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Writer's picturePrakhar

$100 Million Newsletter - Morning Brew Story

Morning Brew is an email newsletter, which re-creates all-important business and tech-related news into a piece of simple news that helps its readers to understand that news much more easily. It provides news 6 days a week and is completely free.


Morning Brew was first launched in 2015, and to date, it has gained almost 4.5 million+ subscribers and has already 500+ emails to its subscribers.


There are 6 newsletters under Morning Brew:


Money Scoop: This newsletter covers the news about finance across the world. This is published twice a week.


Sidekick: This newsletter covers hacks, entertainment, and recipes-related news. This is also published twice a week.


HR Brew: This newsletter covers all the HR-related news, basically all the information a person wants to know about HR. This is also published twice a week.


Emerging Tech Brew: As the name suggests, this newsletter covers technology-related news like Drones, Automation, AI, and all other latest technologies. It is published thrice a week.


Retail Brew: This newsletter covers news regarding the pros of retail, which a person should know. It is published thrice a week.


Marketing Brew: This newsletter covers news related to marketing and advertising. It is published thrice a week.



Morning Brew also has four podcasts:


Business casual: This was first launched in 2019, and hosted by Kinsey Grant. Episodes include Kinsey Grant, who sits with well-known entrepreneurs and discusses trendy topics with them and also takes their views.


Founder’s Journal: It was first launched in 2020, hosted by Alex Lieberman (Co-Founder of Morning Brew). Episodes include Alex, who shares tools and suggestions to entrepreneurs for building a strong business, and teams.


Imposters: It was first launched in 202, hosted by, Alex Lieberman (Co-Founder of Morning Brew) who sits down with top athletes, and entertainment's biggest names to discuss the mental and personal challenges they've overcome to get where they are today.


The Money with Katie Show: It was first launched in 2021, hosted by, Katie Tassin who talks about spending habits, smart investing, and tax strategies


Why Is Morning Brew So Popular?


Well, the answer to this question is very simple, people mostly prefer news and articles that are simple to read and understand. And Morning Brew does the same. If we compare Morning Brew with any other newspaper, it is much more engaging and easy to read. And that is the sole reason why people prefer Morning Brew and they can get to understand any news in the morning itself by drinking coffee. And this is also the reason why their logo is a cup of coffee.


At Morning Brew’s inception, marketing growth was solely conducted on a word-of-mouth basis. Although this pattern of growth worked initially, Alex and Austin wanted to grow Morning Brew faster. So they turned to Referal & Giveaways. They also started sponsoring other podcasters and YouTubers which grew their subscriber base exponentially.


Acquisition


In October of 2020, Morning Brew was acquired by Insider Inc., the parent company of Business Insider. Although it’s unclear how much Insider Inc. paid for the company, the deal values Morning Brew at $75 million. Before this acquisition with Bussiness Insider, they only raised $750,000 from friends and family over the course of the company’s history, which likely means they would keep the majority of the proceeds for themselves.


Since announcing the sale in late 2020, Morning Brew has hired 180 of its 230 employees, which has led to additional verticals and a much bigger presence on TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter. With this, if their business has grown tremendously. If they want to do another funding round or exit, the company would be valued at more than $100 million.


Business Insider was founded in 2007 by Henry Blodget, who had previously made a name for himself as a Wall Street analyst during the dot-com boom but was later charged with securities fraud (Blodget settled with financial regulators without admitting or denying the charges). In 2015, he sold the company to German publisher Axel Springer in a deal that valued his company at more than $440 million.


How Morning Brew Makes Money?


Morning Brew makes money through advertising and merchandise. Most of their content is sponsored. Their revenue is growing every year. According to reports, their total revenue was $3 Million in 2019, and in 2020 the total rose to $13 million. And $21 Million in 2021. They have also worked with big brands such as Apple, Microsoft, etc.



They have also launched an education product, featuring weeks-long virtual classes on topics including audience building, storytelling, finance, and leadership. Programs tend to cost between about $500 and $2,000, depending on the length.


Conclusion


During the pandemic, Newsletter industry saw huge growth which helped many writers and journalists. Substack, a platform that allows writers to send newsletters directly to their readers and monetize their work by putting it behind a paywall, Raised $84 Million in Series B with a $650 million valuation. Many social media personalities have now turned their followers into newsletter subscribers where they can get sponsorships and promote their own products.


Thank You for Reading!

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