A newsletter is one of the most successful ways to grow your audience and make money online. With the right newsletter topic and a solid growth strategy, you’re guaranteed to build a powerful, profitable community.
Why is email such a big deal? It feels more personal and real than any other social media. Get someone’s opt-in, and your ideas and thoughts go directly into a private inbox.
Starting a newsletter is highly profitable:
- How to Fly for Free by Going (formerly Scott’s Cheap Flights) makes $320,000 per month.
- Stacked Marketer almost tripled its profits from 2020 to 2022, bringing in a revenue of $685,000.
- Newsletters from Puck Media were recently valued at over 75 million dollars.
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Quick tips on picking the right idea for your newsletter: Be niche, but not that niche
✔ The niche should be narrow enough for your newsletter to stand out. You can’t just write about the news. Be specific, like news about the latest trends in renewable energy.
✔ Here’s something counterintuitive – don’t be too niche. Sure, you might just want to write about the latest discoveries in jellyfish science – but how many people would subscribe to that newsletter? 300 scientists, perhaps? You need to be able to scale.
✔ Pick topics that interest you. You’re going to spend hours and hours on this. The topic has to give you energy.
✔ Ensure that the newsletter topic can be monetized. For instance, a newsletter about the restaurants in your tiny town might not be able to attract big enough advertisers to give you a second income.
6 Profitable Ideas for Newsletters:
1. Technology Newsletters
💡 For tech, write about things like: roundups, tips and tricks, lessons/classes, and industry trends.
Technology is a highly lucrative niche for email newsletters. Every SaaS company and their uncle will want in.
Instead of sticking to the broad subject of technology, narrow it down to hot topics like AI, WordPress, web design, coding, PHP, mobile dev, developers, etc.
Here are a few great examples of tech-based newsletter ideas:
- Techlicious: tips and tricks to get the most out of technology
- Hacker News Digest: most popular topics from the Hacker News forum
- CSS Weekly: curated weekly CSS tips and tricks
- Kodeco by Ray Wenderlich: tips on mobile development
- iDrop News: top news on Apple products
Browse more technology newsletters ->
2. Health and Wellness
💡 For wellness, write about things like: personal experiences, product recommendations, ‘good’ news, and lifestyle tips.
Mental health and wellbeing is a topic that exploded in popularity even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. It even falls under the top 10 categories in Medium, one of the most popular blogging sites.
When writing about mental health, niche down your idea into a particular ailment such as depression or anxiety, life events (for example mental health for new moms), or by health and wellness practice such as meditation, yoga and mindful exercise.
Some great examples of health and wellness email newsletters:
- Clean Eating: a guide to discovering real food for a better quality of life
- I Choose My Best Life: by Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith, about dealing with stress and an overwhelming lifestyle
- Yoga Journal: tips on yoga and meditation
Browse more wellness newsletters ->
3. Feminism Newsletters
💡 For feminism, write about things like: personal experiences, industry trends, female amplification, leader interviews, and current events.
If you are someone who strongly resonates with this topic, then you should definitely go for this niche.
Women 2.0 is a great example of a feminist-focused newsletter that niched down into tech specifically. The newsletter focuses on the topics of gender, diversity, and inclusion in e tech and startup spaces. Thanks to a wide appeal, the newsletter has grown from strength to strength and is popular with advertisers.
Other great examples of feminism-based newsletters are:
- Femstreet: a weekly digest of timely, must-read posts by female investors and operators
- Women Deliver newsletter: news about relevant issues including gender equality, girls’ education, women in politics, and more
- The Broadsheet newsletter: news about female empowerment and women’s rights movements
Browse more feminism newsletters ->
4. Hobbies and Interests Newsletters
Overwhelmed with ideas but nothing feeling quite right? Here’s a simple answer:
If you don’t know what niche to go for, think about what you already like doing and write about that.
No matter how peculiar your hobbies and interests, there are people around the world who would share the same interests and are craving a community.
For example, the Save the Whales newsletter talks about different kinds of whales, whale trivia, and tips on how subscribers can contribute to saving whales. Or Gardenista – your one stop shop for gardening information!
Your newsletter can be around your experiences and expert tips on your favorite hobby. Anything goes– from cooking and gardening to fashion and miniature trains, the possibilities are endless.
Brainstorm a list of your hobbies, build out a concept that you can write about weekly, and get started!
5. Productivity Newsletters
💡 For productivity, write about things like: personal experiences, tools, tips and tricks, tracking methods, software, management techniques, or book/article roundups.
Now the world has moved to work from home, managing home and work has become chaotic for most. Your unique and valuable tips on topics such as productivity, time management, personal growth is an excellent idea for your first email newsletter.
Productivity is a very popular topic, and you’ll find hundreds of websites and email newsletters about it. It’s going to require a lot of effort to stand out.
For example, the weekly email newsletter by the productivity influencer Ali Abdaal is very popular in this niche. He talks about motivation, inspiration, productivity, time management, and similar topics in his newsletter.
Other great examples of productivity newsletters are:
- Tech Productivity: a weekly newsletter specifically meant for tech professionals
- Ness Labs: mindful productivity and creativity tips
- Today Do This: discussions about changing things for the better
Browse more productivity newsletters ->
6. Parenting Newsletters
If you’re a parent with some hacks to share with other clueless parents, then you can’t keep your knowledge to yourself– new parents need you!
A great example of a parenting newsletter is the Positive Parenting Newsletter, a publication for 0 to 12-month-old babies. The newsletter includes useful articles, Q&As, parenting tools, book recommendations, worksheets, and more. It helps parents tackle real, everyday problems. For example, the newsletter talks about issues like disciplining babies, introducing a new baby to a toddler, soothing babies and making them sleep, etc.
A few other great examples of parenting newsletters:
- Brigid Collins: for parents with kids between the ages of 0 and 3
- Terrific Parenting: advice about character building and having positive experiences with kids
- Just in Time Parenting: newsletters specific to your child’s age
Browse more parenting newsletters–>
How to position yourself as a thought leader via your newsletter idea
Instead of repeating what everyone else is talking about, bring something new to the table with every email. Talk about your own experiences and expertise. Get feedback from the community. Discover new informative titbits no one knows about.
No one does this better than Marie Dolle of In Bed with Social. To succeed as a newsletter writer, you need to be a thought leader.
Stay helpful to your readers with every single send! Your goal should be to cut through the noise and offer something of value to your readers.
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