Welcome to Bold Types, where I chat with successful newsletter creators about courage, craft, and creative living.
Today’s guest is Lex, a newsletter writer and subscription marketing expert. With over 10 years of experience leading growth projects for tech startups like Gusto, Prosper, and Burner, she helped pioneer growth design. Lex also founded the Growth Designers community, where she educates tech teams on using data to guide product decisions.
In 2019, Lex started her own growth design consultancy and, by 2021, shifted her focus to marketing for creatives. She’s now on a mission to help journalists and indie newsrooms grow their audience and income through subscription marketing.
Her new venture, Journalists Pay Themselves, does what it says on the tin! With the rapid decline of journalism jobs, she’s exploring ways to support those transitioning to independent work.
It’s written for journalists but applies to most media subscription businesses.
We chatted about growing your list and building community, Substack v Beehiiv, how much she’s earning from her newsletters, and the benefits of niching down.
Can't sit still for long. Fabulous art by @sophillustrates
I just read about Dax Shepard’s estimated $80M deal with Amazon Wondery for the ‘Armchair Expert’ interview podcast. It’s been exclusive to Spotify since 2021, so good to see it available on other platforms again.
The deal, valued at an estimated $80 million, also includes plans to develop two new podcasts, a first look deal for future podcast ideas, plans to host livestreams, and rights to develop and sell Armchair Expert merch. The company will also launch video episodes of the podcast. [Hollywood Reporter].
No mention of his co-host Monica Padman in any of the headlines (she’s not on the cover art either), so I wonder what’s going on there. I’d be peed off if I were her unless it’s deliberate and she’s planning on branching out. Read the full post.
This was originally published on The Shift newsletter. For the full experience and to join the community, subscribe here.
Since 1999, I’ve been writing online and interviewing creative folks I admire about courage and craft. I love learning from others’ journeys & experiences and want to help more ambitious solo entrepreneurs—especially women—impact the world with their personal stories. And make a shit ton of money!
Inspired by the book ‘Bold Types: how Australia’s first women journalists blazed a trail’ in the fight for gender equality, I’ve launched the Bold Types Q&A series.
Christin is editor-in-chief of The Salvation Army in the western US, where she tells stories about people making an impact for good and prompts others to action. She holds a master’s degree in specialized journalism from the University of Southern California, has taught journalism, and helps creatives simplify their content strategies on Substack.
Welcome, Christin! ✨
What problem is ‘The Content Brief’ solving?
I help creatives simplify their content. Anything we create and share is an invitation to connect, and I want people to have a plan and a workflow that is exciting to show up for.
I hold a master’s in specialized journalism, have worked for nearly two decades leading a content marketing team for an international nonprofit, and taught journalism and communications as an adjunct professor. Content is what I eat, sleep and breathe if you will.
After helping friends strategize how they could better connect with the right people online around their makeup artistry, barbershop and even psychology practice, I saw how overwhelming this world of content is to people who aren’t necessarily in it daily. I enjoy helping people break it down into something more tangible, sustainable, and real-life approved, so I’ve taken up doing so here on Substack.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, frazzled, and frustrated with how you show up online… If you want to better connect (and convert) people to your ideas and your work…
The Content Brief is for you. I’ll help you take control of your content so you can stay in your zone of genius.
What’s always on your desk?
At my full-time gig, coffee, water, a Blackwing and my Airpods. At home, I’m often typing straight into my Notes app between baseball practice or bath time.
With three boys under six, I love and live by the Julia Cameron quote:
The ‘if I had time’ lie is a convenient way to ignore the fact that novels require being written and that writing happens a sentence at a time. Sentences can happen in a moment. Enough stolen moments, enough stolen sentences, and a novel is born—without the luxury of time.
I also printed out a screenshot of my first-ever paid subscription and put it in a little frame to remind myself I might be onto something, to keep going, and to keep finding ways to be helpful as I build this community.
What are you struggling with right now?
Time! I have so many ideas, but we all only have so much time, so I’m constantly reminding myself to focus on what moves the needle. This week, I am largely wrestling with delivering a virtual summit I’m hosting: The Content Spark Summit.
This free full-day event on Substack June 27 is meant to help you spark meaningful connection with your content. From understanding the importance of engagement to creating a content strategy you can’t wait to show up for to fostering genuine connection and leveraging your unique expertise and experience, 14 expert speakers will share what they know.
