Shooting for the stars or sticking to reality: The balance of starting a newsletter.

Julia D’Apolito
2 min readMay 4, 2021

In our visit with Tom James during class time, I learned about the importance of websites like Google Trends, and even more so, the importance of utilizing them when it comes to being a media entrepreneur.

I particularly enjoyed how James took the time to go through Media Startisans and read each of our pieces, so that he could provide us personalized feedback. I felt so special when he called me out to use my sleep column and weighted blanket phrase as an example of a way to reap the benefits of SEO and trends.

I was not surprised to also see the importance of SEO and trending phrases highlighted in “How To Create A Writing Side Hustle In 2021” by Tom Kuegler.

“If you’re a beginner writer in 2021, the only traffic source you should focus on is Google. I said it,” Kuegler said. “Google will eventually spoon-feed you thousands of views every day without you having to lift a finger.”

Kuegler mentions that if you write several blog posts or newsletter columns related to popular Google searches, found through websites like Google Trends and Keywords Everywhere, your posts may show up in the top 10 search results.

“Wa-La. Traffic. Views. Exposure,” Kuegler said.

However, in the Media Voices podcast episode, “Man cannot live by newsletter alone: the realities of going solo as a journalist,” they highlight a particular Substack writer who has the same concern with starting a paid newsletter that I do.

Josh Sternberg has two kids, a wife, a mortgage, health insurance, food bills, and internet bills. As an adult who needs to provide not just for themselves, but for a family, as well, a newsletter wouldn’t sustain that.

Sternberg got laid-off during the pandemic, and in response, he launched a daily newsletter called The Media Nut.

“I’ve got 3,400 [subscribers,] so I don’t think that I’d be able to turn this into a business that would allow me to have the life that I’ve been living for quite some time,” Sternberg said.

Me too, Josh, me too.

How is a newsletter ever supposed to be enough money to sustain a living? Is that just not a realistic goal to have, or should I still “shoot for the stars,” as I was always taught when I was a little girl?

I am still a little skeptical about starting a newsletter, through Substack or any other platform, and I am not entirely sure if I plan to pursue this career path after the end of this class. I guess, I have to see how my revised prototype does.

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Julia D’Apolito

Lehigh University junior studying Journalism & Communications, Graphic Design, and Psychology sharing some thoughts and writing.