What if you could become 10x productive by reading a newsletter?

Not a list of tools, nor the news, but deep dives on emerging technologies and how to actually use them.

We spoke with Dylan Eastwood (Dils), who leads the newsletter and content strategy for WGMI Media, and Founder Dylan Scott, for the full breakdown.

WGMI is one of the more dynamic media companies in our Creator Spotlight series. Here’s what we’ll cover:

• The origin story.

• “Niching Up”

• The content strategy (earning 60,000 subscribers since January 2023).

• WGMI’s top channels (you won’t believe the second).

And so much more. Let’s get into it.

The Origin Story:

WGMI started as a Web3 media property and pivoted to covering AI, other emerging technologies, business, and making money (more on this pivot later).

“We started the newsletter in January 2023. We’re just about to hit 60k subscribers, so you can imagine the last six months have been wild. We had been playing around with a few different newsletter formats in 2022, but we only started taking the newsletter seriously when we found a topic we fell in love with: AI (and specifically how you can use AI in business).”

“Obviously, AI started getting a lot of attention at the beginning of this year, and we decided to go all in for two reasons:

• We love using and researching new technologies;

• We love sharing tips and tricks for becoming more productive and making money online… AI is an incredible tool that levels the playing field and makes it possible for most people. It’s our mission to show people how.”

Many AI newsletters are doing well; we’ve covered some before, but there is a key difference. WGMI takes a practical approach with a focus on emerging technologies. AI is popular now, but it’s not the only thing they cover.

As for Dils, it’s something you may not have seen coming. His background is not in AI or content. In his own words:

“I used to be a commercial contracts lawyer but hated it. Hiring a lawyer is outsourced worrying, and I prefer to think about how things can go right than how things can go wrong.

Law was useful for one thing. It taught me I was quite good at writing (and arguably made me a better writer).

After I quit law, I started copywriting for several start-up businesses in Europe before finally deciding to make my own content.”

Clearly, it’s been going well.

Niching Up:

Choosing a topic is arguably one of the hardest parts of starting a newsletter. So many new (or prospective) newsletter writers agonize over this.

• “What if I change my mind?”

• “Will I get bored of this?”

• “Is this topic going to be relevant in a few years?”

There’s a lot of advice to niche down (and for good reason). It works. But it’s not the only way.

WGMI Media started by focusing on Web3 and expanded/pivoted to include more, not less. “Niching up” instead of “niching down.”

There are many ways to build a successful newsletter (and media company). This approach has worked for the team, so you know it’s certainly possible to successfully “niche up” despite whatever advice you may have heard on the opposite.

Some examples:

• From Web3 to emerging technologies, including AI and more.

• From a single marketing tactic (like SEO) to all things marketing.

• From morning rituals to all things personal development/wellness.

• From daily HR news to the latest in multiple industries.

The examples go on.

Niching up has worked for WGMI, but it’s just the start.

Content strategy for 60,000 subscribers in 6 months:

Topic Selection:

Dils shared his approach with us here:

“To find content, I spend a chunk of my day on Twitter, Reddit and YouTube. This gives me a good idea of what topics are trending and gives me more article ideas than I can feasibly write in one lifetime.

To decide on which topics to prioritize, I ask 3 simple questions:

• Will readers be able to use this information to become more productive or successful?

• Will entrepreneurs and/or tech enthusiasts want to share this information with their friends or colleagues?

• Will this blog rank on Google (i.e. is there a keyword opportunity)?

If I answer yes to any of these 3, it makes its way onto my to-do list (prioritizing trending topics). If I’m really stuck, I just write what I find most interesting that day. My best-performing articles are, without exception, the articles I enjoyed writing.”

Reread the last sentence. It may not always work for everyone, but it’s worth considering. Don’t be afraid to focus on what you like and not just what you think will “perform.”

You can find all the topics WGMI has covered so far in their archive.

Before starting a new piece, a few questions can make a great framework for topic selection and prioritization.

Marketing Channels:

Here’s the full breakdown:

SEO/Blog: “The vast majority of our subscribers come from people finding our website through Google. That means we try to rank for as many AI/business-related keywords as possible.”

• Keyword research and optimized content is crucial.

• 200k+ monthly views (organic).

Instagram: “Our Instagram has 185k+ followers and is a great source of traffic for our website and newsletter subs.”

• Swipe posts and reels are effective (the above post has 24M+ views).

• Largely focused on video content on Instagram.

Reddit: “I create article summaries and share them on Reddit. You have to be careful not to be too “sale-sy,” though. Redditors smell your entrepreneurial greed a mile away.”

• Dylan (Scott) shared how their Reddit, with an audience in the hundreds, actually earns more subscribers than IG.

• Don’t sleep on Reddit.

YouTube: “One of the founders, Brett Malinowski, is a world-class YouTuber and regularly shares business-related content on his platform. A regular CTA on his videos is to subscribe to our newsletter.”

• YouTube takes time to build, but is worth it.

• If you don’t have a channel like Brett’s, consider partnerships with other YouTube Creators.

Ads: “We have a very small budget allocated to FB ads which are performing well, which we intend to scale soon.”

Curious about their content? Here’s that post that got 24M views and over 600k likes.

Team Structure:

With the newsletter, a podcast, a discord group, and all the channels above, how do they do it?

The team consists of 8 people, each with an area of responsibility.

• Newsletter: Dils owns this with the help of a designer

• Discord community manager

• Instagram manager

• YouTube with Brett

• And several others.

The key here is how the team follows a decentralized approach. Everyone has their own focus, and the team works together towards the same goals.

For you, maybe this means collaborating and giving more opportunities early.

Perhaps it means slowing down expansion and finding your core focus first, whether marketing, writing, or sales (or something else).

You’ll want to know what you’re best at, so you can hire accordingly.

Goals for the next 3 - 6 months:

Dils shared the top 3 priorities. Do your goals look like this?

“Hiring: We have big plans and we can’t do it alone. If you’re a writer, then reach out.

Product: Our goal is to build the best AI resource for digital entrepreneurs on the internet. We’re working with business owners and industry thought leaders to create some incredible resources that are actually useful (think ChatGPT prompts and AI tools that are used every day by real business owners). We’re investing heavily in this and our product will be a key focus for us in the coming months and years.

Processes and systems: We’re a full-blown media company now. If we want to scale, we need to be efficient. We’re working on that every day.”

Advice for New Creators:

It’s easy to look at a company WGMI, which has so much going on, and question how to get started.

Dylan Scott shared some incredible advice on this:

“The first thing is: [if you] throw enough at the wall, something’s going to stick! From my perspective, you want to see where people gather and make as much content as possible.

You will look back on it and cringe. I do it all the time. I physically cringe, and it’s so hard to recognize, but you evolve quick. Make 100 pieces [of content], and you’ll learn.

With your ear to the ground, post a lot, and [it will be] worth the grind. Learn as much as you can this way, and you can also build followings that later convert to subscribers.”

Wrapping up:

We hope you enjoyed this Creator Spotlight! Subscribe to WGMI here, or check out some of their amazing highlights: Become a Prompt Engineer and 3 digital products you can make with AI ($29,000 / month).

Thanks for reading!