Dan Oshinsky, founder of Inbox Collective, is one of the foremost experts on building, growing and monetizing newsletters. Oshinsky discusses how email newsletters remain a powerful tool for local newsrooms to build an audience and generate revenue, best practices for creating successful newsletters, and the benefits of AI-powered tools for writers. Oshinsky provides examples of successful newsletters and offers advice on how local newsrooms can grow their audience and provide value to paying subscribers. 

Episode chapters:

(02:11) - Why should people care about newsletters in 2023? 

(07:48) - Accidentally becoming an email power user and newsletter expert

(12:40) - Translating lessons from large national brands to smaller local publications

(14:55) - Local newsroom success stories

(19:56) - Building relationships via different types of newsletters

(24:38) - What is the jobs-to-be-done for your newsletter?

(28:17) - Optimizing your newsletters

(33:13) - Pricing newsletter ads

(37:54) - Paid and subscriber-only newsletters

(43:37) - AI in the newsletter space

(48:12) - Rapid-fire questions

 

Links

• Dan Oshinsky: web, LinkedIn, Twitter 

• Inbox Collective: web, LinkedIn, Twitter

• Not a Newsletter

 

• Mentioned:

• The Information

• Buzzfeed

• The New Yorker

• Tools for Reporters

• New York Times

• Politico Playbook

• theSkimm

• Quartz

• Searchlight New Mexico

• NewsMatch

• WBUR

• Boulder Reporting Lab

• Colorado Sun

• Punchbowl News

• Clayton Christensen’s Jobs to Be Done framework

• Jax Today

• Rough Draft Atlanta

• Naptown Scoop

• The Post and Courier

• Puck

• Summari

 

• Recommendations

• The Town podcast

• Amusing Ourselves to Death

• Growth Croissant newsletter

• Local News Matters: web, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn

• Colorado Press Association: web, Twitter, Facebook

• Tim Regan-Porter: bio, Twitter