Ashlyn of Cypress Digest breaks down how she grew a Houston-area local newsletter to ~3,300 subscribers with a ~53.6% open rate and ~11% CTR, then flipped the switch on revenue. The headline tactic: a simple Facebook Lead Ad campaign that brought in ~75 advertiser leads for about $60—sub-$1 per lead—by pitching “partnerships” to local businesses instead of generic ads. She compares this inbound flow to slower, time-intensive methods like cold email, scraping, and chasing gatekeepers.

She also explains using Apollo as an affordable CRM/data source to bypass catch-all inboxes, how she warms prospects (DM → email open → call), and where cold calling fits for higher-LTV categories. Beyond ads, Ashlyn shares a scalable directory play built on a V0 (vZero) subdomain, plus how “Local Falcon” informs which businesses to list and later upsell. We also dig into competing with big-box local media and why speed, focus, and pricing help a solo publisher win.

Takeaways include: test fast and kill what doesn’t work; pitch outcomes, not placements; use demographics and creative samples to close; create low-ticket on-ramps (directory listings) for small operators; and blend front-end ads with back-end local SEO services for durable value. If you’re building a local media business, this is a concrete blueprint.

Guest Contacts:

Ashlyn Brooks

Cypress DigestWebsite: cypressdigest.com

Directory: directory.cypressdigest.com

Email: Ashlyn@CypressDigest.com

#LocalNewsletter #LeadGen #FacebookAds #LocalSEO #Beehiiv #SmallBusinessMarketing #DirectoryListings #ColdEmail #ApolloIO #CommunityMedia