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Monetizing Local Newsletters via PR & Marketing Agencies
Top Three Takeaways
How Nick Hageman turns Kansas City buzz into daily revenue
Former medical-sales rep Nick Hageman quit the OR, picked up a laptop, and built KC Daily into a 55%-open, daily newsletter and 43k-follower Instagram. Now he sells steady, four-figure ad packages, all while running the operation solo. Here’s how:
Hageman slides onto media lists, runs the news item gratis, then emails metrics showing 100-plus clicks within 24h to prove lift.
Relationship first: one free feature scored KC’s headliner firm, unlocking a pipeline of multi-client buys instead of one-off $300 blasts.
Face time matters; Nick drives across town to media nights, converting casual chats into $15k annual deals over appetizers.
Leverage Viral Reels, Funnel with ManyChat
Big-city Instagram reach fuels cheap subscriber growth when paired with automated DMs.
A 10-minute Stranger Things skyline reel pulled 17k likes, thousands of shares, and 2,500 fresh followers overnight.
ManyChat auto-messages every new follower; at roughly 10% conversion, Nick adds a subscriber for just $0.15 versus $1 on Meta ads.
Quick wins count: snow-shoveling dad skit netted 2k sign-ups, proving low-effort personality beats polished carousels for discovery
Bundle Mass-Market and Hyperlocal Inventory
Metro-wide list attracts big brands; suburb-level editions unlock cash from businesses that only serve one pocket.
Polling showed 90% of readers want a newsletter just for their neighborhood, validating room for weekly micro-digests.
Overland Park or Clay County sponsors can’t afford city-wide CPMs, but they’ll pay for a 5-mile radius with zero waste.
The Daily Dining Card lets 12 restaurants trade a one-time 20% offer for year-long exposure selling at $25 creates a fresh revenue lane.
Mr Beast-style Local-Media Growth Hacks You Need To Try
In this solo episode I share three playbooks that could 10× your reach next year. We’ll cover: turning high-ticket giveaways into viral videos, using trending memes for local engagement, and why a single state-wide newsletter may unlock bigger ad budgets than five town-level lists.
Matt McGarry Explains Why You Should Start a Newsletter in 2026
Matt McGarry made a great overview video about the newsletter space going into 2026.
If you’re new to the space, or want a refresher on all the benefits of starting a newsletter, whether local or otherwise, check this out.
My top takeaway from him lately has been his response to the frequent criticism of newsletters, in that there are too many of them and the space is already overcrowded.
The response; that’s true. BUT, what distribution channel is not overcrowded with content and harder than ever to break through? There isn’t one. Newsletters are still the best way to own your audience and monetize them. And that likely won’t be changing anytime soon.
The Local Media Disruptor Shaking Up Indiana
It’s always encouraging to see proof that you don’t need a big team or budget to make local media work. Nate Spangle basically built a legit Indiana-wide media brand with a mic, a camera, and caring about where he lives. Feels very aligned with where modern local media is headed.
Read it HERE.
How AI Is Turning Local News Into Real-World Infrastructure
I keep coming back to the idea that local news has to be useful, not just readable and this piece really hit on that. It explores how newsrooms are starting to build tools communities can rely on, not just stories. Definitely worth a read if you’re thinking long-term.
Read it HERE.
Newsletter Creators Share the Mistakes They’d Never Repeat
This one felt very familiar. A group of newsletter creators share what they got wrong early on and what they would do differently. Worth skimming even if you’ve been at this for a while.
Read it HERE.
Looking for more from me? Here are the ways I can help:
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🍔Sign Up for DNNR - Want to set up dinners for your audience? Where you do no work, and you PROFIT?? Then you want to use DNNR. Use my code and let me know you did, happy to chat about it | Link
Discover all these resources and more at localmediahq.com
That’s all I got for this issue. If there’s anything you want me to cover or talk about for the next edition, reply to this and let me know!
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