How do you run local newsletters in many cities?

I count three models for running local newsletters, maybe more. The one I chose is the hardest to set up, and I still think it's the right one.

What are the three models?

1. Do it for cash. One owner runs a newsletter as their own business.
2. Own everything and hire a writer. A company owns 100% of every market and pays a writer in each one. I don't think that's great.
3. Partner with someone who lives there. A local entrepreneur or small business owner runs the market as a partnership.

Why partner with a local entrepreneur?

Because they care. I want each town run by an entrepreneur for whom that market is their own business, rather than AI only or only a paid editor. Salaried writers tend to do the minimum. Someone with a stake shows up at chamber events, meets business owners and films short-form content.

The content creator has to be local, not someone overseas.

How do partners split the money?

I don't have a proven split of my own to share. Here's what guests on my show have described:

• One planned a 70/30 profit split with a cousin for one season, no equity, with the option for the cousin to take over day to day.
• Another publisher splits gross revenue with partners and builds card fees (about 3%) and rep commission into the deal up front.

For my own franchise designs, see how a local media franchise works.

How do I find partners?

So far, mostly through my network. My insurance agent network alone could get me to 100. My partner is deeply connected in real estate. I tried Meta ads to recruit realtors as franchisees, but we didn't try that hard and couldn't figure it out.

The honest blocker: real estate people love the idea, and nobody buys until there's proof it produced deals. Proof in one market comes first.

Is there an easier way in?

Fix an existing business instead of starting from zero. If you're trying to get a new newsletter from nothing to $10,000 a month, compare that with helping a company already making $100,000 a month fix its newsletter for about 10% of revenue. That's probably a lot easier. Nearly all entrepreneurs don't understand newsletters or the technical side, which is the opportunity.