact that you know what you're doing so that other people who want to short track, uh, you know, getting to a successful newsletter can come to you and you're instructing them.

[00:11:27] So can, can you tell us a little bit about, uh, you know, what the newsletter masterclass is, who would, you know, who, you know, you know, what is it, who's it for and how people who would partake in it would benefit? Sort of. It's for me because when I started, I was having to scrabble around and find stuff by myself.

[00:11:43] And if someone had offered at a fairly reasonable price, let me add, um, a couple of sessions, one-on-one to explain, work out what platform you want to use, why you should use that platform, what you can do with your newsletter. Look, I'm not perfect, but I've been doing it. I am proud of the product I make. I'm happy to have, I want to have conversations with people to help them make a thing as well.

[00:12:08] You know, I'm not someone with billions of, uh, subscribers, but I'm learning the whole time as well. And I think that's a really useful thing you can, you know, work with other people on. So if, if somebody signs up for this masterclass, what can they expect? Is this a one-on-one with you? Is this something that is, is more like one to the group? No, I wanted it to be one-to-one. I think that's the most valuable way of doing it.

[00:12:36] So, so walk, walk us through it. Someone, um, you know, contact you and says, Hey Charlotte, I want you to show me how to set up my newsletter. What, what are the most common questions you would say you're getting from your clients as far as just getting started? The point about the masterclass is I want it to be personalized to the people that sign up. So I don't want it, you know, there's obviously some basic structures that I know I want to talk through with people,

[00:13:03] but also the people who, you know, people might join in when they've got a newsletter and want to accelerate it or do something different. Um, or it doesn't have to necessarily just be starting from scratch. So the, the idea of the masterclass is that it's personalized, which I think a lot of other creative products aren't necessarily. Do you have someone send in like an example or what their goals are? So you can be prepared beforehand. Yeah, I'm happy to have that. I think that's always useful.

[00:13:31] And I think the most useful thing is that the person at the other end knows what they want as well. Okay. So, um, so I'm just going to, you know, just give you a, a, a, you know, a theory out there. Uh, let's say that I am a podcaster and I'm using my podcast to ultimately try to generate clients for the thing that I, that I do. I have a level of expertise in the art of podcasting.

[00:13:59] I've created a podcast about that, but I think I want to ultimately create a newsletter to, uh, you know, not necessarily be my main thing for me, it would be the podcast, but I want to use that newsletter to support the, uh, you know, to support the podcast, uh, because I have no idea who's subscribing other than I see the numbers tick up. But when I get an email address, I at least can put a name to an actual, you know, email address that I can send something to someone too. Which is so, so important by the way.

[00:14:29] So what would you, what would you recommend for someone like myself that, um, I like I have no idea other than, I think I want to have this newsletter that I probably want to put out maybe once every two weeks. Uh, you know, we'll work towards once a month, but what do I do? Where do I start? Where do I go? So I think for someone like you, one, consistency is really important to what, which everyone would tell you.

[00:14:54] And it's true to, I think you, someone like you, your people are drawn to your podcast because of your personality, right? That's why people like listening to Rob Dunwood podcast is why I like to sit to them anyway. And so I think at the top of your newsletter, there would have to be some level of that personality coming through. I don't think saying here's a link to the latest podcast, you know, a couple of would be enough. People want to feel like they're getting something extra, I think.

[00:15:23] And I think that's always an important aspect to remember that your personality should come through in that. It doesn't mean you have to write an essay every couple of weeks, but some level of, uh, here's what I've been experiencing. That's relevant to the podcast. Here's what I've been reading. That's relevant to the podcast. Here's how you listen to the podcast.

[00:15:43] So you would use the newsletter then as, um, supplemental or, or maybe the podcast is supplemental, depending on what your focus is on what you're already doing. I'm not sure. Is supplemental the right word? I think they all have to talk to each other. They have to, people have to go between one and the other and it all feel connected. Like a simpatico. Yeah. It's got, I think there has to be a connection and a, you know, a balance between the two.

[00:16:13] So if you are in a situation where, okay, I'm, I know that I'm going to create this newsletter, uh, but I don't know where to start. Uh, I believe Charlotte, when, when we first started, uh, talking about, you know, I think when I first came on your show, you were on sub stack. I know that you have since moved from sub stack to at the time, I think it was convert kit. I think they just changed their name to kit, but you know, just, just from a tech standpoint, where do I go?

