A key milestone — thanks to you
A year ago, The Ledger took a chance on a new business model. We continue to evolve, thanks to our growing roster of paying subscribers.
About a year ago this week, I admit, I was nervous.
I had been publishing The Ledger for free for about a year, mostly solo, and it was time to take the next step in turning this newsletter into an actual sustainable business. Before I went to bed that night, on Feb. 24, 2020, I clicked a few buttons on the newsletter tech platform The Ledger uses that enabled readers to start paying. That next morning, I was planning to send our most enthusiastic supporters an email previewing our new approach — that we would start a version of The Ledger that was available only to paying customers.
It felt like a gamble: We’re all bombarded with information. There are many other sources of news in Charlotte, most of them backed by big corporations with far greater resources. People are accustomed to getting news for free on the internet. Would people actually pay The Ledger for what we were producing? Can good journalism also be good business? I was hopeful, but I honestly didn’t know.
When I woke up the next morning, I was astonished to see that even before my announcement letter went out, somebody I didn’t even know had apparently stumbled upon our website overnight and paid $99 for a subscription. Then, at 7:33 a.m., I sent out my email to about 130 people. I had to resend it an hour later, because, crucially, I messed up the sign-up link in the original version. (D’oh!)
Readers were forgiving. They started subscribing, and they wrote encouraging notes such as:
“Excited for you and what you are building!”
“I’m in, Tony!! Nice job and believe you have a viable model.”
“Glad to see you make this move, and I will of course sign up and encourage others to do the same.”
Over the following couple months, even as the pandemic ground everything to a halt, people kept subscribing — hundreds and hundreds of them. And we’ve kept growing, thanks to the grassroots support of subscribers, our Premium subscribers and our sponsors. Today, our tech platform, Substack, lists us, remarkably, as its 3rd-largest paid newsletter in the “news” category:
To harness your passion, form it into an idea and turn it into a business — it’s a great feeling. As a business reporter for many years, I had covered entrepreneurs and heard them describe their excitement, nervousness and hard work. Now, I understand it.
Because of that early support, I was able to hire Cristina Bolling as our managing editor in April. Cristina has been a friend for many years, and I was honored that she left The Charlotte Observer after 20 years for my upstart operation — which until then consisted mostly of me sitting in my den with my phone and a laptop computer. She has made us better, and our work stronger. Cristina and I share a vision of building a locally owned small business around the principle that Charlotte deserves better, smarter information, delivered by people who understand this city and in a way that is modern and relevant to you.
Reminders coming: No matter at what point you have joined us in the last year, we thank you. Many of you who subscribed in February and March of 2020 and pay annually will soon see reminders in your inboxes that your renewal is approaching. If you do nothing, and your credit card is current, your subscription will continue for a second year. You are always free to opt out.
Many subscription businesses don’t advertise that your renewal is coming up, and they probably hope you forget and don’t notice. We want to be transparent and let you know. We hope that you have seen value from The Ledger in the last year, as we have broken news, identified trends and clued you in on many things you wouldn’t have otherwise known. The beauty of our reader-centric business model is that you are our customer. Paying subscribers account for 85% of our revenue. We answer to you, not to the legions of advertisers that are the primary financial backers of most other media. If our readers support us, we grow. If they don’t, we decline. That motivates us to ensure we are working our hardest for our readers.
Compared with the national out-of-state companies that dominate Charlotte’s media landscape, The Ledger is small. We like to think we punch above our weight. We’re growing, at a sustainable rate, and we have a lot of exciting plans that we will share with you throughout this year. We see opportunities to do more, and to do it better. We are excited about The Ledger: Season 2 and hope you are as well.
Thank you again for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Tony Mecia
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The Charlotte Ledger is an e-newsletter and website publishing timely, informative, and interesting local business-y news and analysis Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, except holidays and as noted. We strive for fairness and accuracy and will correct all known errors. The content reflects the independent editorial judgment of The Charlotte Ledger. Any advertising, paid marketing, or sponsored content will be clearly labeled.
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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Contributing editor: Tim Whitmire, CXN Advisory; Reporting intern: David Griffith