I just started a newsletter for startup marketers, and before writing a single issue I sat down and did the sponsor math — because most people get this backwards.

Here's the mistake: you build an audience, THEN figure out pricing. But sponsors don't pay for subscriber count — they pay for a specific, describable reader. "5,000 subscribers" is worth nothing to a sponsor. "5,000 marketing leads at Series A/B startups who read every Tuesday" is worth real money, even at a small list size.

The framework I'm using:

• Nail the ICP before issue #1 (mine: growth/marketing folks at startups, not "entrepreneurs")

• Price your first sponsor slot low ($50-150) to get case studies, not revenue

• Track click-through, not just opens — that's what renews sponsors

• Layer a paid tier on top ($19-29/mo) early. It signals the free list is valuable enough that people pay for more, which makes sponsors trust the audience more too

Most people wait until they have 10k+ subscribers to think about monetization. By then you've trained your audience to expect everything free, and sponsors to expect you to be cheap. Price the value from day one.

Curious if others here are running newsletters — what's your sponsor pricing model?