Publishing & Growth

You can publish great work and still struggle to make money. Ads are unreliable, platforms change their rules, and sponsorships can disappear without warning. That’s why reader revenue models matter. They help newsletters, publishers, and media companies earn directly from the people who already value the content. This guide covers the main reader revenue models, […]

We’ve been thinking a lot about tech stack choices lately, and we’re not the only ones. Publishers and newsletter teams are taking a closer look at what they pay for, what they actually use, and what breaks when traffic spikes. If you’ve heard “audit your tech stack” a hundred times, this post puts real shape […]

You can grow a newsletter fast and still lose the business. Why? Because a subscriber onboarding journey does not end at “thanks for signing up.” It starts there. The first week decides whether a new reader becomes a habit, or churns and never comes back. This post walks through nine onboarding best practices we use […]

If you’re in the publishing sector, whether you’re a startup media outlet, an established newsroom, or a creator building a paid newsletter, paywalls belong on your monetization shortlist. A paywall is how you limit access to content unless a reader pays or subscribes. The right paywall model can help you grow revenue without damaging trust. […]

Freemium vs premium is one of the first hard choices you make when you put a paywall in front of your content. Pick wrong, and you either cap growth (too strict) or leave money on the table (too generous). Pick right, and your paywall becomes a predictable engine for subscriber revenue. This guide breaks down […]

The Hustle had the audience. About a million free subscribers were already reading. The goal was simple: launch a paid newsletter called Trends and convert a small slice of that list into recurring revenue. The problem was the tech. Their CMS, payment system, and email tools were all custom, and none of them worked well […]

The Daily Upside is a fast-growing media startup covering business and investing. They have over one million subscribers and publish original reporting with a strong editorial bar. When they came to Refact, they were in a tight spot. Budget was limited, the product was not scaling, and the launch date was close. They needed a […]

Tired of spending more time sending emails than writing the newsletter your readers signed up for? Email automation can take the repetitive work off your plate. It also helps you send more relevant messages, at the right time, without babysitting a calendar. In this guide, we’ll break down the biggest benefits of email automation for […]

Substack makes it easy to start a newsletter with almost no setup. That’s the appeal. But as soon as money, SEO, and brand expectations show up, the same simplicity can start to feel like a ceiling. This guide helps you decide if Substack is still right for you, especially if you’re growing a paid newsletter. […]