From $0 to $75M: How the Morning Brew Email Newsletter Got Monetized

Almost everyone writing an email newsletter aims to eventually "get it monetized." And technically, monetizing a newsletter isn’t terribly complicated; the problem is that only some people know how to do it successfully. This article will teach you how Morning Brew makes money (more than $70 Million this last year) and how you can follow in their digital footsteps to make money too.

Why Morning Brew as an Example?

Of all the successful email newsletters, we picked Morning Brew because of its background. The internet is full of self-proclaimed "experts'' who are little more than scammers. There are also legit businesses that could be great examples–but seasoned entrepreneurs and experts created them with contacts and capital to take the fast way to success. We choose Morning Brew because:

• Morning Brew started as a simple email newsletter about business news. They didn't catch any economic bubble or target a unique and exclusive niche.

• Morning Brew was created by two friends who were in college. Keep this in mind; they weren't experts in their field when they started.

• They had no contacts in the business world; therefore, they didn't have access to any shortcut or beeline.

• His first email was a pdf to his friends.

Morning Brew Acquisition Breakdown

Morning Brew is a prime example of how far innovative ideas and strategic funding can take an email newsletter to an online business. Morning Brew started out as a small newsletter that quickly gained traction with its witty commentary on the latest news stories.

The newsletter quickly gained popularity, with their peers forwarding it to friends, who then delivered it to more friends. Soon they had enough subscribers to make the newsletter sustainable by selling ads and sponsorships. (If you need help getting sponsors, here is an excellent guide to Securing a Sponsor for Your Email Newsletter.)

After gaining enough subscribers to make it sustainable, they were able to secure $6 million in venture capital funding from some of Silicon Valley's most prominent investors. By 2017, they had hit the impressive milestone of 100,000 subscribers. Their growth only accelerated from there; within a year, they had reached an astounding 1 million subscribers and were on their way to becoming one of the most popular newsletters today.

And their strategy was deceptively simple–people were looking for an easier way to stay up to date on current events and trends, and Morning Brew went above and beyond to give them exactly what they were looking for. With their clear, concise writing style and helpful summaries of the biggest news stories, it’s no wonder this service grew so quickly.

They didn’t stop after that initial success, either. Morning Brew made a huge splash in 2019 with the launch of their first B2B newsletter, Emerging Tech Brew. Soon after, they followed suit with Retail Brew, aiming to offer insights and analysis of retail news, and then went full force by creating their podcast series, Business Casual.

These expansion efforts helped them reach and engage an even larger audience that was hungry for smart business news. After years of hard work, Morning Brew finally began to see their dreams come to fruition with these bold initiatives that not only strengthened the brand, but also put them firmly on the map as one of the world's top independent business media companies.

In October 2020, Morning Brew proudly announced that it had acquired Insider, Inc. as a major shareholder, with the company being valued at a staggering $75 million.

Since then, Morning Brew has grown into one of the world's largest digital media companies, with over 6 million daily readers and more than 30 employees spread across three countries. They have also launched several successful products, such as their popular podcast series "Brew Talks" and their subscription-based education platform, "The Business Academy."

What makes Morning Brew so unique is that, despite its impressive growth rate and overwhelming success, they remain true to its mission: delivering quality content for free while providing value through new products for those who are willing to invest. But how did they go from a small newsletter to a multi-million dollar media powerhouse? How did Morning Brew start to make money, and more importantly, how can you do so as well?

Replicating Their Business Model (Next Steps)

Step One: Start

It sounds obvious, right? However, procrastination is a great sin of our generation. Studies show that 80%–95% of college students procrastinate. About 75% consider themselves procrastinators, and about 50% say that they procrastinate in a consistent and problematic manner.

If you haven't started your newsletter, don't even consider looking for partnerships, sponsors, or any kind of monetization. If starting feels intimidating, get this–Morning Brew's first email was a simple pdf without a good logo and zero design. It doesn’t need to be perfect; just start. The first step to overcoming procrastination is recognizing it. The second one is to take action. At beehiiv, we want you to kill procrastination and start your email newsletter today. Sign up now and send your first email newsletter today.

Step Two: Master Your Craft

Morning Brew and The Hustle were like the LA Lakers and Boston Celtics of business email newsletters. Austin Rief, Founder & CEO of Morning Brew, says: "it is always good for a business to have a kind of an enemy." Austin and Alex wanted to crush the competition and overpass them.

There was a time when Alex was printing a copy of Morning Brew and The Hustler every morning for over nine months. Then, they sat down together to analyze line by line to find out who had the better copy, who was more appealing to their niche, and who brought the better stories. More importantly, they planned how to beat the competition in the following email newsletter.

By studying the competition, the industry, and even yourself, you will become a master of your business and your craft. beehiiv was launched after Tyler Denk, one of its founders, studied and worked in the newsletter industry. In the media arena, Tyler learned what was missing in the newsletter industry and how to provide solutions for creators and business owners to grow, scale, and monetize an audience.

Getting readers, getting sponsors, and making money from your email newsletter is not a magic pill. It is a constant process that requires effort. Studying the industry and the competition is one critical element that separates email newsletters that make money from those that don't.

Step Three: Use Analytics

Understanding and using analytics is your GPS to making money with your email newsletter. No matter how fast you go, if you aren't going in the right direction, you never will get to your destination. One of the beehiiv's tools that Austin and Alex love the most is 3D analytics. It is the perfect GPS to help your email newsletter reach growth, monetization, and success.

When you understand exactly who your readers are, where they came from, what they're interested in, and how they engage with your content, you are on the right path to making money with your email newsletter.

If you are new to analytics and want to know what you should be looking at, we created an article to know which newsletter metrics you need to be tracking.

"Don't tell me, show me," is one of the investors' phrases you will hear a lot. One of the best ways to convince investors and sponsors that you know what you are doing with your business is by showing them the data. They want to see real numbers; they want to see growth and projections. Show them, don't tell them.

Step Four: Be Consistent

"I've never been as hyper-focused as I was in 2018. I woke up every day to write the best newsletter, grow the best newsletter, and sell it. At 11 am each day, we sat and checked our open rate and did that for more than two years," recalls Austin.

You can have the best tools available at your disposal, but if you aren't constant in your work, you will never reach greatness and make money out of it.

"The foundation of growth is consistency," says Stephen R.M. Covey in his book The Speed of Trust. As people, businesses need habits and routines that keep them on the right track. It can take an average of 66 days for a new behavior to become entrenched. Commit to work for at least 66 days in your email newsletter. As Covey continues, "lack of consistency is why 96 percent of people [and businesses] fail to reach their goals."

Making Money with Your Email Newsletter

Morning Brew didn't become what they are in a day. They didn't reach 1,000,000 subscribers in the first year. They didn't make money the first month. But because they started with an email, studied their industry, used analytics, and were consistent, they became what they are now: an email newsletter business valued at $75 million.

Don't let another year pass by watching others making money with their email newsletter. It is time to take action. Create your newsletter, share it with the world, learn how to scale it, and monetize it.

We’ll be right here with you every step of the way.