Is a suburb of a big city a good market for a local newsletter?

I'd rather be in Green Bay for this than Austin. It's big enough that it's real: professional football, real business, real industry. And I'm assuming there's essentially zero competition. What a great place to own the audience.

Why is a suburb harder?

Two reasons. First, identity. I like the city I live in, but I don't feel super connected to the fact that we have the best Costco only four minutes away. That's not the same as living somewhere with a strong sense of place, like a coastal city or a town in the Catskills.

Second, competition. Suburbs of big metros get crowded. Businesses start telling you the other four newsletters came to them recently. Every pitch gets harder when you're the fifth one through the door.

"You're gonna have a lot of competitors, which means businesses are gonna be like, but the other four ones came to me recently."

Then why am I in a suburb?

Because my county is the exception that helps me. It's the fastest growing county around Austin and will likely be bigger than Austin in 10 to 20 years.

I also have a real competitor in my area. Texas has one large, established community news company, and operators here deal with it in a way most operators outside Texas don't. My answer to that has been showing up in person. At an all-day chamber of commerce event I made good relationships and had city council members tell me they read my stuff, even though they'd never replied to an email.

What works if you're already in a suburb?

• Cover the region, not one town. Combine suburbs into one brand with a name people recognize. A small-town name limits reach. See one town or a whole county.
• Avoid tiny, fuzzy areas. My West Austin brand covered a wealthy but small, poorly defined area and stalled around 5,000 subscribers.
• Be the human in the room. Chamber events, business owners, local short-form video. Outlets with salaried writers usually don't do this.

What makes a standalone city attractive?

• Residents identify with the place.
• Real employers and industries that advertise.
• Big enough to fill a newsletter, small enough that you can be the brand.
• Nobody else doing it well yet.

Size still matters. My range is 100,000 to 500,000 people, with 200,000 to 400,000 as prime. More in what population size is best.