I’ve now started a second Substack newsletter
Here’s what I’m doing … and why.
Yesterday, I debuted a new Substack newsletter I hope will be popular with residents in Troy, Alabama … and help me reach an important revenue goal through my independent journalism.
This second newsletter is called The Troy Citizen and will include human interest stories of interest to local citizens.
As long-time readers to this Substack are aware, I’ve been candid about my goal of increasing paid subscribers to a level that can support a family of four.
Per my analysis, the “magic number” of paid subscribers that makes this goal possible is approximately 1,000 paid subscribers.
In two years of Substack writing, I peaked at 311 paid subscribers and recent trends suggest it might take me nine more years (!) to boost this figure to 1,000.
Life is a series of work-arounds and my work-around to (hopefully) achieve this goal is to launch a Substack that would target the citizens who actually know me best - my neighbors and life-long friends who live in (or grew up in) Pike County, Alabama.
As it turned out, with my current Substack, I was not tapping into my optimal market of “likely or possible subscribers.”
A Substack of a different color …
The Troy Citizen Substack will have an entirely different focus than this newsletter, which focusses on “taboo” subjects off-limits to mainstream news organizations.
I envision the Troy Citizen as a local version of People magazine. The staples of this newsletter will be human interest stories which will appeal to civic-minded residents, plus more in-depth treatments of important or significant local developments.
Because I worked so long at three local newspapers - and started my own weekly newspaper in 1995 - the original (print) Troy Citizen - many local residents are familiar with my past journalism.
Given my work and family background, I decided to leverage my “brand” as a well-known local writer and re-boot The Citizen as an “on-line newspaper.”
So far so good …
The early response to this new venture has been just what I’d hoped.
While I’ve yet to email subscribers my first local feature article, I did post an “introductory” column, announcing this new venture, which I publicized on …. Facebook!
In less than 16 hours, this new Substack newspaper produced 81 total subscribers, including 19 “paid” subscribers.
According to Substack metrics, 19 paid subscribers translates to $1,050 in “expected annual revenue.”
For context, in recent months, my “national” Subtack lost 16 paid subscribers (going from a peak of 311 to a low of 295 - now back to 300).
In other words, one article produced far more paid and total subscribers than I’ve generated in the last six months with “Bill Rice, Jr’s Newsletter.”
What this means to subscribers at THIS newsletter …
To be clear, I am definitely NOT abandoning my efforts to produce the “contrarian” content I’ve worked so hard to produce the past two years.
I am still going to send my subscribers at least three (probably more) original stories and essays every week.
What I’m doing is pursuing dual journalism passions - creating commentary and investigative journalism I think’s lacking in the corporate press … and producing local stories that, perhaps, would not be produced by our local newspaper.
I enjoy researching and writing both types of stories and think both content categories are very important.
This venture does mean Bill is going to be a very busy boy, but hard work (maybe?) never killed anyone, especially if one enjoys his work.
I’m a pioneer of sorts …
I also like the fact I’m pursuing ventures very few journalists have tried.
While there’s probably more, I’m aware of only one other “Substack newspaper,” The Charlotte Ledger (which I referenced in this story).
In my opinion, in an era where salaried journalists are being laid off at record rates, an obvious void of quality local journalism exists in America today.
To me, Substack is the ideal platform for journalism entrepreneurs - with essentially no start-up expenses - to fill this void.
This NY Times’ article caught my attention …
Right after I launched my new Substack, I happened to read this New York Times’ feature story about a Florida billionaire who’s going against the grain and is now investing heavily in local newspapers.
Excerpts:
“The newspaper industry has decayed so much in recent years that even Warren Buffett — the world-famous investor whose annual meetings have included a newspaper toss — has declared the business “toast."
“But another billionaire is placing a counterintuitive bet that local newspapers aren’t dead yet. David Hoffmann, a Florida investor worth $1.6 billion, who has purchased more than 5 percent of Lee Enterprises, one of America’s largest newspaper companies, wants to buy up a controlling stake.”
These paragraphs really resonated with me:
“The son of a nurse and a milk delivery man, Mr. Hoffmann, who was the quarterback for his high school football team, lamented that coverage of local games was disappearing.
