How a Newsletter Founder Grew to 42,000 Subscribers in a "Too Small" Market (By Ignoring Every Rule)

This week's Audience Bridge Insights episode is one of my favorites we've recorded so far.

I sat down with Michael Kauffman, founder of Catskill Crew, a local newsletter serving the Catskills region of New York.

What he's built completely breaks the traditional "media" playbook.

This isn't a CPM-chasing, blast-every-day newsletter trying to maximize ad impressions.

It's a community business disguised as email.

And it's working better than most "scale at all costs" publishers I've seen.

Watch the entire podcast now or scroll down to get my insights.

Michael grew Catskill Crew to 42,000 subscribers in a region most media execs would dismiss as "too small to matter."

His average subscriber acquisition cost? ~$0.30

He sends once per week. Not daily. Not multiple times per week. Once.

And he monetizes without turning his newsletter into a billboard.

But here's what actually blew my mind:

He's not trying to be The New York Times. He's trying to be the town square.

That single decision changes everything.

Traditional local media optimizes for advertisers.

Michael optimizes for community.

That shift changes everything downstream:

✅ Content feels personal, not recycled (because it's written for neighbors, not pageviews)

✅ Advertisers come inbound (because they're already subscribers who see the value)

✅ Monetization expands beyond ads (events, products, IRL experiences all become revenue streams)

✅ Engagement stays high without over sending (once a week is enough when people actually want to hear from you)

✅ The newsletter becomes an asset, not a grind (something you can build, scale, and eventually sell)

One line from our conversation really stuck with me:

That mindset explains why legacy local media keeps shrinking, and why operators like Michael keep winning.

Michael didn't start with a complex ad stack or programmatic inventory.

He built a simple "bulletin" section. Basically a classifieds-style spot where local businesses could promote themselves.

In one week, he made ~$8K.

No ad tech. No minimum impressions. No contracts.

Just: "Here's a space. It costs this much. You interested?"

Businesses said yes because they were already subscribers. They trusted the newsletter. They knew the audience.

That's the advantage of community-first publishing.

Advertisers aren't interrupting your readers. They're part of the community trying to reach other community members.

Most publishers think: "More sends = more revenue."

Michael thinks: "If I send too much, people will stop caring."

He sends once per week. Every Saturday morning.

And his open rates stay consistently high because people actually look forward to it.

"If you're sending every day, you better have something worth saying every day," he told me. "Most publishers don't."

Instead of chasing daily volume, he focuses on:

Revenue doesn't come from email frequency. It comes from community depth.

Michael's experimenting with snail mail as a premium subscription.

Yes. Actual physical mail.

Why? Because in a world where everyone's inbox is flooded, a physical piece of mail feels special.

It's tactile. It's unexpected. It's something you can't just delete.

"People will pay for things that feel premium and different," he said. "Email is free. Physical mail isn't. That creates value."

I don't know if it'll work at scale, but I love that he's testing it.

One thing Michael emphasized: Local newsletters have organic growth baked in.

When you write about someone's neighbor, their kid's soccer game, the new restaurant opening downtown… they share it.

Not because you asked them to. Because it's relevant to their life.

That kind of word-of-mouth is nearly impossible to manufacture in national media.

"People don't share articles about national politics," Michael said. "They share articles about their town."

That's the compounding effect of local.

Michael believes newsletters are becoming real, tradable assets, not just side projects.

"Five years ago, no one would buy a newsletter," he said. "Now? There's a market for them."

He's right.

Newsletters with engaged audiences, proven monetization, and strong community ties are starting to get acquired.

Because they're not just media properties. They're businesses with revenue, retention, and network effects.

I'm opening up 5 Free Newsletter Strategy Calls this week specifically for local publishers.

We'll look at your market, audience growth strategy, monetization approach, and show you exactly where the opportunities are that most local publishers miss.

Reply "LOCAL" to this email and I'll send you the private booking link.

(If you're publishing locally and trying to figure out how to monetize without selling out to programmatic ads, you need this call.)

Let’s continue building communities,

Chris Miquel

PS: Michael said something at the end that I can't stop thinking about: "The best newsletters don't feel like media. They feel like a friend telling you what's happening in your town." That's the business model right there.

BEFORE YOU GO

This is just the highlight reel. The full episode with Michael Kauffman is packed with insights on building real businesses in "small" markets, acquiring subscribers for pennies, and why optimizing for community beats optimizing for advertisers every single time.

🎧 Listen now 👈