What does it take to develop a prosperous newspaper with 60,000+ engagement readers while working full -time as CFO?
From most metrics, CJ Gustafson, on the episode of this week’s episode, is for podcast to share how they created a high -profitable brand.
In this episode, he distributes a masterclass in the power of newspaper development, mudification and the power of niche.
It is a conversation that has been packed with actionable insight and back stories, and CJs show how they once converted the slow-growing side project into a high-performance B2B media brand, which serves more than 60,000 customers-including CFOs, Founder, and Business Nurs.
Watch the full episode
CFO to full -time manufacturer
The story of CJ Gustafson is a compelling.
As a technical CFO, he climbed the corporate ladder, gained experience in private equity, and eventually found his passion in financial analysis and scaling businesses. But in December 2020, he started something on the side-most of the metrics, a newspaper that would eventually become their full-time discovery.
For almost two years, the CJ newspaper had only 400 customers. He believes that it was difficult, but he kept writing because he believed in this process. He soon discovered that his unique way of explaining financial matrix and commercial concepts in plain English had echoed with the people. By simplifying complex themes and impressing humor in his content, he found his audience.
For today, fast forward, and most metrics have more than 62,000 customers, a mixture of payment and free readers. He recently jumped and left his CFO role to focus full -time on the newspapers and its respective undertakings.
Find the right audience
Initially, the CJ was writing for “CJ since five years ago” – trying to understand the financial matrix better. Over time, his audience refined himself:
- 25% are CFOs or work in finance roles
- 20% are entrepreneurs and business leaders who are looking for better ways to allocate resources and track matrix.
- The rest are investors and professional enthusiasts who enjoy learning how companies earn money.
Learned a major text CJ: Ala audience can be extremely valuable.
He questioned whether his target audiences were very narrow, but he realized that the CFOS controls the company’s budget and takes significant financial decisions – making them a highly valuable group for advertisers.
Development strategies that work
CJ’s newsletter did not grow overnight. He tested several strategies, some of which worked exceptionally well:
- Owner of a niche on Twitter
- He made a list of 20 finance-related words and phrases
- Every night, he discovered Twitter for those terms and left practical comments while connecting back to his newspaper.
- This method helped them grow from 1,000 to 10,000 customers
- Guest posting for companies
- CJ took advantage of his expertise to write guest posts for famous financial brands like Brax and Mercury
- These partnerships gave him credibility and helped him reach the big audience
- Start a podcast
- Their podcast, run numbers, gave them a stable stream of material ideas
- Negotiations with CFO and industry leaders provided a new insight he can turn into newspapers subjects
- Subscribe recommendations
- Being on the substation, he was allowed to benefit from his recommendation system, which brought new readers who already followed the same material.
In around 8,000 customers, the CJ noted a shift – his newspaper was now receiving 50+ new customers per day, purely through mouth and organic development.
Mudrajan: Build a Business
CJ’s business model evolved over time.
Here is how he earns money today:
1. Payed membership
- He turned on the membership paid on 11,000 customers
- The cost of the paid newspaper is $ 15/month or $ 150/year
- Payed materials include deep dives in playbook, template and CFO strategy
2. Sponsorship and advertisement
- CJ runs an advertisement per newspaper, keeping the content clean and premium.
- He quarterly sells sponsorship packages, bundling both newspapers and podcasts
- This structured approach helps to maintain long -term advertiser relations
3. Data report
- His new Finance Tech Stack 2025 Report is expected to be an attractive data business
- He surveyed more than 1,000 CFOs on the devices that they use and are benchmark from the size of the company.
4. Exclusive CFO Dinner
- Some paid sponsor allows for 20 CFOs for host, networking and mood for 20 CFOs with spots
- The sponsors gave the opportunity to directly connect with the decision making takers
Major Matrix to track
As a person with a number, the CJ is careful about tracking success. Here the major performance indicators (kpi) he sees:
- Share and forward: The strongest indicator of engagement and organic development
- Customer growth rate: Average of 1,500-2,000 new customers per month
- Engagement signs: More important than choice, he gives importance to personal answers and discussions from readers
- Conversion rate for paid customers: His free-to-paid material helps determine the effectiveness of strategy
Lessons for interested creators
CJ’s journey provides several takeaments for those who develop their own audiences and mudge the content:
- Write about what you know – but make it accessible.
- Search by attaching your audience where they are already.
- Quality material leads to organic growth – do not rely on hack.
- From paid subscription to sponsorship and events, bring variations in revenue currents.
- Create a unique voice and bend in your personality.
final thoughts
The success of CJ with most metrics suggests that great materials, strategic development and audience trust can turn a niche newspaper into a rich business.
By focusing on the insight of quality and making financial concepts reliable, they have created something that CFOs – and anyone interested in business matrix – cannot wait to read.
