He spends $1M per month on ads. And makes $50M per year.
Wed Feb 04 2026
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“Most people underestimate how long it takes for anything meaningful to happen.” — Matt Paulson, MarketBeat
Matt Paulson is the founder of MarketBeat, one of the largest independent financial media brands on the internet. What started as a scrappy side project eventually turned into a multi-newsletter business serving millions of investors, driven primarily by search, disciplined publishing, and long-term thinking.
In this episode, Matt walks through how MarketBeat grew over time, why newsletters became a central growth lever, how monetization evolved alongside the audience, and what most creators misunderstand about “overnight success.” This is a grounded, reality-based look at building a newsletter business that lasts.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Why Matt believes most newsletter creators reach for paid growth far too earlyThe channel Matt actively avoided for years, even as others obsessed over itThe two most important metrics Matt pays attention toMarketBeat's sign-up flow that earns back paid growth spend The surprising channel Matt is most bullish on today and why it prints moneyWhat “organic growth” actually looked like when it wasn’t glamorousHow MarketBeat evaluated channels based on profit, not attentionThe point where “more traffic” stopped being the goalWhat Matt would double down on today if starting from zeroLINKS MENTIONED
MarketBeat.comMattPaulson.comMarketBeat YouTube ChannelNewMediaSummit.com (use GIR20 for 20% off your ticket)Take your newsletter to the next level with Chenell & Dylan — join GIR Pro todayAll of Chenell's Free Content → FOLLOW ON SOCIAL
Chenell: Twitter | LinkedInDylan: LinkedIn | Substack | InstagramOUR NEWSLETTERS
growthinreverse.comgrowthcurrency.netSubscribe & Leave a Review:
Love what you’re hearing? Make sure to subscribe, and if you found this episode helpful, leave us a rating & review on your favorite podcast platform.
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Get the FREE Growth Levers Library: growthinreverse.com/growth-levers-library/ *** “Most people underestimate how long it takes for anything meaningful to happen.” — Matt Paulson, MarketBeat Matt Paulson is the founder of MarketBeat, one of the largest independent financial media brands on the internet. What started as a scrappy side project eventually turned into a multi-newsletter business serving millions of investors, driven primarily by search, disciplined publishing, and long-term thinking. In this episode, Matt walks through how MarketBeat grew over time, why newsletters became a central growth lever, how monetization evolved alongside the audience, and what most creators misunderstand about “overnight success.” This is a grounded, reality-based look at building a newsletter business that lasts. KEY TAKEAWAYS Why Matt believes most newsletter creators reach for paid growth far too earlyThe channel Matt actively avoided for years, even as others obsessed over itThe two most important metrics Matt pays attention toMarketBeat's sign-up flow that earns back paid growth spend The surprising channel Matt is most bullish on today and why it prints moneyWhat “organic growth” actually looked like when it wasn’t glamorousHow MarketBeat evaluated channels based on profit, not attentionThe point where “more traffic” stopped being the goalWhat Matt would double down on today if starting from zeroLINKS MENTIONED MarketBeat.comMattPaulson.comMarketBeat YouTube ChannelNewMediaSummit.com (use GIR20 for 20% off your ticket)Take your newsletter to the next level with Chenell & Dylan — join GIR Pro todayAll of Chenell's Free Content → FOLLOW ON SOCIAL Chenell: Twitter | LinkedInDylan: LinkedIn | Substack | InstagramOUR NEWSLETTERS growthinreverse.comgrowthcurrency.netSubscribe & Leave a Review: Love what you’re hearing? Make sure to subscribe, and if you found this episode helpful, leave us a rating & review on your favorite podcast platform.