Just this other day, I saw this quote from Seneca: “You must match time’s swiftness with your speed in using it, and you must drink quickly as though from a rapid stream that will not always flow.”
He may have been a Roman philosopher, but the advice holds today:
Keep a bias toward action. It’s easy to hide behind planning, plotting, and perfecting (I know!), but the impact you want to make can never take hold until you actually take action.
Tell me about your newsletter strategy, its value to your business, and how you measure success.
Right now, I’m in an awareness-building phase, focusing on free subscribers, which is part of the strategy behind the summit.
There are three ways to engage with me at The Content Brief:
As a paid member, you get access to my quarterly content planning party, where I’ll help you plot out your next three months of content. The next one happens in August and will help you create a plan to show up consistently, with intention.
And as a paid member of The Briefing Room (the founding member tier), which I’m just about to launch, you get exactly what you need to design or redesign your newsletter content strategy with ease, including my exact simple content system, an all-in-one dashboard workspace, and a monthly brief on one specific thing to reset to keep your strategy fresh. It’s all designed to save you a lot of time and frustration so you can have a bigger impact with your newsletter.
I’m also building in ways to collaborate and share with other creatives. I hope The Content Brief becomes a vibrant community that supports each other in what can sometimes be a lonely endeavor.
What important truth do very few people agree with you on? Or your ‘spiky point of view,’ Wes Kao calls it.
Providing value doesn’t mean having all the answers.
Creative work that inspires an audience and builds a community (and business) doesn’t require anything stunt-like, viral or wildly innovative.
We don’t have to show up as “experts,” with all the answers ready to guide others to the big transformation. Trying to do so often leads to becoming another faceless creator of tips & tricks and *value* in some Wikipedia-esque, robot-generated “I have it all figured out” status quo.
And the problem is…that says nothing of the journey.
You could have the most well-researched writing in the world, but if it feels like nothing more than a robot production, it won’t get read.
Conversely, you could write about your life as a dog walker, and if you’re asking questions that take us on a journey and leading a conversation from your perspective, every word will get read.
To provide value, you need curiosity, questions, and a yearning to explore. It means being willing to lead the conversation and invite us on the journey of an idea in real time through your content. People don’t want to see processes, deliverables, skills. We want to see perspective, relationship, transformation—and that means your point of view, personality and perspective.
Last week, I wrote about why I hate the word ‘content’. It’s become a catchall term for everything we make—words, video, audio—invading everyday talk and devaluing the creative process. What’s your take on it?
This is SUCH an interesting question and a sentiment I’ve seen pop up recently. I’ve never thought of it negatively. I think of it like the word “box”—a catchall term that encompasses so many different specific things but one word that gives you the gist.
I’m sure some of the negative vibes toward the word come from the push for “top ranking” and “click-worthy” content that doesn’t deliver, but for me, it’s just a succinct way to describe the many ways we invite people to connect with us.
That’s what content is, in my view, whether it’s a newsletter, podcast, social post, and so on.
When you create and share something, you invite others to connect with you about your ideas and work. Of course, if you are specifically a podcaster or a novelist, say that. Lean into concrete specifics over summary words whenever you can.
How have you shifted from ‘creating content’ to ‘building community’ on Substack?
With a relatively new newsletter on Substack, I came in knowing I wanted to build a community. I love to plan parties. I love to build everything around a specific purpose. To carefully word the invite. To think through the menu. To find the right party favor. To design the table. To welcome everyone in. To surprise and delight. To make them feel loved.
I feel the same about crafting my own little club right here on Substack. Building a newsletter and community is the ultimate gathering. And I’m here to party. 🎉
Can you recommend some resources for entrepreneurs?
The Elements of Style by Strunk & White—I love this illustrated version of the classic go-to guide for writers on how to “make every word tell.” (It’s also one of my favorite gifts for the creative types!)
Building a Storybrand by Donald Miller—The best how-to I’ve seen on using words to talk about your product or service. It’ll help you define a clear message on how you can help potential customers. Worth re-reading annually. (Here’s my full list of favorite books to improve your writing for more.)
Hype Yourself, for learning how to generate your own buzz.
Are you using AI tools? If so, how are they helping you work better/save time?
Yes! I call Chat GPT my intern. I love using it to prompt my thinking, research subjects, synthesize interviews, and spot holes in them. It also helps repurpose my hero content into supporting pieces.
