10 Personal Finance Newsletter Success Stories [2024]

Updated: November 19th, 2023
Start A Personal Finance Newsletter

Here are some real life success stories of starting a personal finance newsletter:

1. Ticker Nerd ($48K/year)

Luc and his business partner Sam started Ticker Nerd after realizing the need for a more effective way to keep up with stock information. They decided to apply the model of another tool, Exploding Topics, to stocks by finding trending stocks through social mentions and conducting sentiment analysis. With a landing page, they were able to generate over $1,000 in sales within a week, validating the idea. They pivoted their approach, built relationships with Product Hunt members, and had a successful Product Hunt launch that resulted in around $5,800 in monthly recurring revenue. They continue to grow organically, implement an affiliate program, and have plans to offer new products and education components.

How much they make: $48K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100
Current team size: 0

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I Launched A $54K/Year Newsletter That Finds Trending Stocks

Ticker Nerd is a monthly subscription service for investors that surfaces and analyzes trending stocks before the hype train arrives, and now has $4.5k in monthly recurring revenue from its newsletter without spending a single dollar on advertising, having validated the business via subreddits and organic Product Hunt launch strategy.

About
Luciano started Ticker Nerd over 3 years ago
Revenue
Luciano grew the business to $4K/month
Costs
It cost Luciano $100 to start the business
Read by 21,473 founders

2. MarketBeat ($36M/year)

Matt Paulson, the founder of MarketBeat, came up with the idea for his business while working as a freelance writer in college. He discovered that stock investors were eager for real-time information and news about their investments, leading him to create a newsletter that provided convenient and timely updates. Over time, MarketBeat evolved into a financial media company, generating $8 million in revenue in 2019 and boasting 1.3 million email subscribers.

How much they make: $36M/year
Current team size: 17

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How I Started A $36M/Year Stock Market Research Newsletter

Financial media company MarketBeat, founded by Matt Paulson, provides objective financial information and real-time market data to empower individual stock investors to make better trading decisions, generating approximately $8 million in revenue in 2019 and ending the year with over 1.3 million unique email subscribers due to a freemium model with 75% of revenue from advertising and 25% from subscriptions.

About
Matt started MarketBeat about 13 years ago
Revenue
Matt grew the business to $3M/month
Read by 25,786 founders

So... can you actually make money with a personal finance newsletter?

Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.

But how?

  1. Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
  2. Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
  3. Take action, because now you have the roadmap.

Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:

Start Now

3. Money Talk ($1.2K/year)

Qin Xie, a journalist and editor based in London, launched her reader-funded newsletter, Money Talk, during her furlough period due to the pandemic. After coming across a post about the future of journalism on Substack, she saw an opportunity to write about personal finance, a topic she was already familiar with and interested in. With low overhead costs and a desire to equip herself and others with knowledge on handling finances during a recession, she quickly launched the newsletter and has received positive feedback and early success.

How much they make: $1.2K/year
How much did it cost to start: $0
Current team size: 1

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On Starting A Reader-Funded Newsletter About Personal Finance

Qin Xie launched Money Talk, a reader-funded newsletter on personal finance, in May 2020, and made £100 in the first month, chiefly promoting it on LinkedIn.

About
Qin started Money Talk almost 4 years ago
Revenue
Qin grew the business to $100/month
Read by 5,771 founders

4. TSOH Investment Research Service ($192K/year)

The TSOH Investment Research service is a subscription-based platform providing transparent and in-depth equity research for long-term investing.

Alex Morris, a former equities research analyst, launched the TSOH Investment Research service after seeing the false sense of expertise and questionable decision-making in the finance industry. With the goal of providing complete transparency, Morris offers deep dive equity research and portfolio updates to subscribers, which has resulted in the service generating ~$17,000 per month in subscription revenues as of May 2022. Morris credits the success of his service to his decade-long presence and network-building online, as well as the power of the internet and his community on financial Twitter.

How much they make: $192K/year
How much did it cost to start: $500
Current team size: 1

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I Created A Substack Newsletter That Makes $16K/Month

TSOH Investment Research Service generates $17,000 per month after a year of launch, offering deep dive equity research on new companies, updates on current holdings and names on the watchlist, investment philosophy discussions, and periodic portfolio updates for a monthly or yearly subscription fee.

About
Alex started TSOH Investment Research Service almost 3 years ago
Revenue
Alex grew the business to $16K/month
Costs
It cost Alex $500 to start the business
Read by 5,932 founders

So... can you actually make money with a personal finance newsletter?

Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.

But how?

  1. Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
  2. Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
  3. Take action, because now you have the roadmap.

Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:

Start Now

5. Alpha Letter ($420K/year)

Alpha Letter is an investment newsletter that focuses on finding small out of favored value stocks Wall Street won't touch.

In 2020, the founder launched a successful parody finance website called The Stonk Market. After gaining traction with viral tweets and amassing a large social media following, they leveraged this audience to launch Alpha Letter, a paid investment newsletter. Within 12 months, they grew their subscriber base to 82,000 individuals and generated over $200,000 per year in paid revenues.

How much they make: $420K/year
How much did it cost to start: $0
Current team size: 0

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How I Leveraged My Twitter Audience And Launched A $420K/Year Finance Newsletter

An anonymous founder started Alpha Letter, an investment newsletter that focuses on finding small out-of-favored value stocks, and using viral marketing techniques, grew their free subscriber base to 82,000 individuals and now brings in around $30,000-35,000 in revenue per month across all their properties, with their short-term goal being to get each property to $50,000 in revenue per month.

About
Jack started Alpha Letter about 3 years ago
Revenue
Jack grew the business to $35K/month
Read by 6,701 founders

6. Contrarian Thinking ($3M/year)

Contrarian Thinking is a premium membership community that teaches people how to add cash-flowing income streams to their portfolios and achieve financial freedom.

Codie Sanchez, the founder of Contrarian Thinking, came up with the idea for her business after experiencing numerous career changes and realizing that money was the key to solving problems. After working in finance and investing, she decided to blend her love for writing, investing, and teaching others to create a company that helps people achieve financial freedom. Through her premium membership community, Contrarian Cashflow, she teaches members how to add more cash-flowing income streams to their portfolios and build the life they have always dreamed of. With over 100,000 newsletter subscribers, a community of 1.5 million people, and a run rate of $3 million this year, Contrarian Thinking is empowering individuals to challenge the status quo and shape their own destinies.

How much they make: $3M/year
How much did it cost to start: $5K
Current team size: 4

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My Finance Newsletter & Community Hit A $3M Run Rate This Year

Contrarian Thinking is a premium membership community that teaches its 1.5 million members how to implement cash flow strategies to achieve financial freedom, with a current run rate of $3 million and a goal of $50 million ARR in five years.

About
Codie started Contrarian Thinking over 4 years ago
Revenue
Codie grew the business to $250K/month
Skills
Public Speaking, Copywriting, Community Building
Costs
It cost Codie $5000 to start the business
Read by 4,964 founders

So... can you actually make money with a personal finance newsletter?

Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.

But how?

  1. Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
  2. Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
  3. Take action, because now you have the roadmap.

Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:

Start Now