How Angad Singi Reinvented His Newsletter Business and Made $80,000

Get ready for one of my favorite case studies!

This is an inspiring story about a newsletter creator who didn't give up when one of their newsletter products didn't grow as expected.

Instead, they turned it into a new opportunity and created a successful newsletter that is now generating revenue.

So, who is this creative genius?

Angad Singi.

Despite the initial challenges and setbacks, Angad's journey as a newsletter creator is a testament to resilience and determination.

This case study explores Angad's journey of building two newsletters, getting one acquired, and leveraging his newsletter audience to launch a SaaS tool with a waitlist of 3,000 eager users.

Table of Contents

• Who is Angad, and What is Product Monk and Marketing Monk?

• How They Got Their First 1,000 Subscribers

• Why beehiiv?

• How Angad Singi Monetized His Newsletters with beehiiv

• Favorite Features of beehiiv

• Product Monk Acquisition

• Why Trust Me

• Advice for Someone Starting a Newsletter

• New SaaS Product

• Key Takeaways

• Conclusion

Introducing Angad Singi and the Vision Behind Product Monk and Marketing Monk

Meet Angad Singi, a digital entrepreneur who has made waves in the world of newsletters.

Co-founder of Moonshot Media, Angad is the creative mind behind Product Monk and Marketing Monk.

His first newsletter, Product Monk, did not achieve the scale he had envisioned. However, this did not deter him.

Product Monk is all about the latest and greatest in the product world. It's like a playground for product geeks who want to stay ahead of the curve.

The genesis of Product Monk started when Angad was working as a Senior Product Manager. The high-level goal was to reach 10,000 subscribers, but Singi also used the newsletter to source new gigs or jobs. He would post about it in his newsletter, and that would open the doors for new opportunities.

Product Monk is truly a learning experience for Singi.

He said, “The content and design [of Product Monk] was bad. We pivoted a lot. We knew nothing when we started Product Monk. It was like a normal blank slate. We started learning everything from that.”

At 32,000 subscribers, Product Monk has been acquired, which is a new chapter for Angad.

Angad used the experience of Product Monk as a stepping stone, channeling his learnings and passion into creating a second newsletter.

Marketing Monk is your go-to guide for marketing tips, tricks, and strategies. It'll help you level up your marketing game and stand out from the crowd.

The creation of Marketing Monk was well received and had a different kind of beginning than Product Monk.

Singi added, “Marketing Monk took off very easily and very fast.”

Marketing Monk has grown to 50,000 subscribers.

Marketing Monk continues to flourish, demonstrating Angad's successful pivot and strategic insight in the competitive world of newsletters.

The Journey to the First 1,000 Subscribers

The first 1,000 subscribers came from friends and family, and relentless posting in social communities and groups often led to getting banned from those communities.

Despite these setbacks, Angad continued to pivot and refine his content to find the right market fit.

This persistence paid off as the newsletter started to gain traction and grow organically through platforms like Reddit, Quora, and social media.

“After 5,000 subscribers, we had the confidence that people are liking our content,” mentioned Singi.

“We started experimenting with paid marketing. That’s where we found our real growth leverage. Once we started using it, we grew very fast. When we got to 10,000 or 12,000 subscribers, then I think we started doing referrals.”

The Advantages of Choosing beehiiv

Angad chose beehiiv as his email service provider (ESP) after experimenting with several others.

When we asked Angad what he loved about beehiiv, he had quite a lot of great things to say.

For starters, what stood out for him was beehiiv's rapid development and responsive support team.

“In the first 40 or 50 email threads with Tyler, I gave him feedback on what did not work and where something was broken. Preeya, one of the PMs, was also on the chat. I also talked to Brio, so I was giving lots of feedback,” Angad reminisced.

He was also impressed by the platform's built-in monetization features and ease of use, which allowed him to focus more on content creation and less on technicalities.

“On the product side, [beehiiv] it was very clean. When I launched, it already had monetization. Some pieces were in place or coming, so I knew if I’m using this platform, I can monetize very easily, or at least they help me monetize a bit.”

Also, beehiiv's growth tools, such as the feature to showcase other publications from the same account, played a crucial role in the seamless transition of subscribers from Product Monk to Marketing Monk.

“Marketing Monk would have never kicked off if that was not for the same owner recommendation feature. These small features are very, very important, and they helped me grow fast,” added Angad.

How Angad Singi Monetized His Newsletters with beehiiv

Monetization was a significant factor in Angad's decision to stick with beehiiv.

The platform's Ad Network and Boosts features allowed him to generate revenue without needing a dedicated sales team.

“I’m using the Ad Network and Boost feature extensively.”

He added, “One more reason why we sold Product Monk was because Marketing Monk was getting a lot of ads from the beehiiv ad network, where Product Monk was not getting any. Marketing Monk was paying for itself through the ad network without me doing anything.”

“Product Monk was created about a year ago, and Marketing Monk about two months after Product Monk started. Through these two newsletters, I’ve made $80,000.”

