I Make $845,601 Writing This Online...

Alex Garcia

• Background and origin story
  • Built multiple email newsletters from Austin, Texas, focusing on marketing and content.
  • Previously worked at The Hustle to learn how to grow a newsletter and scale a media company.
  • Started with Twitter as the primary distribution channel, publishing daily marketing threads to grow audience and subscribers.
• Pivotal moments and turning points
  • Shifted from consuming content to creating by combining his love for Harvard Business Review with marketing-focused analysis.
  • Scaled from 2,000 subscribers to 8,000–9,000 subscribers during an intensive 50-day Twitter thread experiment.
  • Formalized a multi-newsletter portfolio (Marketing Exam, Content Exam, Social Exam, Landing Page Exam, DTC Exam) totaling roughly 150,000–160,000 subscribers.

Products and Offerings

• Core product(s) and what each one does
  • Multiple B2B email newsletters that analyze and break down marketing campaigns, content strategies, and growth tactics.
• Supporting tools, side projects, or experiments mentioned
  • Services used as testing grounds for future product launches, with offerings spun into standalone products.

Metrics and Financials

• Revenue figures, user counts, and financial milestones
  • Generates roughly $65,000 to $70,000 per month from ad sponsorships across the newsletter portfolio.
  • Productized services and upcoming launches contribute an additional $15,000 to $20,000 per month.
• Software costs and resource efficiency
  • Relies on a lean tech stack to run the business efficiently (not detailed in cost but emphasized as minimal and sufficient).
• Exit or acquisition specifics (if explicitly stated)
  • Not discussed.

Strategy and Growth

• Overall vision and positioning
  • Positions newsletters as top-of-funnel assets that can enable or amplify other businesses such as agencies or products.
• Primary growth engine or method
  • Combines content marketing, paid acquisition, and cross-promotion platforms to scale readership.
• Key tactics, channels, or strategic steps
  • Starts with hand-to-hand combat (direct outreach, giveaways, personal DMs) to secure early subscribers.
  • Uses “Buffet marketing” to test many channels and double down on the few with 10x potential.
  • Leverages Twitter threads for algorithm-friendly content that drives traffic to newsletters.
  • Deploys Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Reddit ads alongside platform-led cross-promotions (e.g., SparkLoop, Beehiiv, ConvertKit).

Tech Stack and Infrastructure

• Tools, platforms, and technical approaches referenced
  • Zapier to connect workflows.
  • Notion to manage operations and content.
  • Slack for team communication.
  • An email service provider (ESP) to send newsletters.
• Notable technical decisions, trade-offs, or architecture choices
  • Emphasizes simplicity: four core tools are sufficient to run a successful newsletter business.

Lessons and Advice

• Direct advice given to other founders
  • Find a niche by writing about topics you love or by targeting exploding markets with strong monetization potential.
  • Study case studies and proven models to avoid mistakes and implement what works quickly.
  • Be intentional about jobs and projects that serve as stepping stones toward long-term goals.
• Hard-won insights and key takeaways
  • Build and ship small experiments often to learn what resonates.
  • Balance data with intuition when making marketing and product decisions.
  • Prioritize consistency, testing, and learning over perfection in early stages.