New Media

In today's episode Matt and Kolby break down historic media disruptions—from cable TV's ESPN and CNN to Joe Rogan's $250M Spotify deal—pulling out what's working, what's being left on the table, and who actually has a real thesis on AI today, from The Rundown's $10M+ newsletter to HubSpot's media buying spree.

Timestamps:
00:00 Intro: AI Anxiety and Plateauing Founders
03:59 The Framework: How Founders Should Respond to AI
05:14 Is This an AI Bubble? Cable TV's ESPN and CNN Bet
08:35 Web 1.0: Huffington Post's $315M Exit and Motley Fool's Billion-Dollar Run
09:32 Viral Video Era: BuzzFeed's Rise, Barstool's $551M Sale
12:23 Mobile Wave: Industry Dive's $525M Exit
14:12 Axios's Smart Brevity and $525M Sale
17:27 The Athletic's $500M Sale, Joe Rogan's $250M Deal, and Mr. Beast
19:54 The Common Thread: Every Disruptor Needs a Thesis
22:40 Who Has a Real AI Thesis Today?
24:59 The Rundown AI's $10M+ Newsletter and Its PE Deal
29:31 HubSpot's Strategy of Buying Up Media Companies
34:55 Local News, AI-Generated Content, and 6AM City
46:06 Breaking Points, Ground News, and the Rise of Trusted Filters
53:03 Owning a New Category: Latent Space's AI Engineer Events
59:13 Every's Bundled AI Tools and Software-Funded Media

📌 Resources: 
The Rundown AI
Every
Ground News
Latent Space

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This episode is brought to you by Circle — the all-in-one platform to run your community, courses, and memberships in one place. Try it free 👉 https://circle.so/eclipse

Chandler Bolt (SelfPublishing.com) joins Matt to break down how one niche book generated $7M in 12 months, why "the riches are in the niches," how to turn tactics into ownable frameworks, and the value ladder that grew SelfPublishing.com past $80M.

Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:25 Can a Niche Expert Really Write a Book?
03:59 Why a Book Is the Ultimate Lever
06:36 "I'm Not a Good Writer" — Write Like You Talk
09:06 Is My Idea Too Niche? Strategies vs Tactics
11:05 How "Published" Made $7M in 12 Months
13:37 Turning Tactics Into Frameworks
17:19 Does a Book Have To Be 250 Pages?
19:55 Selling Books Without a Huge Audience
24:13 Book Royalties Explained (20–70%)
25:47 Amazon Discovery + Vertical SEO
28:19 How To Use AI To Write a Book
33:37 Will a Book Cannibalize My Course?
38:09 One-to-One vs One-to-Many: Packaging Expertise
42:12 Are Courses Dying? The Services Pivot
48:03 Where To Find Chandler

📌 Resources:
SelfPublishing.com
Book a call with the team
Sign and Thrive by Bill Soroka

🔗 Connect with Chandler Bolt:
Linkedin
Website
YouTube

Build a community product with nothing but a prompt, try Circle AI free 👉 https://circle.so/eclipse
Kolby and Matt rank 25 creator income streams and reveal the simple consulting-call-to-agency funnel that took Growletter to 7-figures.
Timestamps: 
 02:28 Is Speaking Worth Your Time?
 06:03 One-on-One Coaching's Underrated Upside
 10:29 Sponsorships and Brand Deals
 14:32 Programmatic Ads and MrBeast's $20M Month
 20:00 Affiliate Marketing's Race to the Bottom
 24:02 Digital Products in the Age of LLMs
 29:02 Vibe Products: AI's New Frontier for Creators
 34:50 Subscriptions vs. Memberships
 44:34 Live Cohorts vs. Group Coaching
 51:41 Why Courses Fell to F Tier
 55:48 Done-for-You Services and the Funnel That Built Growletter
 1:04:09 Licensing Deals: Feast or Famine
 1:08:36 Masterminds and Peer Groups
 1:13:53 Should You Write a Book?
 1:20:41 Events and the Final Tier List
📌 Resources: 
New Media Summit
 The Lab (Jay Clouse)
 StoryBrand
Enjoying the show? Leave a 5-star review on Apple or Spotify, then email matt@growletter.co or kolby@growletter.co with a screenshot and a question — we'll answer it on the show.
This episode is sponsored by Circle.

Daniel Bustamante (Velocity, Ship 30 for 30) joins Matt and Kolby to break down the email launch tactics that add 20% to every launch—the mid-launch bonus that kills the dead middle, the $99 product that made $25K in 48 hours, the post-launch downsell, and the feedback email that makes your next launch better.
Timestamps: 
 00:55 Expiring Mid-Launch Bonuses (Kill the U-Shape)
 03:18 What Bonus to Offer & Ideal Launch Length
 07:36 The 48-Hour Flash Sale: $25K From a $99 Product
 12:24 Hormozi's "Sold Out" Email & Waitlist Flywheel
 16:24 Should You Cap Enrollment?
 18:46 The Post-Launch Downsell (+15–20% Revenue)
 22:15 Downsell Ideas & Checkout Upsells
 24:12 When to Offer Payment Plans
 28:44 The "Why Didn't You Buy?" Email
 30:49 AI Hyper-Personalized Lead Magnets
 35:39 Quiz Funnels Done Right
 36:45 Why Cohort Courses Work (Ship 30 Lessons)
 43:01 One Piece of Advice for Launching a Cohort
 44:22 Where to Find Daniel
📌 Resources: 
Kit (email platform)
 ScoreApp (quiz funnels)
 Ship 30 for 30
🔗 Connect with Daniel: 
LinkedIn
 Website
 Newsletter
Enjoying the show? Leave a 5-star review on Apple or Spotify, then email matt@growletter.co or kolby@growletter.co with a screenshot and a question — we'll answer it on the show.

Daniel Berk (Moneywise Podcast by Hampton) joins Matt and Kolby to talk about why the local newsletter isn't the business—the audience is, how AI services are the untapped green space for local brick-and-mortars, why the viral Substack tweet got email wrong, and how an X DM with Sam Parr turned into a podcast hosting gig.
Timestamps:
 00:00 Intro
 02:00 Palmetto Parents: Three Local Newsletters
 06:40 How Local Newsletters Actually Make Money
 11:00 "Own The Town" — Arbitraging Your Audience
 14:30 Axios, 6AM City & The Big-Metro Model
 17:00 Local AI Services: The Untapped Greenspace
 23:15 The Nonprofit (501c3) Newsletter Play
 26:15 Is Email Dead? The Viral Substack Tweet
 33:00 What "Owned Audience" Really Means
 37:30 Moneywise & Two Dads In Tech
 40:00 How A Twitter DM Became The Moneywise Gig
 45:30 Command The Room Like A Nine-Figure Podcast
📌 Resources:
 Palmetto Parents
 Moneywise by Hampton

🔗 Connect with Daniel Berk:
 LinkedIn
 X / Twitter
 Newsletter
Enjoying the show? Leave a 5-star review on Apple or Spotify, then email matt@growletter.co or kolby@growletter.co with a screenshot and a question — we'll answer it on the show.