CJ Gustafson, a former tech CFO turned full-time creator, shares his insightful journey in building Mostly Metrics and Looking For Leverage, both successful newsletters. He discusses how he replaced his CFO salary with revenue from his content, revealing the role of humor and personal anecdotes in making finance more engaging. CJ also dives into strategies for newsletter growth, innovative monetization techniques, and the evolving landscape of podcast guest acquisition. His unique blend of expertise and entertainment keeps subscribers coming back for more!
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question_answer ANECDOTE
CJ's Surprising Audience Growth
CJ Gustafson unexpectedly grew a large audience interested in finance metrics.
His success came from making complex topics entertaining and accessible with humor and personality.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Injecting Personality Into Finance
CJ infused his finance newsletter with personality and humor inspired by sports media.
This approach made business topics more approachable and built reader connection.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Long-Term Sponsor Strategy
Build long-term trusting relationships with sponsors using quarterly minimum commitments.
Surround your audience with ads repeatedly to align with their buying cycle.
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“During my last year as a CFO, I made more money from my newsletter and podcast than my full-time job."— CJ Gustafson, Mostly Metrics
We sit down with CJ Gustafson, former tech CFO and now full-time creator of two newsletters—Mostly Metrics and Looking For Leverage—and a podcast called Run The Numbers. CJ is masterful at taking financial and business concepts and making them wildly entertaining.
CJ shares how he went from consulting and private equity to running a high-revenue content business, why he thinks about content like product development, and the systems he’s built to keep ideas flowing. If you’ve ever wondered how to blend expertise, humor, and growth strategy into a newsletter people can’t stop sharing, this episode is packed with insights.
PS - We recently hosted CJ in the GIR Pro community where he shared more BTS of his newsletter 👀🔥
If you found this episode valuable, take a second to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! It helps more newsletter creators find the show. Plus, if you submit a review, you’ll get priority for your own newsletter roast!
Growth In Reverse (Newsletter Growth & Email Marketing) 