Newsletter business simulator
See how fast your newsletter would grow, what it would earn and who you'd be up against — month by month for two years — before you give it another year of your life.
Open rates, paid tiers and the issue that gets forwarded. This one opens as The Monday Brief: A weekly email newsletter with a free list, a paid tier and sponsored issues. Rename it, reprice it, or describe your own newsletter and let Nova rewrite it to fit.
What a steady newsletter ends up with
Played steadily for all two years — quality first, then growth, a fair share of the bank spent each year — a steady newsletter here ends its last year on $2.3k of revenue and $667 of profit, with 2,920 readers and 2.3% of the market (#5 of 5).
It starts from nothing: $30k in the bank and you, 40 hours a week, with no audience yet.
People who play it well do better, and a bad plan runs out of money.
Revenue in the last year: $2.3k
Profit in the last year: $667
Readers at the end: 2,920
Share of the market: From nothing to 2.3%
Where it finishes: #5 of 5
Years and decisions: 2 years, monthly
What you'll decide each month
Each month you decide how much goes into each issue, how many sponsors to take on, what to spend on getting found, and who to bring in to help.
Each decision shows on a forecast before you file it, and every period resolves against the rivals and the economy.
Who your readers are
Readers are slow to win and slow to leave. Sponsors pay for reach; the readers who care pay for more of it, and every issue either keeps them or doesn't.
150,000 readers in all, across English-speaking, Europe and Rest of the world.
Skimmers: On in the background, picked by whatever is in the feed. About 75,000 of them, worth $72 a year each.
Loyal readers: Every episode, on the day, and they recommend it. About 45,000 of them, worth $144 a year each.
Paid subscribers: Members and patrons who want the extra episode and the thanks. About 12,000 of them, worth $300 a year each.
Professionals expensing it: Professionals who listen to keep up and quote it at work. About 18,000 of them, worth $180 a year each.
Who you're up against
Three rivals are already in it, and they play to win: they cut prices, spend on marketing and answer what you do. Most of the market is theirs on day one.
The big publication's newsletter: The biggest, and slow to change — it has stopped listening to its smaller customers. Holds about 28% of the market.
The free aggregator: Hasn't changed in years and is living off the customers it already has. Holds about 18% of the market.
The rising independent writer: Clever and quick, but stretched thin and hard to get hold of. Holds about 8% of the market.
How it works
Free until you start: building and previewing cost nothing, and starting is $10, once.
Build it — free: Press build and you get your own copy of this market: four kinds of reader, three rivals and three territories.
Make it yours: Change any number, describe your newsletter in a sentence or two and let Nova fill it in, or upload a profit and loss or a month-by-month sales history to fit it to your real figures.
Preview — free: See what a steady newsletter ends up with, and every warning worth reading, before you pay anything.
Start — $10: Pay once to start, your seat included. Then run it month by month for two years.
Also for
substack · email · writer · journalism · blog
How much does the newsletter business simulator cost?
Building and previewing are free: make your own copy of this newsletter market, change anything in it and see what a steady newsletter ends up with without paying. Starting the simulation is $10, once, and your own seat is included.
Can I make it match my own newsletter?
Yes. Every number can be changed — the readers and what they pay, the rivals, the territories, the costs and the starting cash. Or describe your newsletter in a sentence or two and Nova, SparkTower's AI, fills every section in for one Nova action. If you already trade, upload a profit and loss or a month-by-month sales history and the simulation is fitted to your real numbers, starting from where your business stands today.
Are the numbers realistic for a newsletter?
The template is checked against what real ones do: played steadily, a believable one finishes year two turning over between $2k and $80k, with between 1,000 and 20,000 readers. This one's preview comes to about $2.3k and 2,920. Your own prices, costs and figures change that, which is the point of trying it here first.
Does it count readers or money?
Both, in that order. Readers grow with every issue you make and every one you skip, and the money follows them: ads, sponsors and the readers who pay. You decide how much goes into each issue and how many sponsors to take.
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