My goal is to create one Substack post a week and then repurpose it into snippets and teasers for my supporting platforms. To help save time prepping those shorter pieces, here’s a basic starter prompt I use:
I am a [what do you do], and I need to create a social media post based off a newsletter I previously wrote. The audience is composed of [your audience.]
Use this text to write 3-5 short-form teaser pieces of content for [platform] that highlight the main points, benefits or offers of this newsletter. Ensure the tone is [your tone].
Include a CTA at the end to subscribe to my newsletter, [your newsletter name].
Not bad for a first pass. I always edit the intern’s work for quality and to sound more like me, but the beauty is you’re not starting from scratch.
Best coffee & coworking in your town?
I haven’t done any local coworking, but my favorite coffee shop to work in is The Boy & The Bear in Redondo Beach, California. It has an aesthetically pleasing dark, earthy, “let’s get to work” vibe and good coffee. Win-win.
I’m not big on International Women’s Day (it’s every day, as far as I’m concerned) and it’s hard to get enthusiastic when nothing much changes, but we do need to keep banging on about inequality and helping each other.
So a shoutout to all the strong, kind, and supportive women in my network who lift me up and keep me going. THANK YOU. It is much appreciated.
The other day, I was asked to promote a panel in parliament that was all blokes. “Where are the women?” I asked my colleague.
“Doing all the background work for less pay as usual, probably.”
But he did flag it and asked if we should suggest a more balanced panel. The usual female speaker was ill, so it was last minute, but there are other women who could’ve stepped in.
I posted on LinkedIn here about #IWD2024 campaigns worth supporting:
United Nations: Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress – show us the money! #InvestinWomen #FundFemaleFounders
And it’s Mother’s Day. First priority today: calling my lovely mum.
I did appreciate the flowers and dark chocolate waiting for me when I got back from the conference 💐 🍫
We’re off to Bella Vista for a mother-and-daughter day dinner.
Nika
Bold Types…Adriana Tica
Wine is my drink of choice. I even thought about becoming a sommelier at some point. I write about some of the gems I discover on Instagram
I really enjoyed chatting with Adriana Tica, a strategist, writer, trend forecaster, and entrepreneur known for her no-BS, zero-hacks marketing strategy. We met on LinkedIn.
She’s built not one but two businesses on her own, with absolutely minimal investment, zero paid ads, and zero PR effort. “My rise to (moderate) internet fame was “more organic” than Whole Foods.”
“Getting hooked on independence doesn’t take much.” I agree!
And now introducing biz no #3: Ideas to Power Your Future, her brilliant weekly newsletter, which she says is the best lead generation tactic she’s ever built.
Semrush named her one of the world’s top 100 Content Marketing Influencers, and Buffer said she knows a thing or two about social media.
She’s a digital nomad who loves working remotely, especially from a Mediterranean island. She also speaks six foreign languages.
I like that she’s not your typical ultra-niched strategy consultant. There’s so much pressure to narrow down and be known for one thing, but broad expertise across industries is a superpower. It gives you an edge.
One of the things the Executive loved about the conference was the “non-industry attendees.” And in the feedback survey, the members always ask for more “speakers outside of the industry.”
Worth bearing in mind when you’re pitching yourself as a speaker. Be bold, and as Cindy says, never give it away for free 😉
Super inspiring. Enjoy! (scroll down for the video 🎦)
Hi Adriana, firstly, I’d love to know where you grew up and your first job.
I grew up in Craiova, Romania, and then moved to Bucharest for college, where I stayed. These days, I’m a digital nomad who enjoys working remotely, especially from a Mediterranean island.
My first job was waitressing when I was 16. It lasted for exactly six days; it turns out I’m not cut out for smiling at jerks 😊. In college, my first job was in ad sales—also not a good fit for the same reason: the utter lack of a poker face.
What do you do and why?
I started my business out of sheer need. It was supposed to be short-lived, with a few freelancing gigs between jobs. But those freelancing gigs took off, and before I knew it, I was making more freelancing for a couple of hours a day than my full-time job paid.
So, I stopped going to interviews and turned my freelancing gigs into a digital marketing agency in 2015. My goal has always been to create great content for our clients, not the SEO fodder you see everywhere, and I’m proud to say I have succeeded.
At the end of 2022, I launched Ideas to Power Your Future, a weekly newsletter about no-BS marketing strategy. As this newsletter and its community keep growing, I’m happy to see how many people are over hacks and quick wins and focus on building a solid foundation for their business instead.
This is what I set out to teach my subscribers, and despite all the bro marketing out there, it resonates with my community.