“ ‘As newspapers die off,’ he said, ‘you don’t get to read about kids’ sports …’ ”
Me: I’ve made the same point in several Substack articles - kids and teams who used to receive regular coverage in local newspapers now rarely do.
And it’s not just sports teams; it’s all youth and school organizations … and virtually all important local organizations.
As a one-man journalism shop, I can’t cover every game or event, but I can write a few feature stories mothers and grandparents might enjoy, save and appreciate.
In my opinion, a market for local news and feature stories will always exist.
Some of my subscribers might want to sample The Troy Citizen …
Most of my current readers do not fit my “target market” for this venture. However, some readers might be interested in subscribing (for free) to The Troy Citizen.
I’ve also always thought an interesting and uplifting feature story in, say, Peoria, might “sell” anywhere.
I also plan to write opinion columns about myriad topics which my current readers might enjoy. (With my Troy Citizen content, I’m laying off Covid topics - for “business” reasons.)
Substack authors or readers who are pulling for Substack to “not go wobbly” in our Censorship Times might also be curious to see how this author’s “work-around” solution works out for him.
A note about Facebook …
Few authors have expressed more disgust about censorship trends than this writer.
However, I’ve always opined that Facebook - used as it should be used - was a fantastic invention.
Facebook, optimally used, allows any citizen to be his own journalist or citizen correspondent.
The platform can also help entrepreneurs make money, better provide for their families and raise awareness of worthwhile ventures (be it an upcoming yard sale, church raffle … or an on-line newspaper).
*** (It’s possible other Substack journalists might want to try the same thing. If you think so, you can use the share button to reach more of these writers) ***
Several months ago, I re-joined Facebook … and found I was no longer banned or in “time-out.”
Already thinking about this venture, I endeavored to make uncontroversial posts and made a good number of comments underneath other friends’ posts.
Slowly, I added followers and my posts started getting more views.
Today, I have more than 1,700 Facebook followers and, yesterday, I announced the debut of the on-line Troy Citizen on … Facebook.
This strategy literally paid off, netting me and my family more than $1,000 in a few hours (with hopefully more paid subscribers to come).
Again, this is an example of Facebook being used to help its users and allowed me to rapidly and easily reach my primary “target market.”
I’m also now going to use Substack to reach the same long-time friends and neighbors … so a sincere thank you to the three founders of Substack.
It’s never been easier to produce journalism …
Technological improvements have transformed the “news-gathering” business.
In 1995, when I started the print Troy Citizen, I had a staff of 10 employees and I worked 90 hours every week to produce content that newspaper carriers (including myself) distributed in the middle of the night.
Today, thanks to email, the Internet, smart camera phones, etc. I can produce this same content in a tiny fraction of the time - with virtually no capital expenses.
As long as I get enough paid subscribers, I don’t even have to sell ads.
Also, readers don’t have to buy a stamp and mail letters-to-the-editor; they can instantly post their comments right beneath the story.
In Conclusion …
… I thought I should post this article to outline my new business “work-around” and provide the main reasons I’m doing this.
Prayers or good-luck wishes are greatly appreciated. For everyone who has flattered me these past two years by reading my articles and supporting my “contrarian” journalism … thank you very much.
If this venture works out, the gift of financial peace of mind should enhance my future work product.
(Reaching “1,000 paid subscribers” is still my main goal; I’m now just using TWO Substack newsletters to help me obtain this goal.)
I'm also surprised more entrepreneurial journalists haven't started sports-themed Substacks. There's a proven HUGE market just for fans of the best-known college sports programs. Fans can subscribe to great sites like Tider Insider or Bama On-line, which produce excellent content and offer great comment forums ... however, the lesser-known or smaller college programs are practically begging for coverage. At Troy University, I think the athletic department holds press conferences which, often, no reporters attend.
I'm throwing ideas out there - for free. I will get Troy a little more coverage with my new Substack, but I think a Substack with great content for, say, Alabama or Georgia fans, would be a money-maker for the right person/people. There's hardly any quality competition from the state newspapers these days. The Montgomery Advertiser used to have a sports staff of about 10 writers. This paper might have one or two full-time sports writers these days.
I like your “out of the box” thinking. It seems like a brilliant idea. I enjoy your writing style and look forward to reading your local news even if it doesn’t apply directly to me. You are talented and deserve to earn a good salary for your efforts.