https://x.com/austin_rief

Maniac Work Ethic

Austin Rief Started his newsletter in college while studying to be a banker in investment banking. Not only was he going to school, but he was interning at a bank prepping himself for the New York banker lifestyle. At 2018 Austin did nothing but write and manage the newsletter, until they can finally hire people to automate the tasks for them.

Focus And Growth

Austin wrote everyday to keep his business up to date, eventually his attendance for his work paid off, it required 2 employees to help them, because the workload was gaining on him. That 2 grew to 25, and then it topped off at 82 employees.

One Step At A Time

Austin, despite the immense growth in the company, he believe in doing things right, than to solve problems as the business grew. He only focused on one monetization method, and that is advertising. He didn’t want to do subscription because he wants to keep it all simple so he can manage the company comfortably. He probably could’ve done it and increase the monetary potential, but he values his work-life balance, and believe that a shaky approach may damage the company’s image.

Planning Ahead

he didn’t think his Ad monetization is the best method of earning revenue, so to get insurance for the economic safety of his company he allowed himself to be bought by Insider, that has connections to advertising in case the economy crash. Which turned out to be the right move because COVID happened, and businesses were dying left and right, while Morning Brew was able to stay afloat.

How To Advertise

Morning Brew advertise in a format where it feels human, the newsletter makes it sound like they are your friend recommending a product for your own good, instead of selling you snake oil so they can have money to pay rent. In modern day marketing it’s all about sounding like your business is a friend of the customer, not like the old days where an informercial is aggressively exhibiting a product’s capabilities, giving you a sense of malice.

Key Takeaway

Work On Your Free time people tend to spend their free time scrolling through social media, Austin would go to school, intern at a investment bank, and when he’s off those two duties, he focus on writing and marketing.

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