How to make six figures with 1,300 subscribers

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Hey folks, today we’re taking a look at a one-man newsletter business on track to generate six figures of profit within a year of launching—with roughly 1,300 subs. That’s the power of a niche audience. In this case, it’s the very niche, somewhat secretive, and notoriously hard-to-crack audience of single-family offices.

Let’s dive in.

—Phat X. Chiem, Editor

🗞️ The Lede: How Modus News makes six figures with 1,300 subscribers 💪 

With roughly 1,300 subscribers to date in its first seven months, Modus News is minuscule by media standards. 

But it’s already on track to generate six figures of revenue by the end of this year. That’s enough to replace what Michael Thrasher used to earn as a senior reporter at the finance magazine Institutional Investor.

What’s the secret to his success? Creating original journalism for a small but high-value audience that thrives on mission-critical information.

Modus is a niche weekly newsletter aimed at the professionals working inside single-family offices—the small, often secretive entities that manage the fortunes of the ultra-wealthy. 

Deloitte estimates that there are just 3,180 single-family offices in North America. Globally, that number barely rises above 8,000. What they lack in size, however, they make up with influence. 

Single-family offices managed $5.5 trillion in assets in 2024, according to Deloitte. That number is expected to grow another 26% to $6.9 trillion by 2025, and by 73% to $9.5 trillion by 2030.

This concentration of wealth in the hands of a tiny clique of decision makers means Modus doesn’t need to reach tens of thousands of subscribers to be successful.

“This group is practically invisible. No websites, no press. But if you can earn their attention, you’ve got something really valuable,” Thrasher says.

Modus is filling an unmet need. There’s practically no one that is writing journalism just for family offices on a regular basis. And the people running these offices are looking for trustworthy, well-researched insights tailored to their unique needs and challenges. 

“We’re talking five to ten employees responsible for everything from investing to internal governance,” Thrasher says. “It’s a ton of complexity concentrated in a small team. That’s who I write for.”

Modus delivers news they can use weekly. Advertisers have taken notice. Thrasher has managed to line up sponsors for each issue, usually exclusive deals that give a single brand premium placement. His ad partners are typically software companies or service providers eager to get in front of a notoriously hard-to-reach audience. 

Thrasher writes all the content himself and runs the newsletter on Ghost, a lightweight publishing platform. “The growth has been totally organic,” he says.

He doesn’t run paid ads or email campaigns. His best marketing channel is LinkedIn, where he posts a couple of times a week to his nearly 15,000 followers. He does meet a lot of sources face-to-face. 

“I’ve had more coffees and off-the-record lunches in the past six months than I ever did at the magazine,” he says. “You can’t automate trust in this space. It’s all relationship driven.”

It’s working. These relationships have been the foundation for a thriving newsletter business, all on the back of an audience that’s smaller than the crowd at many a high school football game.

The big takeaway: Optimize for the value of your audience, not the size of your subscriber list. The harder they are to reach, the more valuable they will be to potential advertisers and other stakeholders. 

“There’s no industry journal for family offices,” Thrasher says. “So I built one. And it turns out, there’s real demand—for the journalism and for access to the readers.”

🚀 What’s new in newsletters

💰️ Substack quietly raising $50M-$100M: According to Eric Newcomer, Substack is looking to raise a new round of funding, and it’s giving us some insight into the company’s economics. Sources tell Newcomer that Substack is currently generating $45 million in recurring revenue, with roughly $450 million going to creators. The founders are looking to raise between $50 million and $100 million at a valuation above its previous $700 million. [Newcomer]

✍️ Understanding creator journalism: Liz Kelly Nelson, founder of Project C, talks about how creator-led journalism is becoming more relevant as readers turn away from establishment media. Formerly with The Washington Post and USA Today, Nelson says “this is one area of the media industry where there is unquestioned growth and promise.” [International Journalists Network]

🪐 Welcome to the new Substack universe: Charlotte Klein, media columnist at New York Magazine, takes a look at the evolution of the publishing platform. “This is Substack’s moment, it seems. Thanks to a combination of forces… Substack has escaped its humble newsletter beginnings to become a juggernaut collective of independent voices.” [Intelligencer]

📈 Growth tips & tricks

🚀 How Substack’s video bet could be a growth hack for small creators [Digiday]

📈 How one newsletter tripled paid subs with retargeting emails [MarTech]

✍️ How to go viral with Substack’s Notes feature [Escape the Cubicle]

💰️ Why this 4.5 million-sub newsletter prefers the CPM pricing model [Digiday]

🥇 The top 15 creator economy newsletters [Letterpal]

A word from our partner

Why every B2B brand should have a great newsletter

Newsletters are one of the most direct, cost-effective, and high-leverage tools for building trust, nurturing leads, and driving long-term revenue.

B2B decision-makers don’t impulse-buy. They research, compare, and consider a lot of options. A well-produced newsletter gives them valuable insights, builds credibility, and keeps your brand top of mind. Regular, relevant emails keep prospects engaged and moving down the funnel until they’re ready to act.

Newsletters also create a human voice for your brand. They show you understand your customer’s world, building long-term loyalty in the process.

💪 Tools & resources you should know

[Content may contain affiliate links to support our publication]

Get a 30-day trial + 20% off for 3 months on Beehiiv [link]

Create beautiful on-brand forms with Typeform [link]

Send up to 12,000 emails for free with MailerLite [link]

Get a free trial of Kit, the creator-first email platform [link]

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