“Building a newsletter is the smartest investment I've made this year."

That's a direct quote from Alec Kremins, who turned a side project into a 4,000-subscriber media asset while working full-time at Beehiiv.

In less than a year, he's built JLM Scoop into a thriving local newsletter with

• 57.8% open rates

• 17.01% click-through rates

• growing by 100 subscribers daily

But here's the thing - he didn't start with any advantages.

He was brand new to Jerusalem, had zero newsletter experience, and was working a demanding full-time job.

So how did he do it? What's his playbook? Let's break it down...

(And if you're thinking about building your own local newsletter, you're going to want to read this whole thing.)

— Andrew

Playbook

While everyone chased social media followers in 2024, Alec Kremins built a local newsletter that gives him VIP access and 50% off local services in Jerusalem.

Today, JLM Scoop is a thriving media asset with:

• 4,000+ engaged subscribers

• 57.8% open rate (industry average: 21.5%)

• 17.01% click-through rate

• ~100 new subscribers daily

• Total investment under $3,000

• Just 2 hours of work per week

The twist? He started from scratch, with no newsletter experience, while working full-time at Beehiv in a brand-new city.

THE BREAKTHROUGH

Inspired by local newsletters like 6AM City and Naptown Scoop, Alec saw a gap: Jerusalem lacked engaging local coverage.

Traditional media didn’t highlight hidden gems, events, or community news in a fresh way.

His insight? A dedicated local audience would be:

• Valuable for readers seeking local info

• Essential for businesses targeting locals

• Easy to build with minimal effort

THE GROWTH FRAMEWORK

Alec's growth came in three distinct phases:

Phase 1: 0-500 Subscribers (Organic Growth)

Your first 500 subscribers should be organic. You should be able to hustle that out.

Strategy:

• Join and provide value in "dark social" platforms:

  • Facebook groups

  • WhatsApp groups

  • Local subreddits

  • Nextdoor

• Use "value-first" community tactics:

  • Share event lists in community groups

  • Answer questions with helpful information

  • Respond to recommendation requests

  • Provide value before mentioning the newsletter

Execution Example: "In Facebook groups, I'd post 'Here are the five best events happening this weekend' with links and everything, then at the very bottom say 'If you found this helpful, check out my newsletter.'"

Time investment: 1-2 hours weekly

Phase 2: 500-5,000 Subscribers (Paid Growth)

At 500 subscribers, Alec shifted to paid acquisition:

Facebook Ad Strategy:

• Target cost: $0.20-0.50 per subscriber

• Use leads campaign optimization

• Implement Facebook lead forms (not landing pages)

• Connect directly to newsletter via Zapier

• Budget around $1,000/month

The Lead Form Advantage: "When someone sees my ad, they stay on Facebook, putting their email and name directly on the Facebook leads form. Then I use Zapier to put that directly into Beehiiv. It's the most natural experience and costs less."

Phase 3: 5,000+ Subscribers (Scale & Monetize)

While JLM Scoop is still growing toward this milestone, Alec's plan includes:

• Continue optimizing Facebook ads

• Launch referral program with exclusive rewards

• Focus on high-value sponsorships

• Develop secondary revenue streams

• Expand the team strategically

THE CONTENT STRATEGY

Alec's newsletter is meticulously designed to maximize engagement and efficiency. Each section serves a specific purpose in the reader journey.

His content focuses on six core pillars:

1. Events (primary engagement driver)

2. Activities

3. Music and entertainment

4. Hidden spots/local gems

5. Food and drink

6. Interactive elements (polls, surveys)

Highest-performing content:

• Live music listings

• Hidden local gems

• Interactive polls

• Visual elements (GIFs)

The anti-lead magnet approach:

“I don't care about someone subscribing. I care about someone subscribing and staying subscribed.”

Instead of using lead magnets, Alec reserves valuable resources for his referral program, encouraging loyal readers to spread the word.

THE PLATFORM STRATEGY

While most creators chase followers across platforms, Alec took a different approach:
"I'd rather have 4,000 highly engaged email subscribers than 40,000 Instagram followers any day."

