How a marketer quit her job to generate five figures with a premium podcast - Chus Naharro

In 2021, Chus quit her job and took a few weeks off to consider the direction she wanted to take her career. 

From that period of reflection emerged a career specializing in newsletters, leading her to build a business that includes consulting services and paid content production.

The Beginnings and Redllenando

Chus started her indie gadgets blog, Redllenando, in 2013 with the simple goal of learning how to create a blog. However, as she gained knowledge and connected with others, she discovered that it was possible to monetize a blog, which sparked her interest in the world of SEO. 

As her blog grew, coinciding with her joining Publisuites, she decided to launch a newsletter, a format she greatly enjoyed and which also allowed her to work on her personal brand. This way, she wasn't just writing to rank on Google but could also showcase her true personality and reveal the person behind the blog.

The newsletter was key for showcasing different products without having to spend a lot of time creating a full article about each one. Additionally, it allowed her to complement the information with references to the blog's content for a particular week. Thus, the newsletter became an important part of her project.

In 2020, Chus decided to venture into the world of podcasts, finding them very interesting and trendy. This added a third pillar to her project: the podcast "GadgetoCast." Thanks to all these accumulated experiences, Chus acquired technical knowledge, skills to generate quality content, and confidence in front of the microphone. Every step in her journey has led to positive results and has been fundamental for her professional growth and development.

Chus took quite a while to monetize her project because she lacked the critical mass of traffic needed to insert affiliate links, especially on Amazon, which was the predominant option on her blog. It also took her time to include affiliate links in her newsletter, as she feared people would see it as blatant self-promotion. 

I believe the return on creating content is the knowledge you gain about the industry and the network of contacts you build. Do things, and things will happen.

However, over time, Chus realized that these links generated revenue and that readers did not complain about their presence. She saw the value in not monopolizing all the content with affiliate links but in providing variety. The same happened with her podcast, where she tried to talk about products she had tested or found interesting on the internet. Some of these products made sense to include affiliate links, while others were not sold through affiliate programs.

In 2021, Chus tested the formula of sponsorships in her podcast and newsletterand despite having a niche podcast and newsletter without a massive audience or high volume of listeners or readers, it went quite well for her.

Now uses Redllenando as a testing ground for experimenting with tools, strategies, and initiatives, which she then discusses in her paid podcast. 

You can learn about Chus's story in detail in the interview we conducted with her on the Mumbler podcast:

Change of course

In 2021, Chus experienced an interesting moment in her career when he decided quit your full-time job and take some time to reflect on where you wanted to take your professional life. 

During that period, she launched a study in which he surveyed several newsletter creators with the aim of analyzing the situation. The study generated a considerable impact in the sector and Chus began to be interviewed in other podcasts and media.

She realized that offering consulting and helping to integrate a newsletter into a broader content strategy was very valuable and decided to link her personal brand to newsletters and offer advisory and consulting services.

To achieve this connection, Chus first launched a newsletter and then a podcast called “Creating Newsletters.” In the podcast she talks to other newsletter creators, exploring the ins and outs of their projects, their way of working and how they monetize their content. 

This initiative was a success and attracted people with similar interests in the world of newsletters.

Creando newsletters

Given the growth and continued interest around her work, Chus saw that the newsletter and the free podcast were no longer enough and there was an audience eager for a premium podcast with more depth in the content. 

With the support and encouragement of other content creators who appeared on his podcast, she decided to launch her podcast premium “Creando Newsletters” and this way validate the idea that people are willing to pay for quality and well-crafted content. 

I wanted to validate in some way that there were people willing to pay for quality content, well worked on a premium podcast plus a community, which is what I have now in "Creando Newsletters".

When Chus launched her subscription podcast, she had only 430 newsletter contacts. In the first week of launch, approximately 4% of its audience became paying subscribers to the podcast.

Chus has managed to establish himself as a leading figure in the world of newsletters through his podcast and newsletter. These two initiatives complement each other, forming the top of a funnel that directs listeners and readers to the paid podcast, where they can access exclusive and higher-value content.

You don't have to set super-big goals either, but rather live a little longer and enjoy doing things.

Chus' current figures (business incomes and turnover percentages): 

• Consulting and services: 60%
• Membership: 20%
• Digital products selling (courses): 10%
• Training: 10%

Future

Chus' objective is to direct its newsletter advisory/consulting services to companies that wish to enhance their presence through their newsletter. The reason is simple, in companies of this type it is possible to get higher average tickets. 

In parallel, Chus wants to continue producing premium content and her main focus is to grow the newsletter community in Spanish. When she introduced the premium podcast, her premise was to create the largest community in this area and she is more than succeeding. 

Her goal is to achieve that 50% of her income comes from the sale of services, while the rest of their income comes from the sale of premium content, such as the “Creando newsletters” podcast. 

Chus advice

For Chus, the main recommendation to content creators is consistency: "It seems that everyone wants immediate results, hoping to obtain sponsorships or reach a thousand subscribers in the first month, and if it doesn't happen, they consider it not worth it." 

For Chus, content creation is a long-term career in which, in the end, only the most persistent manage to stand out. 

In her case, although the economic return has come over time, she considers it a secondary aspect. For her, the true return is the knowledge acquired in the sector, the established network of contacts and the fact that when taking action, opportunities arise. 

This approach allows you to evolve day by day and try new challenges: “Everything is in constant motion, so it is not necessary to set big goals, but rather live the process and enjoy each step that is taken.”