[00:16:41] Oh, or what should I be looking at? If I am just thinking about, I want to start a newsletter. So sub stack is definitely the easiest way to start. And there are things that are kind of similar. I think ghost is pretty similar. Beehive. I've not played particularly with those platforms, but to me, sub stack seems the most straightforward way of doing it. Um, and therefore, you know, generally, I know people had some other objections to it, but that seems to have all died down.

[00:17:08] So generally from a pure tech standpoint, sub stack is the easiest. I moved to kit cause I wanted better integration with a website, a WordPress site. I think ghost does also give you pretty decent functionality, uh, that lets you have a sort of website appearance. So if you want to do blog posts, which was one of the things I was interested in developing, that's why one of the reasons I moved because I could have blog posts.

[00:17:36] I didn't want everything that had to end up in someone's inbox, right? On sub stack, if you publish something, it ends up in someone's inbox, whatever you want to do. Whereas tools like kit. And I think as I say, ghost has the same functionality. Uh, it doesn't automatically have to be pushed out as an email. And those are the, that's the really important things to consider. The other thing to consider, by the way, is the different cuts and the costs associated with each platform.

[00:18:05] Cause sub stack takes 10% of anything you earn through a paid subscription. Uh, whereas the other services tend to have a flat rate and you keep everything beyond that. There's some process. Now, was there a technical reason that you made the switch, uh, to, you know, from sub stack to kit? I know, um, when I've actually looked at it, I rather liked sub stack because it's kind of all there. But the problem with sub stack that I had was that it's kind of all there and it is a wall garden.

[00:18:34] And I would say almost to the extent that it seems like sub stack is kind of converting. It's kind of converting itself from a newsletter host into a social media platform that happens to offer newsletters on, you know, on the side. I 100% agree with that. And that is ultimately the reason why I moved to something different. Okay. So, uh, you know, I, I know that like it can definitely be easy. It's one integrated place.

[00:18:58] Everything's kind of in there, but I just felt that there was a, that walled garden is like, well, what if I want to have an autoresponder? I can't do that here. What if I want to connect this to this third party, you know, database? I don't know that there's really an easy way to do that. So not everyone's doing those kinds of things, but I know for me that there, there were things that I was thinking about that just made sub stack, not necessarily, uh, you know, be the, you know, the primary platform.

[00:19:24] But I keep, for whatever reason, I keep wanting to go back to it because I keep seeing so many folks that are building ginormous platforms on that platform. And it's like, I don't know if I can ignore it, but, uh, so, so for me, like I said, I have gone to other things as far as what I use, but kind of wanted to, you know, understand that from you as well. Yeah. For me, I think your description of it becoming a kind of social network, a social platform is really right. And that is the advantage of it because the recommendation tools in sub stack are pretty good.

[00:19:53] Um, you have to watch for engagement, but they're generally pretty good. Whereas other tools have different functionality. And for me, uh, as I say, I use kit, they're running a programmatic ads visa, which was really interesting to me. So you can insert into emails, programmatic ads. And that was a really big draw for me. Um, and also the integration with WordPress and a load of other things as well. I don't particularly, uh, I don't use, but it will be worth others checking out are good as well.

[00:20:22] That's why I sort of jumped on that because I already had WordPress as well. And I just wanted to bring everything together. Well, let's just talk about your, your, your stack. So as we said, uh, the, the addition, um, is a newsletter when I think about it, but there's more there. There's a website that you're running on WordPress. There is of course the newsletter that's free. There's the paywall portion of the newsletter. Uh, you actually have a podcast that you associate with all of those things.

[00:20:50] So can you just talk about some of your tech stack as far as the products? We know you're using kit, but what are some of the other things that you're using just to make the addition run as smoothly as it does? Yeah. I mean, this, I'll tell you when it runs smoothly, when every time I have a tech breakdown and need to email you for tech support. Um, but the main basis of it is what, as you said, kit and WordPress, they have a plugin that talks to each other. That paywall you mentioned is built via kit.

[00:21:21] You can just assign different WordPress posts so that only those who are on your paid newsletter list can read them. Um, so that's really the core of the tech stack. And then there's a couple of ad products I use. Um, there's a cup, you know, there's, uh, I use or phonic as, uh, to make the podcast. Yeah. I edit the podcast on logic for anyone who cares about that as well. Now, uh, as far as like podcast hosting, um, who are you using for your podcast hosting?

