DiscoverStartup Stories from the TreehouseWhy Your Startup's Newsletter Strategy Is Wrong (And How to Fix It)
Why Your Startup's Newsletter Strategy Is Wrong (And How to Fix It)

Why Your Startup's Newsletter Strategy Is Wrong (And How to Fix It)

Update: 2025-11-06
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Another week, another newsletter you feel obligated to ship. It’s supposed to help, but it often reads like a status update no one asked for.

In this episode, Todd Gagne sits with Banks Benitez to reframe the founder newsletter as a product, not an email. The core insight: trust is the scarce resource, and your newsletter should solve a specific problem for a narrowly defined reader. They dig into positioning your newsletter in the funnel (often mid-funnel credibility, not top-of-funnel lead gen), why slower cadence beats volume in the AI era, and the idea of “nutrient density” over cheap calories. Todd and Banks walk through practical prompts: who exactly is this for, when do they need it, what decision does it support? They share examples from lists of 25 decision-makers to 100k subscribers, and metrics to watch beyond open rates.

The thread running through it all is patience. Precision, honesty, and craft compound into trust over time.


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Why Your Startup's Newsletter Strategy Is Wrong (And How to Fix It)

Why Your Startup's Newsletter Strategy Is Wrong (And How to Fix It)

Banks Benitez, Todd Gagne