If you scroll through your email inbox, there’s a good chance you’re subscribed to some kind of newsletter. And while plenty of those subscriptions may be for companies and brands, there’s recently been a surge in the popularity of individual newsletters. Substack, a platform dedicated to free and paid email newsletters, received over 24.57 million visits in September 2021. Journalists flocked to the site in 2020, leaving newsrooms to become their own bosses.

And that’s the great thing about creating your very own newsletter – the autonomy it provides. A newsletter can become an unfiltered channel for all of your ideas, personal and professional updates, and any other musings you may want to share with the world. This flexibility makes it a great medium for individuals in all fields, not just journalists and writers. If you’re interested in building community and establishing yourself as an expert on a certain topic, an individual newsletter may be perfect for you.

Writing a regular newsletter is a great way to network with like-minded people while also connecting with a new audience. As you share your perspective, you can even become a thought leader and build up your personal brand and credibility with readers. In fact, if your audience feels like they’re benefiting from your words enough, there’s a chance they’ll be willing to pay for your newsletter. In this way, a newsletter can even become your very own business, something you’ll see in the below examples.

5 successful newsletters from people we admire

There’s no right or wrong way when it comes to setting up an email newsletter. These examples of newsletters from five very different people prove that anyone can create a thriving newsletter as long as they are passionate about a certain topic.

A commentary on all things pop culture with Hunter Harris

Hunter Harris — a former entertainment writer at Vulture — quickly became popular through her witty recaps (aka “Power Rankings”) of the Roy family from HBO’s Succession. Along with her journalism work, Hunter amassed a huge Twitter following by sharing her sharp commentary on the latest TV and film news and celebrity gossip. Rather than stay as a Staff Writer at Vulture, Hunter decided to create her own Substack in late 2020.

hiiiii some personal news ✨✨✨✨

a couple weeks ago i left vulture/nymag to build a newsletter at @SubstackInc. im so excited to introduce you to my new job, Hung Up 💗https://t.co/ZZULTu6eZz

— hunter harris (@hunteryharris) November 24, 2020

She wasn’t the only journalist to do so. Culture reporter Anne Helen Peterson made a similar move when she left Buzzfeed to turn her semi-regular Sunday newsletter, Culture Study, into her full-time job. Both Harris and Petersen have shared how the move to Substack provided them with greater freedom to write what’s most important to them.

“I was really nervous about starting it!” Hunter said. “ … But once I started …read more

Source:: Buffer Blog