Are you staring at your subscriber count, wondering when it will be "big enough"?

 

It’s a question every publisher asks. We get focused on the small numbers, the daily ad spend, and the tech. We get so lost in the "how" that we forget the "why."

 

This week, Chad Nicely shared a powerful new way to think about your local newsletter.

 

It’s time to change your mindset.

 

Stop thinking about it as an "email list."

 

Start thinking about it as a "Digital Stadium."

 

This single shift in perspective is the key to understanding the massive, multi-million dollar asset you are building.

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The "Aha!" Moment at the Ballpark ⚾

 

The big idea came to Chad during, of all things, a local baseball game.

He was sitting in the stands at the Las Vegas Aviators game, a minor league team.

 

As he looked around at the stadium, which was pretty full, it hit him "like a ton of bricks".

 

He realized, "My God... we are building audiences the size of this multimillion-dollar stadium".

 

Think about it. A local newsletter with 10,000, 15,000, or 20,000 subscribers is the same size as a physical stadium audience. But as Chad quickly realized, what you are building is so much more valuable.

 

Why Your "Digital Stadium" is Better

 

Who is really sitting in that physical stadium?

 

Chad looked around and saw tourists, people visiting from all over the country, and people from all over the world. For a local business, a huge chunk of that audience is useless.

 

But your newsletter? Your audience is 100% local.

 

You are building a stadium filled only with people in your specific backyard. Every single subscriber is a potential customer for a local business.

 

That makes your audience more targeted, more focused, and more powerful than almost any other local media.

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The $75,000 Advertiser's Mistake 💸

 

Here’s where the money comes in.

 

Chad started looking around the ballpark at all the ads. Banners on the scoreboard, scrolling marquees, and annoying jingles for local realtors.

 

He did a quick search. What does it cost to advertise in that stadium?

 

It costs about $75,000 a year.

 

Businesses are paying $75,000 for ads that are, as Chad put it, "ineffective". People are there to watch the game, not to call the realtor on the scoreboard.

 

Your newsletter is different. You have the power to put an offer directly into the hands of 10,000 local buyers. You can track the clicks. You can prove the results.

 

What you have is more effective, more trackable, and more valuable than those $75,000 stadium ads.

 

You Are the Authority (And a Sellable Asset)

 

When you own the stadium, you are the #1 authority figure.

 

As the publisher of your newsletter, you are the owner. You are the one in the center of the field with the microphone. Local businesses will see you as the authority.

 

This is how you build a real, sellable asset.

 

• The Charlotte Agenda, a local newsletter, sold for $5 million with 21,000 subscribers.
  
  

• Nap Town Scoop, whose founder spoke to the Mastermind, sold for $1 million. At its peak, it was making $300,000 a year from just six sponsors.
  
  

They didn't just have a list. They built a stadium.

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Your #1 Goal: "If You Build It, They Will Come"

 

So, what is your number one goal right now?

 

It's not to chase sponsors. It's not to be perfect.

 

Your number one goal is to build your stadium.

 

Focus 100% on growth. Use every tool you have—Letterman, Facebook ads, reels, and co-registration—to grow your subscriber list.

 

Chad repeated the famous line from Field of Dreams: "If you build it, they will come".

 

Once you build that stadium, the advertisers and sponsors will come.

 

 You won't have to chase them. They will be "knocking on your door".

 

So, stop thinking of yourself as an "email marketer." You are a stadium builder. You are the owner of the most valuable local media asset in your town.

 

Now, go build it.