WATCH ▶️ Watch this episode on YouTube *** EPISODE DESCRIPTION Polina Pompliano is the author of The Profile, which studies the most successful and interesting people and companies in business, entertainment, tech, sports, and more. The Profile is a paid newsletter. Before Polina was writing The Profile, she wrote for Fortune, USA Today, and CNN. Polina also has nearly 130,000 followers on Twitter and in order to write exceptional profiles, says she read 1.8 million words online last year – the equivalent of 25 books. Profiles are a rare breed of writing – and Polina is really good at it. She’s written profiles of Sara Blakely, Elon Musk, Dwayne The Rock Johnson, Dolly Parton, Kris Jenner, and many more. In this episode, we talk about the difference between profiles and biographies, the economics behind a paid newsletter, the most effective strategies she’s found for growth, and why the secret to a great profile is found in the Details. Full transcript and show notes Subscribe to The Profile Follow Polina Pompliano on Twitter TIMESTAMPS 00:12 - New projects 01:00 - Today’s guest 01:40 - Polina by the numbers 03:00 - What we learn today 03:40 - Why profiles are great 05:40 - Difference between profiles and biographies 06:58 - What makes a great profile? 10:00 - How Polina approaches research 12:30 - How to tell what matters to someone 13:00 - How does Polina find time to do research 15:33 - What if you can’t get primary research? 16:10 - Response between primary and secondary research 17:09 - Ever have someone get mad? 18:35 - Free vs Paid offerings 19:40 - The Profile metrics 21:00 - The Profile business model 24:00 - What it takes to do a paid newsletter 28:00 - Important factors for growth 29:16 - Newsletter subscriber behavior 30:44 - Newsletter pricing 31:10 - Best methods for newsletter growth 33:27 - Newsletter cross promos 36:38 - Free to paid subscriber journey 39:10 - Name recognition and views 43:49 - Most difficult part of a newsletter business *** CONNECT 📬 Subscribe to the newsletter 🐦 Connect on Twitter 📸 Connect on Instagram 🎵 Connect on TikTok 🙏 Make a guest or mailbag request 📝 Check out our curated Playlists *** SPONSORS 💼 View all sponsors and offers *** SAY THANKS 📞 Leave me a voicemail 💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts 🟢 Leave a rating on Spotify ☕️ Buy Me A Coffee *** PODGLOMERATE NETWORK This show is a part of the Podglomerate network, a company that produces, distributes, and monetizes podcasts. We encourage you to visit the website and sign up for our newsletter for more information about our shows, launches, and events. For more information on how The Podglomerate treats data, please see our Privacy Policy.  Since you're listening to Creative Elements, we'd like to suggest you also try other Podglomerate shows surrounding entrepreneurship, business, and careers like Rocketship.fm and Freelance to Founder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

WATCH ▶️ Watch this episode on YouTube *** EPISODE DESCRIPTION Polina Pompliano is the author of The Profile, which studies the most successful and interesting people and companies in business, entertainment, tech, sports, and more. The Profile is a paid newsletter. Before Polina was writing The Profile, she wrote for Fortune, USA Today, and CNN. Polina also has nearly 130,000 followers on Twitter and in order to write exceptional profiles, says she read 1.8 million words online last year – the equivalent of 25 books. Profiles are a rare breed of writing – and Polina is really good at it. She’s written profiles of Sara Blakely, Elon Musk, Dwayne The Rock Johnson, Dolly Parton, Kris Jenner, and many more. In this episode, we talk about the difference between profiles and biographies, the economics behind a paid newsletter, the most effective strategies she’s found for growth, and why the secret to a great profile is found in the Details. Full transcript and show notes Subscribe to The Profile Follow Polina Pompliano on Twitter TIMESTAMPS 00:12 - New projects 01:00 - Today’s guest 01:40 - Polina by the numbers 03:00 - What we learn today 03:40 - Why profiles are great 05:40 - Difference between profiles and biographies 06:58 - What makes a great profile? 10:00 - How Polina approaches research 12:30 - How to tell what matters to someone 13:00 - How does Polina find time to do research 15:33 - What if you can’t get primary research? 16:10 - Response between primary and secondary research 17:09 - Ever have someone get mad? 18:35 - Free vs Paid offerings 19:40 - The Profile metrics 21:00 - The Profile business model 24:00 - What it takes to do a paid newsletter 28:00 - Important factors for growth 29:16 - Newsletter subscriber behavior 30:44 - Newsletter pricing 31:10 - Best methods for newsletter growth 33:27 - Newsletter cross promos 36:38 - Free to paid subscriber journey 39:10 - Name recognition and views 43:49 - Most difficult part of a newsletter business *** CONNECT 📬 Subscribe to the newsletter 🐦 Connect on Twitter 📸 Connect on Instagram 🎵 Connect on TikTok 🙏 Make a guest or mailbag request 📝 Check out our curated Playlists *** SPONSORS 💼 View all sponsors and offers *** SAY THANKS 📞 Leave me a voicemail 💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts 🟢 Leave a rating on Spotify ☕️ Buy Me A Coffee *** PODGLOMERATE NETWORK This show is a part of the Podglomerate network, a company that produces, distributes, and monetizes podcasts. We encourage you to visit the website and sign up for our newsletter for more information about our shows, launches, and events. For more information on how The Podglomerate treats data, please see our Privacy Policy.  Since you're listening to Creative Elements, we'd like to suggest you also try other Podglomerate shows surrounding entrepreneurship, business, and careers like Rocketship.fm and Freelance to Founder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices