Lenny's Podcast · Nov 17Leaving big tech to build the #1 technology newsletter | Gergely Orosz (The Pragmatic Engineer)
Reached 189,000 subscribers, with nearly 1,000 new ones a day over 90 days. It got 100 sign-ups on day one and 1,000 paid subscribers within six weeks, and revenue comes only from subscriptions. He publishes two posts a week of five to six thousand words each.
Tips
- Publish consistently for years before launching a paid newsletter▶ 55:25He got 100 subscribers on day one before publishing anything and 1,000 paid subscribers within six weeks, after at least six years of blogging.
- Create external deadlines and commitments so you actually ship▶ 32:40This cadence let him write the equivalent of four or five books of content in one year.
- Pick topics others have not covered when charging for content▶ 27:01His posts often run five to six thousand words and take days to two weeks of research.
- Set goals you control rather than outcomes you do not▶ 1:02:25
- Use a spreadsheet to track revenue impact of each post▶ 12:02
- Use a recommendation feature as a growth engine▶ 8:16He grew from 50,000 subscribers in about nine months to 189,000, adding 80,000 in 90 days.
- Plan time off and ahead-of-schedule content to avoid creator burnout▶ 49:30
