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There are some newsletters that charge directly for their content, though those are the exception. You couldn't do that for just any market. For example, The Hotline from National Journal is a paid email newsletter that lots of politicos here in DC subscribe to.

I've even seen people who charge for the newsletter, but you can get it for free if you fill out an extensive questionnaire and "qualify".

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Lerter.ly Is trying to make charging for email newsletters easier. I agree that it's not right for every market though, we polled our audience and less that 1% were willing to pay $5/mo for the content. In the startup world there is just too much free info to justify paying for it.

I think that having actionable content would be the key. People who work in politics have a lot riding on being in the know, so Hotline succeeds. I think this is also part of the reason why WSJ can charge for their website, but USA Today can't.

Thanks for the tip on letter.ly

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