Top Features of beehiiv

Angad's favorite features of beehiiv include the following:

• Ad Network: Enabled seamless monetization through relevant ads. Angad researched lots of different platforms and commented, “No one has it in one tool.” This is what makes beehiiv stand out.

• Boosts: Helped increase revenue from day one. Being able to recommend other newsletters or allow other newsletters to recommend yours was beneficial for Singi.

• Subscriber Reports and Segments: Provided valuable insights and allowed for targeted content delivery. Singi said, “I love the subscriber reports and the segments that trigger in the automation. We track almost 10 to 15 segments every day.”

• Automation: Simplified the management of multiple newsletters and subscriber interactions. “We have eight automations running at every given point of time.”

Strategic Acquisition of Product Monk

Product Monk was in a stable state when Angad decided to take the next steps.

“We had 32,000 subscribers at the time.”

Angad mentioned there were multiple reasons for the acquisition, mainly investment in different projects and needing cash. Angad went through a few strategic reviews of his ventures, but Product Monk didn’t make it to the top three.

“With Product Monk, I didn’t have any monetization ideas. I did not know how I would monetize it in the future,” reminisced Angad about his next decisions.

He continued, “I listed Product Monk on a few platforms. I had it listed for two or three months. I did not get any leads.”

Then, on May 29th, Product Monk was listed on Acquire.com, and in 20 days, Singi received an offer, and the money was in his account.

We asked André Borczuk, the acquirer of Product Monk about the acquisition process, and here’s more about it in his own words:

The acquisition process was relatively straightforward. We worked with Lisa in support to close off new ads and boosts so the wallet could be transferred which took about a week. Everything else was done within a few hours. I was able to get up and running/scale within 2 weeks, including getting my writer on a different contracting software, moving the ads account, and a lot of other non-beehiiv needed for general business infrastructure. 

beehiiv definitely made it easy to do overall, and I wouldn’t have felt as comfortable buying it if it was on another, less creator-centric platform. beehiiv has been great! The editor is easy to use, the data is also straightforward and helpful, and the team behind it is very results-oriented. The support team has also been very valuable and showed that they cared about my newsletter as a business, not just as a newsletter by itself. 

Why Trust Me

Linda Hwang has extensive experience in B2B marketing and previously worked at a renowned international facilities management company. There, she played a crucial role in creating effective content and social media marketing plans. Now, Linda is a marketing consultant who helps small businesses create compelling brand stories.

Essential Advice for Aspiring Newsletter Creators

“If they were starting a newsletter, I would say don’t go for [any other platform]. That’s plain and simple. beehiiv,” exclaimed Angad.

Angad's journey offers several key pieces of advice for aspiring newsletter creators:

• Find Content-Market Fit: Experiment with different types of content until you find what resonates with your audience.

• Leverage Communities: Use social platforms and communities to gain initial traction, but be prepared for setbacks.

• Choose the Right ESP: Select a platform that offers robust monetization and growth tools, like beehiiv.

• Monetize Early: Even a small product or service can help sustain and grow your newsletter.

• Consistency is Key: Regular, high-quality content builds trust and engagement with your audience.

Launching a New SaaS Product

Angad was super pumped to talk about his new SaaS product.

With products, the goal is always to solve a well-known problem. Singi said he wasn’t an ad person and usually hires someone to handle the ads. The problem he realized is in six months, the person could change.

Once that happens, the person walks away with all the learnings.

Singi said his product “Will be a chatbot that sits on top of the ad account. The product will take insights from your Meta ad account, LinkedIn, and even Google. Like your charity pit for your personal ad account.”

Angad said the product will be launched next week, and currently, he has 3,000 subscribers on the waitlist for the product.

Once the product is complete, Angad mentioned allowing 400 or 500 people on the waitlist to test the product. Once it rolls out, he will use his Marketing Monk to distribute it.

“Newsletters are very high-quality distribution channels that you can use to sell anything you want.”

Key Takeaways

• Persistence Pays Off: Angad's journey with Product Monk shows that persistence and adaptability are crucial.

• Strategic Pivots: Knowing when to pivot, as Angad did with Marketing Monk, can lead to greater success.

• Monetization Matters: Early and effective monetization strategies are essential for sustainability.

• Community Engagement: Building and leveraging communities can significantly boost growth.

• Quality Distribution Channels: Newsletters can serve as high-quality distribution channels for launching other products, as evidenced by Angad's SaaS tool launch.

Final Thoughts

Despite the initial hurdles with Product Monk, Angad's unwavering commitment to his vision led to the creation of Marketing Monk. This newsletter not only found its audience but also thrived in a competitive market.

His journey underscores the importance of learning from setbacks, making informed pivots, and leveraging the right tools for growth and monetization.

By choosing beehiiv as his email service provider, Angad was able to focus on content creation while utilizing the platform's robust monetization features and growth tools to expand his reach.

If you're inspired by Angad's journey and ready to take your newsletter to the next level, consider using beehiiv.

Angad has recently started another newsletter, where he shares more about building and monetizing a newsletter.

With its user-friendly interface, built-in monetization options, and supportive community, beehiiv is designed to help creators as you succeed.

Start building your newsletter today and see where your creativity can take you!