(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.)
Not sure if you saw the big news yesterday, but I’m no longer writing a regular (bi-weekly) column at the Ankler. Don’t worry, there’s no drama. I’m going to still write the occasional article or feature over there.
All of this is great news for you, the reader—you’ll get more articles and analysis over here—but I will need your help.
Before I get into why I’m leaving, I need to give immediate and gracious thanks to Richard Rushfield—one of the best, most iconoclastic voices in Hollywood media today—for giving me a chance when I was basically an unknown blogger/very-very-very minor Twitter presence. We first partnered on The Irishman project back in 2019, then he and the legendary Janice Min chose me (me! Again, a mostly unknown blogger) to be their first new voice to write for The Ankler when they relaunched on Substack in 2021. Together, they created a brand new industry trade publication—which is no easy feat—and I was there from the start. Nothing’s more validating than that!
More importantly, The Ankler gave a huge lifeline to this newsletter when I (and my editor/researcher) desperately needed it, giving us the revenue to work full-time on this endeavor while our paid subs grew to a sustainable level.
I won’t lie, though: we’re still not quite where we need to be in terms of subscribers. Heck, one of my near-term goals is to hire a third researcher/writer to keep expanding this newsletter and its offerings.
So why pull back from The Ankler? Well, check out this eye-popping chart:
Yeah, ever since Substack created the Film/TV charts in November, my newsletter traffic has exploded. If things break my way, I could see The Entertainment Strategy Guy becoming the next new industry trade.
Growth has been tremendous, and I think that reflects well on the brand I’ve tried to build: truly data-focused, not scoop/interview-based; focused on truth over hype, nuance and context; and offering the “moderate” take on many issues. That sets me apart from every other industry trade.
I also want to keep expanding this newsletter/publication. In the future, I would love to…
- …write more deep dives into more subjects, like microdramas, the creator economy, the future of film distribution, and so on.
- …continue regularly updating series which I don’t have enough time for right now, like US streamer subscriber counts, my “Future of Film” series, tracking the WGA Success Based Residual rate, analyzing the financials for every media company, and more.
- …add more data verticals, like monthly or weekly reports on AVOD, aka YouTube/TikTok viewership, sports viewership, and so on.
- …expand into podcasts and some video.
For now, leaving The Ankler leaves me more time to focus on growing this website/newsletter. My editor/researcher and I are going to crank it into overdrive over the next few months. We really want to keep expanding this publication and turn it into something even greater.
But I can’t do it alone. I need your help.
How Can You Help?
On the one hand, I need the time that writing fewer articles for the Ankler provides me. On the other, it holds me back from my long-term goal: expanding this newsletter. I really, really, really want to start hiring more people. I have two incredibly talented people in mind that I would bring on to my team tomorrow if I could justify it financially.
But I’m just not there yet. So how can you help?
First, Please Become a Paid Subscriber
I’ll be blunt: I’m not where I need to be to maintain the same revenue without regular income from The Ankler. (To be clear, this income goal is exactly what it takes to provide two people a median income in Los Angeles; if you think I’m getting rich off this newsletter right now, I’m not. Hopefully, someday, not now.)
So please subscribe! A lot of new people started reading this website in the last five months; I need you! As a reader-supported publication, this outlet only survives and maintains its independence with your support.
Second, Consider a Group Subscription
I love, love, love when my readers read an article and share it with people. Nothing is more validating! But I hate, hate, hate when certain paid subscribers share nearly every article I write with dozens and dozens of people.
We have some people (especially people working at streamers who haaaaaaaate password sharing) sharing almost every single article every time they go out. That can’t happen anymore. Occasionally, sharing an article is great; sending every paywalled article to a listserv, not so much. After multiple warnings, I’ve already refunded two paid subscribers who were sharing my articles to wayyyyyy too many people; please don’t let that be you.
Now, there’s another option: group subscriptions. If your company would like a group subscription to my newsletter, please reach out.
Third, Spread The Word
Sharing articles you like on social media helps my growth tremendously, as does sending an article (just occasionally, as I wrote above) to one or two folks with the line, “This is my favorite Substack author.” Word of mouth is priceless. Lots of studies validate that personal recommendations do more to drive growth than paid media or any social media like.
Fourth, Ads!
My team and I have been prepping for the big change: selling ads.
If you’re an advertiser, or particularly, a publicist running FYC campaigns, please reach out!
Unlike some other publications, I plan full and radical disclosure on the ads I will be selling, who’s sponsored this newsletter, and how I’m going to maintain editorial independence. More on this soon.
Fifth, Merch?
Quick poll: would you buy merch? Head to Substack to vote on the poll.
