Indie Bites

<p><a href="https://twitter.com/rjgilbert">Ryan Gilbert</a> is the creator of the <a href="https://twitter.com/workspacesxyz">Workspaces</a> newsletter, which showcases the best workspaces in tech and beyond. He grew it to 6,000 subscribers and $2k per month with sponsors + affiliates, before being acquired by <a href="https://loops.so/">Loops</a> (Founder Chris Frantz was on <a href="https://indiebites.com/61">episode 61</a>) and going on to be their first employee. In this episode we talk about how simplicity has been so important for growth of the newsletter, how he makes it appealing for guests to share and his reasoning for selling at such an early stage.</p><p><strong>Timestamps</strong></p><ul><li>00:00 Intro</li><li>01:26 Life before Workspaces</li><li>03:37 Did you have any side projects before workspaces?</li><li>04:47 Growth of the Workspaces newsletter</li><li>06:40 How long did each edition take?</li><li>07:45 The best workspaces</li><li>08:25 Monetizing the newsletter</li><li>10:22 Selling the newsletter</li><li>13:08 Imposter syndrome</li><li>13:57 Recommendations</li></ul><p><strong>Recommendations</strong></p><ul><li>Book - <a href="https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&amp;ai=DChcSEwiv1ubfxMCAAxWL5O0KHRtjBOQYABAMGgJkZw&amp;ae=2&amp;ohost=www.google.com&amp;cid=CAESbeD2du2-ruJelFaSKgXu9lEMb-SgjAppknzsdeeCoprI9sZb29TugQQJedG71lzA-gRSXPIk4eWc1wGDS04Lo3uqct62rzqxEx3p67k9E5ZRvC9Zrzc5_4_dMXLAty4wxFyObtP_YfZJVheePpM&amp;sig=AOD64_12B8giUDUudjjV5dPpfF2-DlvY5Q&amp;ctype=5&amp;q=&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjfytzfxMCAAxXLUkEAHZSnDQEQww8oAnoECAgQCw&amp;adurl="><strong>The Creative Act</strong></a> by Rick Rubin</li><li>Podcast - <a href="https://podcast.creatorscience.com/"><strong>Creator Science</strong></a></li><li>Indie Hacker - <a href="https://twitter.com/@brettfromdj"><strong>Brett Williams</strong></a></li></ul><p><strong>Sponsor - </strong><a href="https://emailoctopus.com/"><strong>EmailOctopus</strong></a><strong> 🐙</strong></p><p><em>EmailOctopus is an independently owned email marketing platform, built to support other small growing businesses. With a focus on affordability and ease of use, EmailOctopus contains all of the features you need to reach and grow your audience. You can </em><a href="https://emailoctopus.com/"><em>start today</em></a><em>, with their industry leading free plan where you can contact up to 2,500 subscribers without paying a penny.</em></p>