How do I compete with a big established local publisher in my market?

Texas is the worst state to do what I do. There's a company called Community Impact with lots of local publications, email and print. They mail a newspaper once a month, it's very well done, and they've been around for 20 years. I'm not a huge fan of their newsletters, but as a company they're really good at a lot of things.

"And I still have 25,000 subscribers near me. And people love me more than them. Why? Because ... the way I do it is more engaging. Their stuff is boring, right? They write about crime."

Where do the big players win?

With the biggest advertisers. Hospital systems buy full pages all the time, and the big publisher's sales team has those relationships locked down. They're very hard to get unless you have an in.

Where can a small operator win?

Medium-sized companies. They have budget to spend real money, but they don't have 15 layers of management. That's where we can shine, on top of the small businesses.

A large company has layers of bureaucracy, things take longer, and costs are higher because there are so many people. Like any startup going against legacy players, you find the things you have the advantage on and go after them. You'll also work harder than a sales guy making $50K plus commission. He's not as invested as you are.

How do I check who my competition actually is?

I run a deep research report in ChatGPT that scans the internet for local outlets in the town. When I did this for one city, the only things it found were the old outlets that had been there forever.

Outside the major cities, real competition is rare. Even if somebody launched a newsletter, it's usually a solopreneur who knows Beehiiv, threw $50 at Meta and got 400 subscribers. Those people are not competition at all.

Should I worry about other newsletters starting in my town?

Generally, no. The competition isn't other newsletters. It's traditional media, or business owners not understanding the model. Most local business owners don't know what a local newsletter is, and they don't want to invest in something they don't understand. Other operators help educate the market, which can mean more businesses willing to advertise. This isn't a fixed pie.

On my podcast, Michael Kauffman told me 14 new local newsletters started in the Catskills within a couple of weeks, most of them by people who subscribed to his. He supports them. Another operator I talked to collaborates with his competitors, and they help each other grow.

What if my area is full of big-budget advertisers?

One operator told me heavy competition makes his tourist-heavy area hard. I'd look at it from the other direction. Lots of competition means lots of money from people who want to get in front of those readers. It's a validated market. Smaller operators can be more unique and creative, doing what the big players aren't and beat them there.