Free vs. Paid Newsletters: Which Is Right for Creators? | Nathan Barry vs. Dan Shipper

 

VOTE FOR THE WINNER HERE 👇

QuizMaker

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Today we’re talking about Newsletters and whether they should be FREE or PAID.

You might be thinking, newsletters, “what are we in 1999, are you using AOL dial-up Internet, how big is your beanie baby collection? Don’t look now I think your tamagotchi just died, better go cry to your newsletter!”

You couldn’t be more wrong!

Newsletters are back, baby! And they’re especially important unless you like risking the entire future of your business on the whims & fancies of those sadistic social media algorithms.

Anyway, even though the idea of making some extra dough with a paid newsletter sounds nice, I have some concerns and I’m pretty confused about which direction to take my newsletter which is why I asked two experts here to settle this debate, once and for all. 

Nathan Barry, is a creator, author, designer, AND the founder of ConvertKit, an email marketing provider that powers the audiences of over 500,000 creators, including my own! 

Full disclosure, ConvertKit is a sponsor of this podcast but they had absolutely no editorial control over this episode.

Dan Shipper, on the other hand, is an entrepreneur and writer focusing on AI, tools for thought, and the psychology of work. Dan is also the Co-Founder and CEO or Every, a bundle of newsletters and podcasts trusted by 60,000 curious business people. 

So by the end of this episode, you’ll know:

1. Whether there and RIGHT And WRONG times in your creator journey to consider charging for your newsletter

2. How to know what content to charge for and what to give away for free

3. Who is a better Creator Debater: Nathan or Dan?


CHAPTERS

  • 00:00 Free vs. Paid Newsletters

  • 02:52 Opening Arguments

  • 07:31 Round 1: Initial Launch

  • 11:43 Round 2: Niche & Subject Matter

  • 20:34 Round 3: Business Structure & Growth

  • 25:30 Closing Arguments

FOLLOW OUR GUEST 👇

Nathan Barry

Dan Shipper

 
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