What are you most excited about at work right now?
Growing my newsletter and my consulting business. I love seeing the spark in my clients’ and subscribers’ eyes when something clicks. When they realise they don’t have to hack social media algorithms to grow their audience or sell their soul to sleazy marketing tactics.
I know everyone hates marketers – and they have good reasons to. I’m here to show there’s a better way to market your business, one that lets you sleep easily and doesn’t annoy your audience.
How do you stay on top of industry trends?
I read a lot, perhaps too much. I focus on mainstream media (The Economist, HubSpot, Forbes, and so on) and obscure blogs, newsletters, or social media accounts that border on fringe. It’s very easy to dismiss them, but they are usually trendsetters.
Piecing the information together is my favourite thing to do, along with finding correlations between seemingly unrelated industries or trends, i.e. how does the state of the economy affect the creator economy? Or is there a connection between the housing market and the travel industry? Fun questions to answer!
Tell us about your marketing process. How are you finding clients, and building your network?
Most of my clients and subscribers come from LinkedIn and Twitter, the platforms I’m most active on. My newsletter is the trust bridge that establishes me as a credible strategist and the best lead-generation tactic I’ve ever built.
Social media is also where I find partners, friends, and networks like Lettergrowth (for newsletter cross-promos) and the Convert Kit Creator Network.
Samaria Gorge in Crete, Greece – her favourite place
How do you define success? And balance ambition and contentment?
Success is the most subjective word. For me, success means not dreading my work and being excited about the future. Every job and every business has ups and downs. But as long as there are more ups than downs, I count it as a success.
I never set out to rule the world, so I’m content with carving a small corner of the internet for myself and a business that feeds me and allows me to travel without claiming my soul in return.
How do you manage your health and prevent burnout?
I’m afraid I don’t do enough here. I love what I do and tend to become hyper-focused on my work. Since I’ve already dealt with severe burnout once and definitely don’t want to go back there, I force myself to take breaks, exercise, and disconnect at least one day a week—even when I’d rather be working.
Can you recommend one book and one podcast for digital entrepreneurs?
Before you get to the trendy books, I recommend reading Philip Kotler’s Principles of Marketing. The book may be slightly dated, but it has everything you need to understand the foundations of marketing. Mastering a new trendy channel or tactic will be a breeze if you read this.
My favourite podcast is Everyone Hates Marketers by Louis Grenier. His conversations with his guests are refreshingly candid, with zero boasting and posturing.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
Paul Graham’s “Do the things that don’t scale first” is my guiding light. This is what you need to do in the beginning – talk to your customers and your partners, gather feedback and ideas, and mine the web for information.
And you have to do all this yourself, not by automating DMs through AI. It’s a crucial step most digital entrepreneurs miss in their chase for quick hacks.
Are you happy, and what would you change?
Oh, that’s a loaded question! Yes, I’m happy and content overall, but there’s always room for improvement. If I were to change one thing, it would be my working hours; I need a better balance here. I’m working on it!
Who should I interview next and why?
Hannah Szabo and Michael Scott Overholt are the smartest, most fascinating people I’ve met on LinkedIn, and I’m proud to call them friends. I think you’ll like how their businesses are built on solid principles and ethics. (I surely will! Send me your questions for Hannah and Michael).
How can readers get in touch with you?
The best way to get in touch with me is to subscribe to my newsletter, Ideas to Power Your Future. This is where I publish my best work and answer every email from my subscribers. You can also find me on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Resources
Special issue: One-year anniversary – How I grew and monetised this newsletter in the past year (what fuels the growth of her newsletter – ranked from best to worst). Read it here.
Spending too much time creating content? Read this! (why repurposing and reusing are your best friends). Read it here.
Is the subscription economy in trouble? (tips on how to price a paid newsletter or paid community and future-proof yourself as a newsletter writer). Read it here.
How am I doing?
I love hearing from you, and I’m always looking for feedback. Is there anything you’d like to see more of or less of? Which bits of the newsletter do you enjoy the most?
Hit reply and say hello – or email me: nika@nikatalbot.io.
Join the Newsletter Talent Network! Directory for collabs – online and local: Go here.
Lisa Sweeting quit her full-time job in March and went freelance during the lockdown. She has now set up her own company, Green Sense Events, focusing on sustainability. I asked her what’s she’s learned so far, and her top tips for going freelance.