[00:21:50] Uh, you're going to tell me off if I tell you. No, no, just, just wondering. Uh, I use zoom, but don't tell me off. Oh, you assume for the recording or do you use? Okay. It works. I mean, I've done shows with you. Here's the thing that I say about tech. If it works for you, then it works for you. Uh, so I think it's pretty easy for, uh, guests as well. Yeah.

[00:22:17] It's like, uh, you know, after the pandemic, there aren't many people who would ever be on a podcast who haven't heard of zoom. So it's just something that is easy for them to do. And it works. Now I will say this, there was a time when it was like you were struggling on zoom because it was people, they were using zoom. They weren't using the paid, the premium version. They were using the free version. So you only got locked into 45 minutes. So things were getting disjointed and stuff like that. But no, it's, it's, it's fine for recording. Yeah. It's, it's, it's fine for my money. Yeah. It's fine for recording.

[00:22:47] Um, so you've got your tech stack there. Go ahead. Go ahead. I'm going to do a podcast in just a few hours with Alison Sheridan, who's been podcasting forever and she uses zoom. She sent me a zoom link today. So I know that it's good enough. Alison Sheridan is good enough for me. Um, yeah, Alison uses loop back and, and, um, audio hijack to actually record the audio because it's not a video podcast that she does. So she ends up getting two different, um, uh, wave files.

[00:23:16] So she's actually able to put that together so you can do it. I put it together and boost the audio quality using logic. But again, people, I think your point is right. I think a lot of creators and I I'm saying this cause I am like this with different platforms. I think a lot of creators are put off that if they don't have the best, they hear conversations like ours or, you know, watch something like Colin and Samir who I love, but they, you know,

[00:23:43] they talk about multimillion pounds being spent on podcast videos and think, well, if I haven't got that kit, if I don't have the same kit as Mr. Beast, I can't do it. And it's just not true. And I need to constantly remind myself of this as well. And actually, to be fair to Colin and Samir, their whole thing is just press publish. And I think that is what we all have to remember, you know, okay. You don't want to build a WordPress site and fiddle around with a, you know, various configurations

[00:24:13] on a newsletter. Okay. Just start stub that. You'll have it in 10 minutes. Your, your newsletter will be started in 10 minutes. Go from there. Like one thing that we try to, to, to preach and live by, uh, here at beyond the post is that we, you, we don't want the tech to be the reason that you don't press play, that you don't press record, that you don't press, you know, whatever it is to create.

[00:24:38] There are so many people that I, well, I can't create this until I go out and get me a, you know, a $500 microphone that I've got to plug into a $300 interface that I've got to plug into a $2,000 laptop just so you can hear me clearly. Or you could just go buy a 40, 50, $60, uh, you know, you know, you know, microphone, plug it into your phone and just record yourself and throw it up on Spotify. Those things can be done.

[00:25:05] Um, so I, I, I generally free audio editing software that will get you. There's tons of it. Bodhi and I were literally over the weekend having a conversation. I was asking him about some plugins. I've been podcasting for going on 19 years. I still use audacity. It is, it is a, it is free. Is it as good as some of the other, um, you know, um, you know, uh, platforms are out there. Some of the other dolls that are out there. Um, it doesn't matter.

[00:25:33] It's good enough for what I use it for, for podcasts that, you know, in my, you know, from my experience have been listened to tens of millions of times by, by tens of millions of people around the world over the last couple of decades. I use a free tool with zero plugins to do the audio for it. And everybody says that is fine. Now I know that there are some other things that if I wanted to do, and this is where Bodhi and I were talking about, I want to speed the process up. I want to make some things a little bit quicker.

[00:25:58] So, okay, maybe now it makes sense to move into this area, but I, I generally never want to get stuck on allowing technology be the reason that you don't do something because you literally can start some, some of the biggest, um, video, um, podcast out there are recorded on iPhones. Some of the, I mean, some of the biggest ones in the world, they're recorded on iPhones. So, um, you know, you, it's a recording studio that you can put into your pocket.

