1073 - An Impartial, Email-Based News Source with 1440 Media's Tim Huelskamp

Feb 14, 2022

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In this episode of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur, your host Josh Elledge speaks to the co-founder and CEO of 1440 Media, Tim Huelskamp.

1440 Media is a daily email newsletter that provides an impartial, comprehensive overview of the day’s events. They felt the media landscape wasn’t meeting all of the needs of the daily consumer. Most consumers have to skim through lots of websites to know what is going on in the world. That, and many outlets are now biased or editorialized. 1440 feels that the consumer should be trusted to draw their own conclusions from the data that the news provides. This is what started 1440 Media and they’re now at over 1.2 million subscribers. Their audience is a third Republican, a third Democrat, and a third Independent – and it’s 50/50 between men and women. The bottom line? No matter what your views are, there is clearly a need for unbiased, impartial and comprehensive news.

But how do you grow to 1.2 million readers in three years (in the email space, no less!) Tim shares that they love organic word of mouth marketing, and they also collaborate and work with other newsletters. It’s not competitive like other spaces and newsletters don’t operate with “winner take all” mentalities. Scaling your newsletter by partnering with others and by putting the word out via social media are some other ways 1440 grew their audience.

Email allows you to have a direct connection with your audience, Tim shares. This is why 1440 Media chose email. You can have a direct relationship that isn’t muddied by the rules and algorithms of a platform. You also have to remind your users to navigate to your app more often if you choose to use one. Sending your audience emails keeps you top of mind and while it may be seen as “old school”, it works well in this medium.

1440 Media stands out from curated news sources because they have in-house experts constantly reading what they’re publishing. For hours a day, their experts fact check everything – so you can trust the news you’re reading. Google News, Tim shares, can get clickbaity and while they have the best tech, AI can’t replace a human expert yet. He shares that Google prefers clickbait articles that will circulate heavily and go viral. 1440 believes that your newsfeed should keep you informed about the world first and foremost – ‘fun’ news has its place, but it shouldn't be a new source’s defining factor.

Want to learn more? Check out 1440 Media’s website at https://join1440.com/.

Check out 1440 Media on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/join1440media/.

Check out Tim Huelskamp on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-huelskamp-6957334/.

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