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How To Build a Million-Subscriber Community With The Pour Over
The Strategy Behind Building a Successful Faith-Based News Newsletter
Kanishka & Linda Hwang
December 4th, 2024
With multiple news outlets, clickbait headlines, and algorithm-driven content, finding news sources to trust can be challenging.
Sound familiar?
Enter The Pour Over newsletter.
The Pour Over cancels the noise of the daily news cycle and focuses on what truly matters, just like the careful, intentional process of brewing your morning pour-over coffee.
The newsletter provides readers with:
A curated selection of the most significant news stories, distilled to their essence
A Biblical perspective that helps readers process world events through a faith-informed lens
Cultural insights that go beyond surface-level headlines
A calm, measured approach to news that won't spike anxiety or blood pressure
In this case study, we’ll learn about the origins of The Pour Over newsletter and the team behind this Christian-first news source concept.
Table of Contents
A Humble Beginning With a Side of McDonald's
The Pour Over's origin story is as unique as its mission.
Founded by Jason Woodruff in April 2018, the newsletter emerged from his eye-opening self-experiment with news consumption.
After spending a month consuming only Fox News, followed by a month of CNN, Woodruff was struck by the stark contrast in how the same events were portrayed and how this influenced his worldview. This revelation inspired him to create a politically neutral news source aimed at Christians.
Initially, Woodruff sent informal news summaries to friends and family, but the idea quickly evolved into a full-fledged newsletter dedicated to delivering balanced news.
Nate Wells, Head of Business for The Pour Over, explains their vision: "We hope that Christians have a spiritually healthy relationship with the news. We want them to be informed about what's going on in the world but not overwhelmed – always pointed back to their eternal hope in Christ."
2020: The Year of Explosive Growth
The Pour Over emerged as a beacon of balanced news coverage, particularly for faith communities seeking clarity amidst chaos.
The year 2020 proved transformative for the newsletter, catalyzing a surge in both relevance and readership.
Three pivotal events fueled this explosive growth:
The COVID-19 Pandemic: As the world grappled with the far-reaching impacts of the pandemic, The Pour Over provided crucial insights and updates, fulfilling a growing demand for reliable information.
George Floyd's Death and Protests: The national outcry following Floyd's death galvanized conversations around justice and equity, prompting many to seek a grounding perspective that resonated with their values.
The Contentious 2020 Presidential Election: Amid rampant political division, readers turned to The Pour Over for its commitment to neutrality, fostering informed discussions in an increasingly polarized environment.
Wells reflects on this period, noting the profound need for a news resource that remained steadfastly rooted in faith and perspective.
Brewing Success: The Pour Over by the Numbers
As of December 2024, The Pour Over is making waves in the world of news delivery. Its impressive audience base includes 930k newsletter subscribers and 133k unique podcast listeners, surpassing a combined 1 million across both platforms and they are projected to reach 1.7 million subscribers by year-end
With projections to reach 1.7 million subscribers by year-end, The Pour Over’s focused monetization strategy prioritizes quality, featuring premium native ad placements, a "choose to pay" supporter model, and podcast sponsorships.
The team is dedicated to enhancing its offerings and is excited to unveil several new projects designed to enrich their audience's experience, including:
News Health Checkup: A personalized assessment tool to evaluate news consumption habits
Election Collection: Neutral, fact-based political coverage to keep subscribers informed
Expanded Educational Content: Providing deeper resources to empower readers
With these initiatives, The Pour Over is poised for continued growth while maintaining its commitment to quality journalism.
Your Daily Dose of News, Brewed by The Pour Over and beehiiv
In early 2024, Nate Wells and The Pour Over team set out to find the ideal email service provider after navigating multiple options and facing deliverability challenges.
With nearly 600,000 subscribers [at the time] and a rapidly expanding operation, the team needed a platform that could grow alongside their vision while maintaining the personal touch that resonated with their audience.
The Pour Over ultimately found their perfect match in beehiiv.
The transition to beehiiv in April 2024 proved transformative for The Pour Over team, enhancing their operations in several key ways:
User-Friendly Analytics: Wells noted, "The analytics dashboard for growth is just so simple, easy to understand, and insightful," making it easier for the team to track their progress.
Subscriber Quality Tracking: Enhanced metrics enable better identification of subscriber value, with insights ranging significantly from "20 cents to thousands of dollars."
Streamlined Interface: The intuitive layout, featuring easily navigable tabs on the left side, allows the team to manage their newsletter efficiently and clearly.
Superior Support: The responsive customer support provides quick turnaround on tickets and personal attention from beehiiv founders during the migration process.
Overall, beehiiv not only met The Pour Over's needs but also empowered them to focus on their core mission of delivering quality content to their growing audience.
Another great part of beehiiv has been their customer service. Wells mentioned, “Turnaround time for support tickets, when something does go wrong, Mik, who's been great, she's super timely responding.”
Wells concluded, “The engineering team, in terms of diving into issues and helping us, has been extremely impressive in terms of customer experience from a problem-solving perspective.”
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, Hwang is a marketing consultant who helps small businesses create compelling brand stories.
The Secret Ingredient: Consistency and Community
What’s the recipe for The Pour Over’s success?
According to Wells, it lies in a combination of persistence, community engagement, and staying true to its mission.
“We’re trying to connect with the community by hosting a lot of giveaways and maintaining a friendly, personal tone,” he shares.
Wells offers the following advice for aspiring newsletter creators: “Have realistic expectations for your first two years and focus on content while providing your readers with an excellent experience.”
He emphasizes The Pour Over’s four-pillar approach:
Content (highest priority)
Partnerships
Growth
Administration
Ready To Pour Your Own Success?
The Pour Over’s journey from a passion project to a nearly million-strong community is truly inspiring. It’s driven by a clear mission, consistent quality, and the right tools for growth.
Are you ready to brew your own newsletter success story?
Take a page from their book and consider beehiiv as your email service provider.
With its newsletter-first approach, user-friendly analytics, and superior deliverability, beehiiv empowers you to focus on creating amazing content for your readers.
Don’t wait—start pouring your passion into a beehiiv newsletter today and watch your community thrive!
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