[00:26:28] No, it's, you're right. It's absolutely true. I think just doing stuff makes you do other stuff. If that doesn't sound too simplistic. Uh, so, you know, I'm always, I'll tell you, I'll give it a personal, I'm always put off putting stuff on Tik TOK and Instagram reels or whatever. Cause I'm just like, Oh, do I want to make myself look respectable and record a video and fiddle around editing it and make sure the audio is okay.

[00:26:55] And I often talk myself out of doing a video, but then the people on Tik TOK who are getting bigger, what do they do? They just hit record. They really do. They really do. It's just, um, with time, with repetition, you'll get better doing things, but you just got to get started. I did want to ask you one question, uh, Charlotte, because the addition has a paywall that there is a paid portion of it. Um, go figure that you actually might want to be compensated for the work that you do, but

[00:27:24] what made you decide to put a paywall in your newsletter? In addition to the free content that is there. Well, uh, I try and make the newsletter. I was going to give you a, like a sake answer and just say, cause I want to get paid for the work I do. But I, which obviously I do, but you know, there are other ways to do that. But the reason there's a paywall is because I try and put original, I try and put original

[00:27:54] reporting into my work as well. It's not just, or, you know, sometimes it is, but I don't try and just have a few hundred words of my opinion or, and a few links. Like I do try and put original reporting in there and that does take time, which takes money. So there's that element to it. I, I think the idea of building a paid audience is like, it's really powerful. I think it builds a connection with people. I don't want to, I don't think I charge a fortune for it.

[00:28:22] You know, in UK it's five pounds a month, 50 pounds for, yeah, I think that's a fairly reasonable price point for two times a week newsletter. And, uh, you know, I think giving something value also makes your, your audience value it a bit. It gives, and I know this sounds self-serving as a creator. If somebody's out there listening to this, that they're, they're not a creator, but it gives people who really like what you do an opportunity to support you like that.

[00:28:50] That makes them feel like they are a part of the team. It makes them feel like they are contributing to all of this content. It is, it's not just, uh, for us as creators, there, there is a little bit of an element that it makes people feel good that they're supporting the content and the creators that they connect with. I think that's totally true, but I think that, uh, kind of depends on what kind of creator you are.

[00:29:15] So I think it's slightly different for journalism than say a food blogger. Now, both people love that stuff. And I mean, there are some great food bloggers, video bloggers out there that creating great content around food. And I understand why that you want to pay in and be part of the community. Whereas for journalism, it's a more, it costs to make it. So you have to find different ways to get that back.

[00:29:42] And I could have, and perhaps should have made, you know, just done a tip jar and advertising, but that does change the dynamic a bit. And because, you know, I am aware that a lot of us are getting sick of being asked for yet another subscription, you know, another $5 a month, another this, another, like, I understand. That from a user point of view, that people are getting fed up with that. But on the flip side, this stuff doesn't just, you know, the content doesn't fall out of a tree, right?

[00:30:11] We all work hard to make the work we make. And there has to be some, you know, there has to be different ways to be compensated for that. Yeah, I've seen conversations, um, particularly around newsletters and paywalls. And it seems like, um, that more and more content is deciding to go the paywall method. So there is that argument is like, man, I'm signed up to 19 different services. Now I've got to sign up to another 20, you know, another 20 to get it.

[00:30:40] So, so I, I absolutely get that. The other part of that though, is that it's, you know, we, we talk about this, uh, or this show fairly regularly, the amount of time that it takes someone to consume content and their mind is the amount of time that it took the creator to create the content. And we all know that that is the furthest thing from the truth, a 10 minute article that, you know, 10 minutes to, to read something. That's, that's quite a bit of work that went into that, but it didn't take you 10 minutes to write.

[00:31:10] It probably took you days of work and hour after hour of tolling and editing and this and that and the other in the research in the, you know, making phone calls and, and interviews and all the things that go into that 10 piece, that 10 minute piece of content. Um, it is a lot of work. So I think part of it is just that a lot of the, the public who are consuming our content simply don't understand what goes into it. And that, you know, we were spoiled with the internet.

