Coffee With Cole: The Digital Writing Podcast

Episode Summary: "How To Build A $5k-10k Per Month Newsletter Ghostwriting Business (2025 Masterclass)"

Release Date: April 6, 2025
Host: Nicolas Cole

1. Introduction

In this masterclass episode, Nicolas Cole delves deep into the strategies for building a lucrative newsletter ghostwriting business, aiming to generate between $5,000 to $10,000 per month. Cole emphasizes actionable insights over personal anecdotes, ensuring listeners gain practical knowledge to kickstart or enhance their ghostwriting ventures.

2. The Lucrative Opportunity of Newsletter Ghostwriting

Cole begins by highlighting why newsletters stand out as the most profitable niche for ghostwriters in 2025. He underscores the underestimated potential of email as a communication vehicle, noting its continued dominance over newer platforms like social media.

Quote: "Email is still the dominant communication method, you know, even more than texting or DMing or social." [05:45]

He shares his own success, mentioning that his business has generated over $15 million through various email-centric strategies, reinforcing his belief in email's enduring value.

3. Project Services vs. Recurring Services

Cole differentiates between project-based services and recurring services:

• Project Services: One-time engagements focused on creating specific assets, such as educational email courses or book-a-call sequences. These are typically charged either 100% upfront or 50% upfront and 50% upon completion.

• Recurring Services: Ongoing engagements like weekly newsletters, which involve consistent output and are billed monthly. These services focus on continual improvement and maintaining client presence.

Quote: "The measure for success is not, I promise you some number of followers, I promise you some number of email subscribers... You are selling consistency." [47:20]

4. Identifying and Pitching the Right Clients

Cole outlines four primary types of opportunities to find founders and companies in need of newsletter ghostwriting:

1. Growing Social Presence: Individuals or businesses actively engaging on platforms like YouTube, LinkedIn, or X (formerly Twitter) but lacking effective email strategies.

2. Weak or No Website Opt-Ins: Companies with minimal or ineffective email collection methods on their websites.

3. Post-Opt-In Sequences: Businesses that collect emails but fail to follow up effectively, missing out on nurturing leads.

4. Advanced Sequences Needs: Companies requiring sophisticated email sequences like abandoned cart reminders, pre-call education, and upsell sequences.

Cole stresses the importance of educating potential clients about their existing problems and how tailored email strategies can resolve them.

Quote: "You need to pitch them that they have a problem, here’s why it’s a problem, here’s what it’s costing you, and here's how you can solve it." [66:30]

5. Packaging and Pricing Your Newsletter Offer

Cole provides a detailed framework for structuring and pricing newsletter ghostwriting services:

• Educational Email Course: Priced around $5,000 as a project. This involves creating a standalone opt-in page, developing the course content, and setting up the email automation.

• Weekly Newsletter: Billed at $3,000 to $6,000 per month. The service includes writing high-value content, subject line testing, segmenting audiences, and integrating AI tools to enhance efficiency.

Cole emphasizes the psychology behind pricing, noting that higher prices often result from writers’ confidence in their value.

Quote: "What is the difference between a writer charging three grand a month for this and a writer charging six grand? The difference is that the second writer decided to say a higher number." [1:15:10]

He also advises using "napkin math" to help clients understand the return on investment, making a compelling case for higher fees by linking them to potential client revenue growth.

6. The Impact of AI on Newsletter Ghostwriting

Addressing concerns about AI, Cole acknowledges its growing role but asserts that it cannot replace the multifaceted skills required for effective email marketing. He highlights that:

• AI Limitations: AI can assist with writing but lacks the strategic understanding, client management, and iterative testing crucial for successful email campaigns.

• Value of Tangential Skills: Skills such as project management, strategy formulation, and continuous improvement remain irreplaceable by AI.

Quote: "AI can't take it. The bottleneck to companies executing email well is not just the writing, it's all the skills that surround the writing." [01:05:40]

Cole encourages leveraging AI as a tool to enhance efficiency while focusing on developing these essential supplementary skills.

7. Key Takeaways and Final Advice

Cole wraps up the masterclass with several pivotal insights:

• Focus on One Service: Instead of spreading efforts across multiple services, specialize in one area (like email courses or newsletters) to achieve mastery and maximize income.

• Consistency is Key: Emphasize the importance of consistent output for clients. The value you provide lies in maintaining regular communication and gradual improvement over time.

• Accountability and Discipline: Success requires commitment and the ability to stick with one service, resisting the temptation to diversify prematurely.

• Educational Selling: Educate clients about their existing problems and the benefits of your solutions rather than pushing for sales based on metrics alone.

Cole also promotes his Premium Ghostwriting Academy (PGA), a 16-week program designed to equip writers with the necessary skills and accountability to build successful ghostwriting businesses.

Quote: "If you pick even one, one single thing that I have made you aware of today, and all you did was try and get better and better at that one thing, that would be your whole focus and should be your whole focus for like years." [1:45:00]

8. Promotion of Premium Ghostwriting Academy (PGA)

Throughout the session, Cole provides information about his comprehensive training program, PGA, which includes:

• Curriculum: Covers educational email courses, newsletter creation, advanced email sequences, pitching strategies, pricing models, and client management.

• Support: Access to one-on-one coaching, weekly clinics addressing niche selection, sales tactics, technical automation, and live hot-seat sessions with Cole himself.

• Community: A private channel for continuous support and resource sharing, along with a library of recorded sessions for ongoing learning.

• Cost: The program is priced at $6,800 for 16 weeks, offering lifetime access to the curriculum and resources, with options for continued advanced coaching through the Liftoff program.

Cole emphasizes the transformative potential of PGA, sharing numerous success stories of alumni who have scaled their ghostwriting businesses significantly through the program.

Quote: "The only regret I have is that I didn't discover and join the program sooner." [1:55:30]

9. Conclusion

Nicolas Cole concludes the masterclass by reiterating the vast opportunities within newsletter ghostwriting and the importance of specialization, consistency, and continuous skill development. He encourages listeners to take actionable steps, whether by joining PGA for structured guidance or applying the insights shared to elevate their ghostwriting careers independently.

Quote: "You have to build the discipline. I only do this one thing. I've experienced this. I've generated millions of dollars doing this." [2:00:15]

Cole leaves the audience with a motivational challenge: focus on mastering one service and leverage it to unlock exponential growth and income potential.

Overall, this episode serves as a comprehensive guide for writers aiming to specialize in newsletter ghostwriting, offering both strategic frameworks and practical steps to establish and scale a high-earning ghostwriting business.