cash-flowing newsletter (step 1)

I don’t own any real estate.

It’s never had the pull on me that it does on other people.

I’m sure it’ll become part of the equation at some point…

But for now, I’m content to rent.

(I live on the 63rd floor and the view is pretty sweet.)

However, I find the concept of “cash-flowing real estate” very interesting.

In a nutshell:

This is where the income a property produces is more than its operating expenses.

Meaning there’s money left over every month…

Even as you build equity in something that’s (likely) going to appreciate in value.

So you’re getting paid each month to own & operate something…

That’s also going up in value…

And can be sold to someone else at pretty much any time.

Not bad, right?

Well, turns out real estate isn’t the only asset class this applies to.

It can also apply to newsletters.

Here’s how:

First, you use paid ads to acquire newsletter subscribers on autopilot…

Then you set up a simple 2-4 page funnel to liquidate those ad costs…

So you’re essentially adding new subscribers for $0.

This means your expenses are covered and the asset (your list) is consistently going up in value, month after month.

As for the income?

If you’re breakeven on the front-end, then everything you sell inside the newsletter itself is pure profit.

Whether that’s books, courses, coaching, consulting, affiliate offers, or sponsorships.

(Don’t forget this amount will also grow right alongside your list.)

Now, there’s a few moving parts to making this model work…

But the first one is recommendations.

For instance:

My paid ads campaign is currently adding new subscribers to my list for ~$1.75 each.

The first thing they see after they subscribe is my Beehiiv Boosts recommendation widget.

Here, I recommend 3-4 other newsletters I approve of…

And these publishers pay me for every engaged subscriber I send them.

Right now, this is netting me $0.75 per subscriber.

Which brings my true cost-per-lead (CPL) down to just $1.00.

That’s why recommendations are the first step to starting a cash-flowing newsletter.

From there, all I have to do is generate another $1.00 per subscriber on the front-end…

Then my expenses are covered.

I can start scaling my ads…

And keep everything I sell on the backend for myself.

I’ll be talking more about exactly how I’m doing this in future editions…

But I’m curious to know if this concept of a cash-flowing newsletter resonates with you.

Hit reply and LMK :)

Jim Hamilton