Who's building the next media empire? Local newsletters

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Hey folks, today we’re taking a look at local newsletters, a surprising bright spot in a declining media environment. Local news might be in crisis, but a new kind of media presence is emerging. Across the U.S. and Canada, local newsletters are popping up in hundreds of communities, often run by just one or two people. These scrappy outlets are filling the local news gap by focusing on events, hyper-local storytelling, and community building. And some are generating revenue well into the six figures—or more.

Let’s dive in.

—Phat X. Chiem, Editor

🗞️ The Lede: Who’s building the next media empire? Local newsletters

Local news is endangered in America.

It’s also the foundation for a surprising new business model: the local newsletter.

Often run by one or two operators, these outlets can be found in hundreds of communities around the country. Just to name a few: Salem, OR. Wichita, KS. Leander, TX. DC suburbs. Ocean City, NJ. Albany, NY.

Michael Kauffman, who runs a Discord community for local newsletter operators called The Newsletter Club, says he’s got 165 members (with more on the waiting list). Kauffman runs his own successful local newsletter, Catskill Crew, covering the Catskills area of upstate New York.

Most of these newsletters have not been started by professional journalists. And they’re leaning into event coverage and lifestyle stories, not necessarily covering hard news like politics, crime or corruption.

Still, they’re filling a much-needed gap in local news. And many are turning their publications into real businesses. 

Started as a one-man operation, The Charlotte Ledger (a Substack publication) now has more than 3,800 paying subscribers who pony up between $10.75 and $12 per month. That suggests monthly revenue of at least $41,000 and probably a lot more when you add in advertising and sponsorship dollars.

Kauffman says he’s making a “healthy six figures” in profit with 33,000 subscribers to Catskills Crew. Jas Singh’s Winnipeg Digest is also pulling in well into the six figures with 33K subscribers and 60K highly engaged followers on his Instagram.

Naptown Scoop, Ryan Sneddon’s local newsletter for Annapolis, MD, brings in more than $200,000 a year in advertising revenue—and recently crossed $1 million in total ad sales. Sneddon deserves much credit for being one of the first to popularize the local newsletter model, through his X account, Life of Scoop newsletter, and on numerous podcast interviews.

With 1.4 million subscribers across 31 cities, 6AM City is probably the most successful local newsletter business operating right now. The company projected $9 million in revenue in 2023, according to this Axios article. 6AM is different from these other local newsletters in that they have capital to hire full-time reporters and support staff.

If you’re interested in starting your own local newsletter, here are some key takeaways to know:

You’ll be tapping into a hungry readership: After starting my own weekly publication for Albany’s Capital Region (The 518), I’m convinced that every community needs a good local newsletter, even in towns where there’s still a daily newspaper. Legacy media doesn’t really understand this new model of newsletters. You can take advantage of that gap and build a real relationship with your readers.

Be prepared to spend money on paid ads: It’s very difficult to establish a local newsletter organically. Almost every local publication has relied on Meta (Facebook) advertising to grow their audience, at least initially. 

The good news is that the cost of acquisition is much, much lower compared to other newsletter businesses—as low as $0.20-0.25 per subscriber vs. $1-$3 for most other newsletters. A $1,000 a month is a decent spend to start with.

You’ll need to beat the bushes: The success of your local newsletter will depend a lot on the strength of your personal relationships with people in your community. Yes, you’ll get some inbound interest. But the bulk of your advertising dollars will come from doing the hard work of networking, reaching out to potential advertisers, and making those calls. Outbound sales is one of the biggest challenges to running a local newsletter.

Advertising isn’t your only income stream: Besides advertising, many of these local newsletters are generating revenue through events (hosting their own or partnering with local bars, restaurants and festivals); sponsorships, paid subscriptions, revenue sharing, and even merchandise.

Kauffman has seen a lot of success creating and selling a local version of Monopoly called Catskill-opoly for $60 each. He recently launched a Catskill Puzzle ($30).

The newsletter is only the beginning: Some of these local newsletter operators like Kauffman and Sneddon are thinking way beyond a single newsletter and building local holding companies. For example, Sneddon started a portable toilet rental business. Once you build a dedicated audience and a brand, there are so many ways to leverage that visibility.

At The 518, we’re eager to start producing our own events like music and food festivals; running local food tours; and possibly opening up our own cafe.

More to explore: To learn more about local newsletters, follow these X accounts:

• Ryan Sneddon

• Michael Kauffman

• Jas Singh

• Jacob Espinoza

• TJ Larkin (also check out his Local Newsletter Insider)

🚀 What’s new in newsletters

📈 Record traffic for Substack: The first time ever, more people are going to Substack than CBS News or The Wall Street Journal. In June, Substack saw record traffic (73.9 million monthly visits), allowing it to jump ahead of these media giants. The trend reflects how readers are increasingly gravitating away from general news outlets and toward creator-first publications. [Sherwood News]

🐝 Beehiiv launches new recommendation feature: The email platform has launched a new feature called “Top 4” that allows creators to highlight their favorite newsletters. Beehiiv is positioning it as a way to get free subscribers—”newsletters that recommend others are 32x more likely to be recommended back.” This feedback loop will serve to amp up Beehiiv’s network effect. [Beehiiv]

Get started on Beehiiv with this 30-day trial and also get 20% off your next 3 months.

🛍️ Welcome to the brand newsletter era: Brands are making the jump to newsletter platforms like Stubstack. Why? Because that’s where the conversations are happening. In recent months, Billboard, The RealReal, Rare Beauty and American Eagle have all started Substack publications. There’s both promise and peril waiting for them. [Marketing Brew]

👟 Along the same lines, Nike quietly launched “In The Margins,” a Substack publication that celebrates new sports writing but doesn’t mention Nike at all. Join our discussion of this story on LinkedIn.

📈 Growth tips & tricks

🚀 How I grew this newsletter from 0 to 18K in one year [Marketing Ideas]

📈 The 4 newsletter growth quadrants you should know [Inbox Collective]

🤦‍♂️ 12 of the most common newsletter mistakes and how to fix them [Growth in Reverse]

💰️ The top-performing newsletters for advertisers in 2025 [Paved]

💼 The most underrated B2B channel? Your newsletter [MarTech]

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]

🧠 Send us your story ideas!

What would you like to see covered in the world of newsletters? Just reply to this email to get in touch!