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The Milk Road
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Researched profile. Starter Story's AI research system compiled this page from 57 public sources — the founder didn't write it. Automated research can misread or misattribute a source, so treat figures as best-effort. How this works →
The Milk Road logo

How The Milk Road Grew

Daily crypto newsletter simplifying market trends.

How did The Milk Road grow?

Summary of the sourced claims below

The Milk Road grew through a combination of paid social media advertising, particularly on Facebook and TikTok, which drove over 150,000 subscribers at a low cost per acquisition. They also leveraged an accessible referral program offering a simple digital reward, which was automated and effective in encouraging subscriber referrals. Additionally, Milk Road utilized SEO by publishing daily newsletter issues on a public website optimized for search engines, capturing significant organic traffic and impressions. Consistent visual branding with a distinctive mascot helped reinforce word-of-mouth promotion among readers.

Channels

14 channels · grouped by how The Milk Road grows

  • Referral Program

    · 4 mentions · 4 sources
    “The Referral Program That Converted With Just One Reward Instead of swag-heavy programs like Morning Brew, they offered one simple digital good. Readers who referred one subscriber received a PDF: 'What 12 Crypto Whales Are Betting On.' The incentive was low-effort, zero-cost, and highly effectiv...”
    high
    Show 3 more quotes
    “Having an accessible referral program also helped, according to Tyler Denk, co-founder and CEO of Beehiiv, the email service provider Levy and Puri used to build Milk Road. If a reader referred a single new subscriber, they could get a report Levy had written called, “What 12 Crypto Whales are Be...”
    medium
    “They use Beehiiv and their built-in referral system.”
    high
    “Dead-Simple Referral Program: Milk Road implemented one of the simplest (yet most effective) referral programs in the newsletter game. Readers were incentivized with a single, juicy reward: 'Refer 1 friend → get a free exclusive PDF report.' ... This made it frictionless for subscribers to share ...”
    medium

  • SEO

    · 3 mentions · 3 sources
    “Milk Road didn’t invest in expensive engineering. Instead, they used Beehiiv’s hosted web builder. It came SEO-optimized and allowed them to rank for crypto news queries fast. In just a few months, they captured over 175,000 organic impressions and 50,000+ non-branded clicks.”
    high
    Show 2 more quotes
    “Milk Road not only had word-of-mouth reach from newsletter evangelists—it also had search reach that would be complementary to the websites the Bitfo team was already running. “Google has really moved toward rewarding brands that users are actually searching for,” Wittmeyer said on the My First M...”
    medium
    “Milk Road didn't limit content to inboxes – every daily issue was also published on a public website (using Beehiiv's web hosting for newsletters). This meant each edition could be indexed by Google, letting curious searchers find Milk Road when looking up crypto news. In the first few months, th...”
    medium

  • Advertising on social media

    · 3 mentions · 3 sources
    “Paid Ads That Brought in 150,000+ Subscribers Under $1.30 Milk Road allocated $180,750 to Facebook ads alone, driving over 150,000 subscribers. Their average cost per acquisition was $1.205, a result of intense creative testing.”
    high
    Show 2 more quotes
    “Milk Road allocated $180,750 to Facebook ads alone, driving over 150,000 subscribers. Their average cost per acquisition was $1.2...”
    high
    “They allocated budget to social media ads – primarily Facebook, with some experiments on TikTok and Instagram – to reach beyond the crypto bubble. Growth marketer Matt McGarry (a newsletter ads specialist) helped the team run a barrage of targeted Facebook campaigns. ... Facebook alone drove over...”
    medium

  • Organic social media

    · 2 mentions · 2 sources
    “As a well-known creator (he co-hosts the My First Million podcast and had 100k+ Twitter followers), he promoted Milk Road to an eager crowd on day one. He openly chronicled Milk Road's building process on the podcast and Twitter, driving curiosity and early subscribers. This jump-start yielded ov...”
    medium
    Show 1 more quote
    “He chronicled the building of the company for his large audiences on both the podcast and Twitter, undoubtedly helping to fuel the newsletter’s growth.”
    medium

  • Building in public

    · 1 mention
    “He openly chronicled Milk Road's building process on the podcast and Twitter, driving curiosity and early subscribers.”
    medium

  • Podcasting

    · 1 mention
    “The founders plugged it into existing distribution channels (Twitter, podcasts) from day one.”
    medium

  • Earned media

    · 1 mention
    “Such cross-promos, combined with shout-outs on the My First Million podcast and others, extended Milk Road's reach to new eyeballs continuously without direct cost.”
    medium

  • Guerrilla marketing

    · 1 mention
    “In spring 2022, they put $1 million in a public crypto wallet so Milk Road readers could watch the investment develop in real time. Even as the value of that investment crashed 70%, they continued to see signups multiply. “Lesson: crazy stunts are good. But wear a helmet in case you crash,” Puri ...”
    high

  • Community marketing

    · 1 mention
    “Milk Road not only had word-of-mouth reach from newsletter evangelists—it also had search reach that would be complementary to the websites the Bitfo team was already running.”
    medium

  • Guerilla marketing

    · 1 mention
    “Shocking Stunt Marketing: The founders pulled off a crazy stunt to draw attention: they put $1,000,000 of their own money into a public crypto wallet that readers could track in real time. Essentially, they made investing in crypto a spectator sport – subscribers watched as the $1M fund rose and ...”
    medium

  • Tik Tok Ads

    · 1 mention
    “TikTok also played a growing role. They prioritized a short payback period (3 months or less), ensuring subscriber LTV justified ad spend quickly.”
    medium

  • Existing Tik Tok Content

    · 1 mention
    “Yet it was paid social—running ads on social media platforms—that drove most of the early subscribers. The team leaned heavily on Facebook and TikTok, said Matt McGarry, a growth marketer who focuses on paid media and worked with Milk Road. Facebook ads drove more than 150,000 subscribers at a co...”
    medium

  • Partnerships

    · 1 mention
    “As the newsletter grew, the founders tapped into cross-promotions with other newsletters to keep the momentum. Milk Road joined Beehiiv's recommendation network – a feature where, after someone subscribes, they're shown suggestions of other newsletters to follow. Milk Road both recommended and wa...”
    medium

  • Newsletter

    · 1 mention
    “Most newsletters blend into inboxes. Milk Road chose to stand out. Using Beehiiv's no-code design tools, they created a layout with a blue border and a playful milk-carton mascot. This unique branding boosted open rates and made their emails instantly recognizable.”
    medium

How 2,708 businesses grow

Of businesses with mapped growth channels, the share using each — The Milk Road’s highlighted.
  • Referral/Word-of-mouth
    68% ◀
  • Social media
    60% ◀
  • Search/SEO
    57% ◀
  • Email
    48% ◀
  • Community
    34% ◀
  • Content/Inbound
    32% ◀
  • Partnerships
    31% ◀
  • Paid ads
    24% ◀
  • Events
    24% ◀
  • Press/PR
    17% ◀
  • Outbound/Sales
    16%
  • Marketplaces/App stores
    9%
  • Product expansion
    2%
  • Influencer partnerships
    2%
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