JLM Scoop's strategy is all about EMAIL OWNERSHIP:

• 10,000 email subscribers > 500,000 Instagram followers

• ✓ You own the audience

• ✓ Higher engagement

• ✓ Better conversion

Alec does leverage social media, but with purpose:

• Instagram: Tag and feature local businesses to encourage reshares

• Facebook: Community group participation with value-first approach

• Website: Simple landing page with clear value proposition

Everything drives back to email – the platform he owns and controls completely.

THE OPERATIONAL BLUEPRINT

Alec runs the entire operation in just 1-2 hours per week through a lean team:

The Team Framework

1. Newsletter Writer ($250-280/month for 4 editions)

   • Local to understand community

   • Works from consistent template

   • Sources events and content

2. Social Media Manager ($100/month)

   • Local student working part-time

   • Manages Instagram presence

   • Creates Stories and Reels

   • Tags local businesses

   • Engages with community

"I think a student is the best if you could tap into this. There are students around you who can handle social media, and it's a win-win. They get something for their portfolio when they apply to full-time jobs."

The Time Investment

• 5-10 minutes daily to monitor ad performance

• 20-30 minutes weekly to review content

• 30-45 minutes bi-weekly for planning and strategy

• Occasional time for relationship building with sponsors

THE MONETIZATION MODEL

Alec's approach emphasizes relationship-building first, with revenue coming later:

Primary Revenue Streams:

• Direct Sponsorships

  • Local businesses

  • Real estate agents (highest value)

  • Insurance agents

  • Local consultants

  • High-ticket service providers

The Relationship-First Approach:

• Feature businesses in content naturally

• Tag them on social media

• Share their content and events

• Demonstrate audience engagement

• Only then discuss sponsorship

The Immediate Benefits

Even before major sponsorships, the newsletter creates value:

"I reached out to a handyman service, the price was a little high, and I basically said, 'Hey, by the way, I run this newsletter with 4,000 subscribers. I'm happy to feature you guys.' Right away, they came down in price by half of what it would cost me."

THE SUBSCRIBER SURVEY HACK

One of Alec's most powerful tools is the post-subscription survey that gathers valuable demographic data:

• Placed immediately after sign-up

• Collects age, gender, location, interests

• Provides powerful data for sponsors

• Helps tailor content to audience preferences

"One of the big selling points when I go to sponsors is I know the types of people subscribing to my newsletter.

I know the age demographic because I have a survey. I know how long they've been living here."

THE INSTAGRAM GROWTH LOOP

The "Tag and Feature" strategy creates a virtuous growth cycle:

1. Feature local businesses in newsletter content

2. Have social media manager create posts highlighting those businesses

3. Tag the businesses in your posts

4. Businesses reshare to their audience, expanding your reach

5. New audience members subscribe to newsletter

"Let's say we feature a restaurant in the newsletter.

I'll have the Social Media Manager tag them on a story post saying, 'Hey, check out the newsletter. We featured you.'

A lot of times, they'll actually repost that, and you're getting more eyes on your newsletter."

THE FUTURE VISION

Alec sees his newsletter as just the beginning of a larger local media empire:

Potential Expansion Areas:

• Local events company

• Real estate referral network

• Local business directory

• Community marketplace

• Local advertising agency

FINAL ADVICE

"Email should be your number one focus, because you OWN that list. That is your number one form of distribution, and is not at the mercy of algorithms."

"Building in public isn't just something for founders or the executive team—every employee could use it as an asset."

By following this blueprint, you can build a valuable local newsletter that serves your community, creates business opportunities, and operates on just a few hours per week.

Instead of being at the mercy of social platforms, you'll own a direct connection to thousands of engaged local readers—an asset that grows more valuable every day.

Want the full playbook? Watch our complete conversation with Alec here.

How a 29-Year Old Built a $100K/Month Real Estate Business (WITHOUT Buying Leads)

Meet Taley Hunt, a powerhouse agent who went from making $36,000 a year to building a business that does over $1 million annually in just 4 years.

Taley found out she was pregnant on the day of her real estate exam, and still managed to sell 28 houses her rookie year with a newborn on her hip!

