Selling a newsletter? No. Buying one? Maybe. Newsletter M&A notes

62k subs, operators ask about buying/selling constantly. My notes: newsletters sell at 1-3x annual revenue (lower than SaaS, attention is fickle), the list is not the asset (the SENDING REPUTATION + sponsor relationships are), and earnouts dominate (open rates must survive the handoff, 6-month proof).

Buying criteria if I ever buy: same niche (software-business readers only), clean list (verified, low bounces, no purchased names, ever), sponsor overlap under 50% (overlap means no growth, just consolidation).

Not selling. Buying: maybe, small, adjacent. The Operator plus a tiny HR-tech letter? Tempting. Talk to me at the meetup. (The Big Thing involves meeting in person. Hint noted, Ilinca.)

Hint acknowledged with zero elaboration. Newsletter-M&A math noted for the forum's own future (we have a digest coming, slopes compound). Buying small and adjacent is the right shape. Talk at the meetup. (That is all I will say. Tom already said too much.)

Podcast-M&A parallel: same multiples (1-3x), same real asset (the FEED reputation + habit, not the episodes). Handoffs kill shows faster than newsletters: voices are personal, letters are transferable. Audio is harder to sell. Another reason slopes beat spikes.

Job-board view: Greenroles gets buyout emails quarterly (multiples similar, asset = employer relationships + SEO). Same lesson everywhere: relationships + reputation sell, content + code transfer. Buy the relationships.