Ghost.org's Nonprofit Success
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Ghost.org is a WordPress competitor that combines website building with newsletter/community features, offering a more cost-effective alternative to Substack. Operating as a nonprofit, they're generating $3.5M in annual revenue while building in public.
Key Points:
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Core Product Features:
- Website building platform (like WordPress)
- Email newsletter functionality (like Substack)
- Paywall article capabilities
- Paid community features
- Open-source platform
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Business Model:
- Flat monthly fee structure instead of revenue percentage
- Tiers range from $10 to $200 per month
- Significantly cheaper than Substack's 10% revenue cut
- Could save users thousands monthly compared to competitors
- Flat monthly fee structure instead of revenue percentage
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Unique Aspects:
- Operates as a nonprofit
- Uses volunteer contributors
- Builds in public
- Monthly blog updates
- Reveals revenue numbers
- Financial transparency due to nonprofit status
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Growth Potential:
- Currently at $3.5M annual revenue
- Following similar growth trajectory to ConvertKit (now at $30M revenue)
- Predicted to become a multi-hundred-million dollar company
- Well-positioned to capture 10% of the self-publishing market
Sam Parr
Host of MFM and fitness influencer
Sam Parr is a serial entrepreneur and business media pioneer.
In 2016, he founded The Hustle, a business news media company that started in his kitchen with just $12 and grew to eight figures in revenue.
Sam led the charge in making newsletters popular when few believed in their potential.
After four successful years, he sold The Hustle to HubSpot, a publicly traded company. Now operating as HubSpot Media, The Hustle reaches 3 million readers daily, employs a team of nearly 100, and has been the launchpad for dozens of its staff to found their own media companies and newsletters.
Sam remains the host of the popular business podcast, My First Million, and continues to start and sell companies. He also co-founded Hampton, a highly vetted community for entrepreneurs, founders, and CEOs, and teaches people to write better through his platform, Copy That.