But it didn’t stop there…

We discuss:

• Her 3 strategies for generating business without buying leads

• How she scaled to 145 homes a year with no team and now a small team

• How she navigated the transition from solo agent to team leader

• Why she works "for" her team instead of them working "for" her

• The delicate balance of marriage when your spouse joins your business

• Why "there's no shortcut" to success in real estate Taley shares candidly about the

• Cost of fast growth: "a lack of work-life balance, a lack of sanity, a lack of happiness at some points.

Her story proves that with hard work and strategic thinking, anyone can transform their real estate business.

Search ‘Breaking and Building Leaders Taley Hunt’ on YouTube or your favorite podcast platform to listen to the full episode now!

Packaging (Topic + Title + Thumbnails) of the Week

1. 26x - MASSIVE CHANGES Coming to {CITY}'s {AREA} in {YEAR}

2. 1.6x - {CITY}'s Top {AREA}: Where to Find Your $#-$# Dream Home

3. 2.5x - {CITY} vs {CITY} {AREA} | Full Tours w/ Prices!

4. 2.2x - {CITY} Becoming The Next {CITY}?

5. 2.7x NEWEST Things Coming to {CITY} in {YEAR}

6. 2.4x - Mass Migration: Why {PEOPLE} Are Rushing to {CITY}!

7. 1x - The Challenges With Moving To {CITY} This Year

8. 2.9x - {CITY}'s BEST {AREA} for {LIFESTYLE} in {YEAR}

9. 10x - Touring The WEALTHIEST {AREA} In {CITY}

10. 0.9x - {CITY}'s {AREA}, Explained

In partnership with ella:

Turn Your Email List Into Listing Appointments With Ella

I’ve been writing newsletters & hyper-local email newsletters for well over 5 years now, but it wasn’t until Morning Brew sold a portion of the company for $75M, Axios sold for $525M, and more recently 6amCity raised over $10M that I realized email newsletters are not just a fad, they can be a huge part of your business.

Yet still some treat a newsletter like an afterthought.

• Just listed

• Just sold

• Open houses

• Market updates

The standard for local newsletters isn’t content it’s a glorified flyer.

So that’s why I partnered with Chris Smith to co-found ella.

It’s the only email marketing agency in real estate that focuses on writing hyper-local newsletters for you.

If you want your own hyper-local newsletter researched, written, designed, and sent for you, then make sure you check it out!

Rapid Fire For Your Consumption:

• The best AI tool for learning is NotebookLM.

• Perplexity + Claude = Magic combination. I use both daily.

• Manus AI is building AI teams for you replacing your tech stack. This requires a waitlist but it’s cool to watch where this goes.

• YouTube is actually easier in 2025 than you think. Rather than chase new ideas, double down on what already works. (Noah took 100 videos before finding success).

• YouTube only rewards genuinely good content there’s no shortcuts. The best way to win on YouTube is through educational content (This is helped Omar produce 70M views and well over 7-figures in income).

• For the modern entrepreneur content isn’t for promotion, it’s a core business function (It helped Alex scale from $7M to well over $13M a month)

• Johnny Harris predictable 4 million views per video is his obsession to be involved with greenlighted ideas & writing daily despite having a 25-person production team.

• The transition from solo creator to media company requires structured operations to maintain quality while increasing output volume.

• Giving feedback and maintaining a culture of excellence. From a 9-figure CEO

• How Butcherbox built a half a billion dollar business on values even when it was hard.

• Introverts make great leaders because introversion isn’t shyness it’s energy management. So we need strategies that align with our strengths.

• Winning arguments often means losing relationships. The most powerful question in a difficult conversation is “what am I missing?” from a speaking coach.

• There’s no secret in health just lifting weights and eating right. I don’t know enough about GLP-1’s but crazy to hear they’re “safe turn dials” for fat loss.

I hope you enjoyed this one!

I tried to include a range of content to help anyone at any level across numerous things.

So, I’m curious to hear your results after you implement 1 of these into your business!

Time to build for 2025!

Andrew Bayon

P.S. Want your marketing to be profitable & consistently generate clients? You can find out how we help agents get strangers to buy & sell with them.

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