Creator Science

#79: Dru Riley – 45,000+ email subscribers in less than 2 years

Nov 9, 2021

Dru Riley, the mastermind behind Trends.vc, has rapidly grown his newsletter to over 45,000 subscribers. He shares insights from his journey transitioning from a stable job in data engineering to entrepreneurship. The discussion covers the challenges and successes of monetizing a newsletter, along with strategies for community engagement. Dru emphasizes the importance of concise communication and reflects on the emotional hurdles faced in the creator economy. His experiences inspire budding creators on how to navigate and thrive in this evolving landscape.

56:35

Creator website

Episode guests

Dru Riley

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Intro

2min

Embracing Entrepreneurship: The Journey to Creating Trends

3min

Navigating the Creator Economy

16min

Embracing Discomfort

8min

Monetizing the Newsletter: Strategies and Community Engagement

3min

Evolving Pricing Strategies in Subscription Services

15min

Inspiring Journey of Rapid Success in Email Marketing

2min

Dru Riley is the creator of Trends.vc, which has more than 45,000 subscribers and 1,000 Pro members.

With each Trends report, Dru focuses on one core idea or movement. He dives into the history of that idea, why it matters, who the major players in that industry are, the relevant tools and platforms, predictions, opportunities, risks, key lessons, and even some of the opposing viewpoints as to why that idea is bogus.

Trends also has a Pro subscription that goes deeper into each of those areas and includes other forms of media, a community, and more.

In this episode, we talk about Dru’s mini-retirement, why he decided to build Trends, how he thinks about pricing and monetization, what makes a good online community, and why Being Concise has helped along the way.

Subscribe to Trends.vc

Learn more about Dru Riley

Follow Dru Riley on Twitter

Full transcript and show notes

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RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODE

→ #87: Dan Runcie

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