Anthony Castrio, Founder of the Bot Eat Brain newsletter, earned over $50k in revenues for 2023 and scaled growth to over 20k+ subscribers. Topics include the initial spark behind Bot Eat Brain, strategies for growing a newsletter from 1k to 20k subscribers in 4 months, monetization challenges, building a content team, and Anthony's ambitious plans for the future.
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Quick takeaways
Anthony grew his newsletter from 1,000 to over 20,000 subscribers in just 4 months through targeted Facebook ads and a referral program.
By hiring and training skilled writers, Anthony was able to scale his newsletter while spending only a few hours a week on it.
Deep dives
Scaling Growth, Content Creation, and Revenue
Anthony Castrillo, creator of BotEatBrain, shares his process-driven mindset in scaling and automating growth, content creation, and revenue for his daily AI newsletter. Through targeted Facebook ads, Anthony was able to acquire subscribers for as low as $1.50 and Sparkloop's referral program covered his marketing costs. By hiring and training writers, he was able to scale his newsletter while spending only a few hours a week on it.
The Journey from 0 to 20,000 Subscribers
Anthony started his newsletter with a few thousand Twitter followers but recognized the need to target a different audience. He began with personalized DM invitations to respected individuals, resulting in his first 50 subscribers. In the first few months, he experienced ups and downs, but the release of chat GPT and a newsletter growth challenge reignited his motivation. By selling ads and pre-selling future ad placements, he reached a thousand subscribers and rapidly grew to 20,000 in the next four months.
The Process of Hiring and Training Writers
Anthony hired writers who were skilled at writing and able to understand AI topics, rather than specifically seeking out AI experts. He initially recruited through platforms like Upwork and Reddit, and selected individuals based on their understanding of the prompt and ability to match the newsletter's voice. Anthony implemented a training process involving research sources, paper reading, and templates for structure. By providing feedback and iterating, he was able to train writers to create high-quality content.
Advice for Building a Profitable Newsletter Business
Anthony advises new newsletter publishers to focus on solving a specific problem for a target audience. Having a clear value proposition and consistent product is crucial. Understanding the cost of acquiring readers and the potential revenue per month enables effective monetization strategies, such as selling ads. Additionally, Anthony suggests considering automation for content creation and exploring new avenues like generative social media content and product development to further monetize and expand the reach of the newsletter.
Welcome back to another episode of the Send & Grow podcast. This week, SparkLoop's Dylan Redekop chats with Anthony Castrio of the Bot Eat Brain newsletter.
Anthony launched Bot Eat Brain (BEB) in Sept. '22 alongside his full-time project, Indie Worldwide. Despite BEB being a side project, Anthony earned over $50k in revenues for 2023 and scaled growth to over 20k+ subscribers—going from 1k to 20k in 4 months!
In this episode, Dylan & Anthony discuss…
The Birth of Bot Eat Brain: Uncovering the initial spark that led Anthony to dive into the AI newsletter space.
Growth Strategies: How Anthony grew his newsletter from 1,000 to over 20,000 subscribers—in 4 months!
Secrets to Monetization: Navigating the challenges and triumphs in building a profitable newsletter.
Building a Content Team: The behind-the-scenes look at how Anthony assembled a winning writing crew.
Envisioning the Future: Anthony's ambitious plans for Bot Eat Brain and the potential game-changers on the horizon.