TS: You went freelance during the lockdown. What was the catalyst for setting up your own company? LS: I’ve worked in Events for 15 years, managing a mix of corporate celebrations, weddings, private parties, and mass participation sports events. I’ve toyed to go freelance for about 10 of those years! The thought of having ultimate flexibility, financial independence, fitting work around a family etc, but the comfort blanket of a regular income, paid holidays and sick pay always kept me in my job. When it’s not just you anymore, and you have the responsibilities of a mortgage, and mouths to feed, it’s not a simple decision.
However, I often felt like I compromised my creativity by working for someone else. I was bored of following a system, of doing the same thing year in, year out. Everyone who knows me knows that I love variety and learning new things. I’m a real get up and go person, and yet somehow, I felt stuck, and I lost some of who I am, which affected my confidence.
I love working with new people which is why I love events, collaborating and connecting with like-minded individuals and I felt so busy all the time just juggling work and home life that I had no time to network with others. One of the biggest drivers was that I felt like I couldn’t implement any ‘change’ in a big organisation. After looking at jobs with event & marketing companies mostly based in Bristol and Bath, both an hour’s commute away, and getting frustrated with the lack of home-working opportunities, I finally decided enough was enough.
I handed my notice in at the beginning of March, and then lockdown happened. Two months later, having worked my notice period, I had no job, and no prospects, so why did I still feel amazing, like I could finally breathe again! First, I could focus on my children and homeschooling, while my husband worked full time in our home office. I was also ready to connect with a few people I’d lost touch with—albeit virtually! I joined some Facebook groups, thanks to a friend in the know, and started communicating with people, and I loved it. Given that we were spending so little, I felt I could relax a bit and use the time to work out what I wanted to do.
I went freelance despite no prospect of any events on the horizon, and then I set up a sustainable events company: Green Sense Events. Focusing on sustainability was something I’d wanted to implement while employed, and we had done it as an organisation but nowhere near enough. I soon realised that if it was important to me, then I’d need to incorporate it into my business from the beginning, so it was at the heart of my work and not just a nice to have.
What have you’ve learnt so far? Social media can overwhelm. I joined lots of Facebook groups, networking events, and digital events which were all great, but at one point, I had to step back and work out a plan of action, write a business plan, edit and update my social media profiles, just to focus my mind. It’s easy-to-read everything on social media and sign up to every digital event, newsletter and training session going, which is fun and can be useful, but it can also exhaust. It’s essential to work out what is actually helpful to you to upskill and raise your profile.
I’ve learnt to treat my peers as a community rather than competition. I’ve found that pretty much everyone I’ve spoken to whether they have their own sustainable events company, are a supplier or in a different industry altogether, has been supportive and happy to suggest other contacts and useful top tips. The more you connect with like-minded individuals, the more it leads you to other valuable connections, and it’s a great way to learn.
Any tops tips on freelancing? I’d love to offer top tips that will allow others to gain work, but the current climate means there just isn’t much work around. Things are coming back, and it’s great to have some actual dates for when events can start happening again. I’m using the time to get myself set up properly on social media and finishing my website for the company. Educating myself on the areas that interest me—which is sustainability, learning from similar event companies, and looking at what Tokyo Olympics are doing, for example, to be more sustainable. Building my network of suppliers and networking with others as much as possible.
Many of the traditional networking events have moved online. So, there are still opportunities to network online instead of ‘in person’, everyone is a potential client even if they aren’t looking to organise an event right now. I hope that people will think about planning events from now on, even if they can’t happen just yet. I also plan to start a blog once my website is up and running. There are lots of interesting articles out there on sustainability, and I’d love to share it with my network. I think it’s also a good way of engaging with people.
I am interested to see how digital events affect the industry so exploring different platforms to see what’s possible in this field. Digital is a fantastic way of lessening our impact on the environment, so it’s an important area to look at and experience. I think even if you’re not hosting a virtual or hybrid event, look out for virtual events that you can attend as a participant, so you can at least talk from experience.
Useful Facebook groups: #Eventprofsforchange, Delegate Wranglers, Get Ahead in Events, UK Live Event Freelancers Forum.
Anything you need help with? I am keen to hear from anyone who is a sustainable supplier or venue, and I’d also to hear about what people think about sustainability. I worry that we could move backwards slightly with all the use of plastic PPE, and restrictions on the use of re-useable cups. But equally, I feel that businesses might do more online and perhaps not hold events for the sake of it as much as they used to.
Nika Talbot 