How to Build a Thriving Local Newsletter with Smart Automation and Strategic Partnerships

If you're running a local newsletter—or thinking about starting one—this conversation is your goldmine. In this episode of Local Newsletter Insider, host TJ Larkin sits down with Shane Brady, a Canadian newsletter creator who’s built a media brand across two small towns. With 13,000 subscribers and a near sold-out ad inventory, Shane shares the systems, strategies, and mindset that have allowed him to run a profitable operation in just a few hours a week—all while holding down a full-time job.

From lean content creation workflows to leveraging AI for personalization and building successful partnerships, this episode is packed with actionable insights for anyone looking to grow or streamline their local media business.

You don’t need a big city to build a big audience.

Shane runs two newsletters: one in Belleville (population 55,000) and one in nearby Kingston. Together, they've grown to 13,000 subscribers—impressive in any context, but staggering when you consider that 25% of Belleville’s adult population is reading his newsletter.

He focused tightly on his radius—only targeting within 15 miles using Facebook ads—and priced acquisition realistically. Cost per subscriber averaged around 89 cents in Belleville, and even less in the early days of Kingston. “Eventually you get all the low-hanging fruit,” Shane says. “But even then, the costs were manageable.”

If you can find the right people, partnerships are rocket fuel.

Shane’s second newsletter came to life when a woman from Kingston emailed him, inspired by what he was doing. Rather than charging her upfront, they agreed on a future revenue-sharing model. “She’s kind of a unicorn,” Shane admits. With a background in marketing and communications, she writes the Kingston newsletter three days a week, matching Shane’s schedule in Belleville.

The partnership is simple: she handles content, Shane handles monetization. When ad revenue comes in, they split it. It’s a lean, low-risk way to expand without burning out.

Inbound sales are the dream—here’s how he made it reality.

Shane’s philosophy: “I’m never sending a newsletter without an ad.” To seed credibility, he started by giving ad slots to friends’ businesses for free. Within weeks, he had his first paid inbound. At 5,000 subscribers, things started to snowball—especially after he landed a major local advertiser, the town’s professional hockey team.

“That was the turning point,” Shane says. “Within hours, I had 15 inbound requests.” He’s now sold out of 90% of ad space for six months.

His pricing? Around $50 CPM, adjusted for his blue-collar market. “Some could pay more, some less,” he says. “I’m moving toward a flat subscription model—$500/month, no CPM math to confuse people.”

Manual curation meets AI-enhanced decision making.

At first, Shane spent 3–4 hours piecing content together across dozens of websites. That changed when he built a curation funnel:

“I uploaded my click reports to GPT, and it learned what content people click on,” he explains. “Now it recommends content for me, based on real data.” This feedback loop has not only saved time, but also improved retention and engagement.

Events used to be a time sink—now they’re a differentiator.

Finding and formatting local events was one of Shane’s biggest headaches. His solution? CitySpark, a paid event calendar tool that aggregates events from Facebook, websites, and more into one place. It’s public-facing (great for SEO and branding), customizable, and easy to monetize.

“It saved my life,” Shane says. “Now I can schedule events in five minutes, and I’ve started selling sponsorships on the calendar page too.”

Shane’s secret: dominate one town before expanding to another.

Once Belleville was saturated, Shane looked for the next underserved market. “There’s real opportunity in small-to-mid towns,” he says. “They’re big enough to monetize, but small enough that you can still cover everything.”

The goal is to create not just a newsletter, but a true local media brand. While he hasn’t fully launched a media site yet, he’s thinking about it. “Eventually, I want to be the one-stop shop for all news in town.”

You don’t just build newsletters—you build systems.

As Shane points out, small-town media outlets often don’t understand digital newsletters. “I could go to them and say, ‘You’re still doing things like it’s 2007. Let me show you how to update your tech and engagement.’” His dream? Offer newsletter-in-a-box consulting to existing media outlets who have the audience but not the tools.

Shane’s story is proof that a smart local newsletter doesn’t require a big team, tons of capital, or even a full-time commitment. With the right systems, strategic partnerships, and a data-driven approach, it's possible to build a thriving local media brand—even in a town of just 55,000 people.

His use of automation isn’t about removing the human touch—it’s about freeing up time to add more of it. Whether it’s selling ads, curating local events, or just staying consistent, Shane’s model offers a compelling roadmap for anyone looking to scale without burning out.

Before we dive into this week's insights, I want to make sure you know about all the resources available to support your local newsletter journey:

🎙️ The Podcast - Deep-dive conversations with successful newsletter operators sharing their playbooks and lessons learned | Link

📧 This Weekly Newsletter - Quick, actionable tips delivered straight to your inbox every week | Link

🧠 1:1 Consulting - Personalized guidance tailored to your specific newsletter challenges Link

🚀 Launch Accelerator - A structured program to help you go from idea to profitable newsletter in record time | Link

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