[00:31:38] Let's take every, let's take everything that's in these newspapers and magazines and just throw it on the internet and put it up there for free because we want people, we want to get the eyeballs and we want to get the pay-per-click and all that kind of stuff. And we've figured out over the last 20 years that that's just not very lucrative. Um, you know, in any, you know, because you kind of, you're chasing the, the lowest denominator who's going to give me the content for free. And it seems like in the last couple of years that more and more creators independent and

[00:32:05] the big publishers are like, no, if you want this content, here's, you know, we're going to give you a taste of it in front of the paywall. So you can actually see what you're getting. But if you want this in-depth analysis, there is a cost to it. And, um, what I've, what I've started to see people say is like, and if you're offended by that, I understand that you don't have to actually go get this thing that I spent three weeks working on. That's okay. Uh, but the people who, who, who do value that they will get it and we'll go from there.

[00:32:35] So what I, what I've seen is that, you know, for many, you know, for many publications, it's about three to 5% of the, of the, the, the people who consume the free stuff actually will contribute, uh, to the, you know, the behind the paywall stuff. And, you know, we may like that number to be higher, but in many cases, that's actually enough to keep you afloat and keep you running. Yeah. Uh, and the thing is that people also forget that if you have a direct relationship,

[00:33:05] financial relationship with your audience, this kind of goes back to what we talked about right at the start, if they're paying you enough to keep the show running, then your reliance on ads and your freedom to say what you want is also increased. And in some fields that also really matters. That's a really good point. So like the, the actual, the fact that you're being supported directly by your audience allows

[00:33:35] you to create content without having to worry about what a sponsor may say or what a sponsor might think. It's a good point. And look, I'm any brands watching. I'd love to work with you because, you know, and I happily have adverts on the podcast because what I wanted to do, and maybe this is a really point we should delve into more. What I really want to do, and it's another key part of why I had a paywall is I wanted to have different ways of generating income. It sounds obvious, but it's important to reiterate. Great.

[00:34:05] So delighted to have adverts, you know, user host read adverts on the podcast and not have anything to do with the podcast paywall. I'm happy to have programmatic ads, affiliate links that all that kind of thing on the blog, no paywall, but the extra stuff newsletter that needs a paywall and it gives you different routes to making money.

[00:34:30] Yeah, there is a, if you do content long enough, there's, there are up and downs. And if you only rely on one revenue stream, you need something to balance that out when that revenue stream happens to be down. Totally. Totally. And it gives you more freedom. It gives you more, hopefully security. And it means you can experiment with different things as well. So Charlotte, I know you have a hard out. So Rob and I do some rapid fire questions. Yeah, we're doing okay for time.

[00:35:00] Okay. They're not always rapid. We thought it would be rapid and it doesn't ever end up being that way. It's a fun conversation. So what are three tips you would give to somebody who's looking to start a newsletter today, or maybe even somebody who is thinking about abandoning their newsletter because they're just not getting the engagement that they want?

[00:35:25] So if you're wanting to start a newsletter, I think you just pick the obvious one, pick a niche. Like you have to really have something that you really know about and really care about and really want to spend time writing about. Picking a niche really is important. I know everyone goes on about it, but we saw with things like the messenger and there's loads of other examples that just general stuff being thrown out there is probably not going to work. And I really don't think it's going to work for an individual creator.

[00:35:56] Two, I think you have to have confidence in your voice. And like, sometimes I do have, we all have these moments, right? Where it's just like, why does anyone want to put up with my views or stuff of me saying stuff about this? But you do have to have confidence and a distinct voice so that you can separate yourself out. And I think to, to go back to what we said earlier, just do it.

[00:36:25] You know, you do have to just start. And, but once you've started, try and be consistent. Charlotte, we're not going to keep you too much longer. Uh, want to give you the opportunity to let our listeners know how can they find out more about you? How can they find out more about the edition? How can they find out more about the masterclass? Yeah. The best way to find out all of that stuff is head to the edition.net. And I'm at Charlotte A. Henry across most of the social platforms.

[00:36:55] Excellent. Charlotte, thank you so much for coming on and being so generous with your time. Rob and I are here in the US and you are obviously in the UK. So it's a little bit later for you. So thank you very much for making this happen. I really enjoy having these conversations because the way the media is going, I think more and more people are going to have to invest their time in the creator space. So I think it's important. Agreed.

[00:37:23] Charlotte, thank you so much for hanging out with us. Uh, it was an absolute pleasure having you on. I'm glad you agreed to do this because I've been wanting to talk to you specifically about newsletters for, for some time. So thank you for hanging out with us. We'll talk to you soon. Take care. See you guys. Bye.