Jeff Possiel is a content creator and community leader who founded the online media portfolio Dogwood Projects, which consists of online communities, newsletters and courses. He’s created and sold two newsletters called HR Endeavors and Workshapes, as well as a community called Leadership Think Tank. He agreed to share his newsletter acquisition experience, as well as some advice for curious publishers.
What newsletters did you sell?
I sold two standalone newsletters and a community package of a LinkedIn Group (400,000 members) + Newsletter (20,000 Subscribers) that ran congruently.
- HR Endeavors on Duuce
- Workshapes on Duuce
- Leadership Think Tank
Why did you sell your newsletters?
I first started to explore selling my two standalone newsletters (HR Endeavors + WorkShapes) because I was feeling quite scattered day-to-day and wanted to streamline my focus into my largest community. A bit of a capital infusion would also help do that, both for my business of one, and my family.
I always understood the value of a newsletter. Email is the foundation to communication, which in turn becomes people connecting to other people, which births ideas, and the products/businesses that people need to execute on those ideas.
I’ve been working with online publishers in the content, lead and revenue generation space since 2014, and when newsletters became “hot” (again!), I knew I had grown something that would be valuable to others and also that I was a part of that ecosystem online where I could find someone to partner with.
I listed them both on Duuce. I had known Jonas the creator via the Newsletter Creators group on Facebook. I began receiving inquiries pretty quickly, and within weeks, I had WorkShapes under contract to sell. This was a sales/marketing based newsletter that curated impactful techniques, tools, and stories.
HR Endeavors had a lot more interest, so it took a bit more work to weed through the inquiries. But prior to the end of 2020, I had deals in place for both to be completely sold a few weeks into January 2021.
The simplicity, speed and influx of cash was satisfying and also freeing. These were things I had been working on for two years at the time without having a clear picture of what the end would look like. I felt a weight off my shoulders and a much clearer mind.
Because of all of these things (simplicity, speed, cash, and mindset), I decided to try and post the community. It is a bit of a unique setup in that the core product was a LinkedIn group, with a newsletter that I built out of it and ran congruently.
I posted on Duuce and Microacquire this time because of the price point in the 6-figures and the certain B2B buyer. This proved to be just as easy, with just a bit more conversation. I actually had a buyer who I negotiated happily with, and prior to finalizing the deal, was struck with an out-of-the-blue inquiry from another partner.
After that, I spent a full six months dedicating myself to my family, brainstorming always, but not ever prioritizing “work” over play. This clean slate allowed me to revisit my purpose, dig within, explore outside, reimagine “career,” and establish meaningful goals moving forward.
Why do you think buyers were interested in your newsletter?
These were each sold to growing organizations who understood newsletters and community. They knew that having an aligned audience via email is a direct channel toward transacting business.
There were other bidders in each situation, but the conversations were elementary and required education of the value of newsletters. That was never going to work for me because I knew it wouldn’t work for them.
I knew that these situations would require dedicated time post-sale, which is not what I wanted. Seeking partners who understood the functionality of an audience for an organization was key. Anyone that asked for months of consulting time was a no-go for me in my situation.
What single action did you take that moved the needle the most?
It’s actually a unique model from what you see out in the newsletter ecosystem– the use of LinkedIn, particularly LinkedIn groups. The way that I initially launched, continued to grow, engage, and generate revenue was through partnering and even acquiring LinkedIn groups.
I’m not a developer or a paid-ad specialist. My strength has always been soft skills that focus on relationship building and partnerships. I prefer to focus on engagement rather than technical growth hacks.
I’ve worked with over 300 LinkedIn groups over the years, so it’s an arena that I understand. Although it was never a goal of mine to be an expert on LinkedIn Groups, it’s what happened. Partnering with these groups allowed LinkedIn and its algorithm to do the work of growing its group members while I focus on community member management and engagement.
I know this isn’t sexy, and over the years, LinkedIn has faltered in many ways when it comes to enhancing groups to meet the functionality of things like FB Groups, Twitter, Slack, Discord and Circle.so. But this is the space I know and understand, and I also know and understand where and how to drive value from these groups.
What are you working on right now?
Utilizing the same model of pairing LinkedIn groups with newsletter and community-focused businesses, I’m working on two new newsletters while also teaching others how to do the same.
I am now building a Cannabis education and career platform called Inhale Digest. It’s a newsletter built on the foundation of two LinkedIn Groups that I’ve recently acquired– Cannabis Networking (9K+ members) and The Cannabis Group (21K+ members).
Inhale Digest is a platform for people who want to move into the cannabis industry and for current employees seeking to advance. It also offers a job board for employers to broadcast opportunities to our network.
I also launched an executive assistant newsletter called Assistant Ally out of a LinkedIn group that I partner with.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
I truly think everyone could benefit from having a newsletter – whether it’s a family newsletter you send monthly, or a 3x newsletter on a specific niche. It’s really the process of writing, collecting ideas and gathering thoughts that lead to learning and development, even selfishly for your own. It’s a way to timestamp the chaotic, ever-changing world of endless information on the internet.
I think too often that newsletter creators, especially early on, focus too much on growth rather than value-add engagement. In addition, when it comes to creating content, far too many people get stuck, which I believe turns their focus to growth rather than creating quality content.
One of the best ways to start a newsletter is by curating content. If you don’t know what to start a newsletter on, do it based on the things you enjoy. Create awareness of the things you read, watched, listened to, and spent money on. Organize and edit it, and push send.
I believe a newsletter is the foundation of unlimited possibilities.
Stay updated on Jeff’s projects on his Twitter @JeffPossiel.
Take your newsletter to the next level
Want to get curated newsletter advice and insights delivered to your inbox every week? Subscribe to Publish, our roundup of newsletter trends, strategies, and viewpoints to help publishers grow and monetize their audiences.
