How Kelly Vaughn Built a $18K Newsletter Empire With The Modern Leader

Anyone can have a “leader” title, but only a few have truly mastered the art of being effective and great.

Whether you’re in tech or real estate, being heard and having influence is essential for you to grow within your company or grow in your career.

So, how do we get there?

With experience, for starters, but what if I told you there’s another way you can learn the art of influence?

In this case study, we’ll meet the maker behind providing actionable insights to help you build influence.

The great part of it all, you can do it in 5 minutes or less!

Let’s begin.

A Director's Origin Story

Let’s travel back in time, 20-something years ago. What started as a job in web development eventually morphed into full stack engineering.

Enter the lead of our story, Kelly Vaughn.

“I’ve been in engineering leadership for most of my career,” reminisced Kelly during our call.

She continued, “I took a very roundabout way to get to where I am today. I went straight from grad school to running my own company. I never really worked for somebody else. Therefore, I always had people reporting to me as I continued to grow teams.”

Today, Kelly Vaughn is the Director of Engineering at Spot AI.

She has also carved out a unique niche in the newsletter realm with her creation, The Modern Leader.

Kelly took an unconventional route to content creation, intentionally avoiding traditional formats like blogs and videos.

Instead, she launched Lessons in Engineering Leadership, which evolved into her current newsletter. Through The Modern Leader, Kelly is inspiring others in the field with her innovative approach to leadership.

Zero to 300: The Power of Pre-Built Audiences

Unlike many newsletter creators, Kelly had a significant advantage from the start.

"I will say I had it easy. I have a large following on social media that I was able to leverage to get from zero subscribers to probably my first 300 subscribers within 48 hours," she shares.

However, she's quick to acknowledge this isn't typical, "I can't say that it's something that everyone can repeat unless you've spent time building that audience."

Kelly's foray into newsletters began about two years ago when she decided to share her decade-long experience in engineering leadership.

Initially dubbed Lessons in Engineering Leadership, the newsletter was born out of a desire to avoid the pitfalls of blogging and video content creation.

"I knew I had a lot to share over 10 years of experience," she explains.

However, the initial structure felt too rigid, stifling her creativity.

"I realized I was trying to be too structured. I always had to teach something new," she admits.

This realization led Kelly to rebrand and relaunch her newsletter as The Modern Leader, broadening its scope to include all tech leaders and making it "really, really easy to read and really, really easy for me to write."

Breaking Free From Confining Walls

Initially starting on Substack, Kelly soon realized she needed more control and functionality.

"I want to own my audience. I want to break down that walled garden and be able to do things by connecting with other newsletter creators and leveraging an API," she explains.

This led her to migrate to beehiiv, where she's seen impressive growth—adding about 1,500 subscribers in just four months.

“beehiiv is such an easy-to-use newsletter platform that easily allows me to connect with my subscribers, find sponsorships for my newsletter, and connect with other newsletters, as well,” commented Kelly.

“I like how easy it is to be able to style the newsletter in the first place. Creating these very easy templates. The new editor makes it easier for me to not forget a setting,” added Kelly.

Thinking back some more, Kelly believes what truly sets beehiiv apart is the community.

“I’m part of the beehiiv Slack community. I’ve been able to connect with others and get some good ideas on monetization and promotion.”

A Multi-Tiered Revenue Approach

Kelly has developed a savvy monetization strategy that goes beyond traditional newsletter subscriptions, generating substantial revenue through multiple streams.

Her income sources include:

• Newsletter Advertisements and Sponsorships

• Premium Subscriptions (monthly and annual)

• Management Fundamentals Course

• One-on-One Coaching Services

From her newsletter alone, Kelly brings in approximately $3,000 annually.

Additionally, her course has generated around $15,000 from two sessions, showcasing the direct impact of her newsletter in attracting and engaging her audience.

By offering a range of services, she effectively anchors her premium subscribership, encouraging subscribers to invest in more expensive options like her course or coaching sessions.

This strategic approach not only elevates her newsletter from a passion project to a profitable venture but also highlights the strength of her overall business model.

Work Smarter, Not Harder

One of Kelly's most impressive achievements is her content production efficiency.

"I can turn out a month's worth of content, including a premium newsletter for four or five weekly newsletters depending on how many weeks for the month, in about two hours," she reveals.

Kelly is all for leveraging ChatGPT or Claude.AI to help brainstorm ideas to help you keep your cadence with your newsletter.

“I don’t recommend letting ChatGPT write your newsletter for you, but you can absolutely get great ideas and outlines on the content.”

Kelly's Newsletter Survival Guide

For aspiring newsletter creators, Kelly emphasizes the importance of patience and authenticity:

"Don't try to take on too much at once. Cadence is really, really important for growth. You start out going too hot; you're running a marathon. If you start way faster than you're supposed to, you're gonna burn out."

She also advocates for strategic planning while maintaining flexibility: "Try different formats of newsletters, try different cadences of newsletters. Give yourself the grace and space to play. Don't treat it like a job."

For those considering starting their own newsletters, Kelly offers sage advice: "Bring your own personal voice to the work that you do."

She emphasizes the importance of finding a sustainable cadence and leveraging community feedback for content ideas.

"Newsletters are supposed to be fun," she insists, cautioning against treating them solely as money-making ventures.

As she continues to grow The Modern Leader, one thing is clear: Kelly's journey is just beginning.

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.

The Road Ahead

Looking toward 2025, Kelly has ambitious yet achievable goals for her newsletter.

Currently, she has around 5,600 subscribers, and she aims to double that number to 10,000 while expanding her premium offerings.

Kelly is focusing on growing both her free subscriber base and the quality of her content, emphasizing the creation of valuable tools, scripts, and templates that simplify management tasks for her audience.

Her journey highlights that with the right platform, strategy, and mindset, a newsletter can evolve into a significant content channel and a launching pad for multiple revenue streams and opportunities.

Conclusion

This beehiiv success story serves as both inspiration and a practical roadmap for aspiring newsletter creators in the technical leadership space.

With a lot of patience and a bit of planning, you can achieve your newsletter brand, too!

Ready to build your newsletter empire?

Start with beehiiv today and get access to:

• Powerful API integration capabilities

• Easy-to-use newsletter templates and editing tools

• A supportive creator community

• Built-in monetization features

• Complete ownership of your audience

Sign up now and turn your expertise into a thriving newsletter business.