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I think you need to do a lot of lists. I'm serious. There are a LOT of tiny startups out there and you can hit upon 10 at once this way, while also building g

I think you need to do a lot of lists. I'm serious. There are a LOT of tiny startups out there and you can hit upon 10 at once this way, while also building good content. I'm going to be self-serving here, but it makes it easier to articulate my idea and point. I have a small, "lifestyle startup"/hobby -- a daily email newsletter where I share awesome/true facts like how Abraham Lincoln created the Secret Service the day he was fatally shot. (Really -- http://dlewis.net/nik http://dlewis.net/nik is the subscribe URL, the archives are linked thereto, and it's in the archives.) There are a LOT of small, wannabe thrillist/daily candy email newsletters out there. Featuring one is stupid, but writing about this emerging/cottage industry is interesting. Basically: "Ten Interesting Email Newsletters" is a great post, potentially, as is "Ten Ways To Manage Your Business Connections" (hashable? cloudcontacts? cardmunch?), as is "Ten Sports Startups" and ... well, you get the idea.

jaxn 16y ago
You probably know that space pretty well then. Would you be willing to write that list and post it on HN or on your blog?
- DanLivesHere 16y ago
  I'd be glad to. I don't really use my blog. I could do it as an HN post, but that'd be a bit too self-serving....
  - mattmiller 16y ago
    If you tell me something I don't know and want to know I am happy for it to be 'self-serving'. Some things I would like to know (disclose what you are comfortable with): how to you monetize? How do you acquire users? How much (assuming you buy traffic)?
    - DanLivesHere 16y ago
      Right now, I don't monetize much. I occasionally add in an Amazon affiliate link. I acquire subscribers in many ways, but I've bought very little. I spent $20 on a reddit ad which netted me (I think) 3 subscribers -- that's 100% of my marketing budget to date. The most effective ways: * I syndicate posts to certain blogs, asking the blogger to plug the newsletter in exchange for letting him or her run the whole post for free. * Word of mouth and asking readers to tell their friends about it. * Links to individual issues, which have on them subscription boxes and links to the archives.

jaxn 16y ago

You probably know that space pretty well then. Would you be willing to write that list and post it on HN or on your blog?

DanLivesHere 16y ago
I'd be glad to. I don't really use my blog. I could do it as an HN post, but that'd be a bit too self-serving....
- mattmiller 16y ago
  If you tell me something I don't know and want to know I am happy for it to be 'self-serving'. Some things I would like to know (disclose what you are comfortable with): how to you monetize? How do you acquire users? How much (assuming you buy traffic)?
  - DanLivesHere 16y ago
    Right now, I don't monetize much. I occasionally add in an Amazon affiliate link. I acquire subscribers in many ways, but I've bought very little. I spent $20 on a reddit ad which netted me (I think) 3 subscribers -- that's 100% of my marketing budget to date. The most effective ways: * I syndicate posts to certain blogs, asking the blogger to plug the newsletter in exchange for letting him or her run the whole post for free. * Word of mouth and asking readers to tell their friends about it. * Links to individual issues, which have on them subscription boxes and links to the archives.