The Secret to Turning a Blank Google Doc into a Million-Dollar Business

What if I told you that this blank Google Doc in front of you could be the first step toward a million-dollar business? It sounds like one of those too-good-to-be-true promises, but for Alex Garcia, a young entrepreneur from Austin, Texas, it's a reality. He’s pulling in $800,000 a year, not from selling products or services, but from writing email newsletters. Yes, you read that right—newsletters.

Alex has mastered the art of the newsletter business, and he's not just keeping this blueprint to himself. He’s invited us into his world, breaking down the exact steps he took to build his empire and how you can do the same. Spoiler alert: It’s not as complicated as you might think.

The Business Model: Content is King

Alex’s journey started with a fascination for newsletters like The Hustle. Seeing their success, he took a job there, learning the ropes of growing and scaling a media company. But Alex didn’t stop there. He leveraged what he learned to start his own newsletters, focusing on marketing, content, and e-commerce. Today, he runs Marketing Examined, Content Examined, and other niche newsletters with a combined subscriber base of 160,000 people. These newsletters generate about $65,000 to $70,000 per month through ad sponsorships. On top of that, Alex is testing products that could bring in an additional $15,000 to $20,000 per month.

Finding Your Niche

One of the first things Alex talks about is the importance of finding the right niche. There are two ways to do this: follow your passion or chase the money. If you love what you're writing about, the work won't feel like work, and you'll likely stick with it longer. But if you’re in it for the money, you’ll want to find a topic that’s hot right now—something people are hungry to read about. For Alex, that was marketing and content creation.

Getting Your First 1,000 Subscribers

Now, how do you go from zero to your first thousand subscribers? Alex shares a strategy called "hand-to-hand combat," a term coined by entrepreneur Noah Kagan. This means doing things that don’t scale—reaching out to people directly, asking friends to share your newsletter, and even sliding into DMs. You won’t hit massive numbers right away, but you'll start building a loyal audience. Once you have your initial audience, you can scale up using what Alex calls "buffet marketing," testing multiple strategies to see what works best for growth.

Monetizing Your Newsletter

Once you have a solid subscriber base, the next step is monetization. The simplest and most effective way to do this is through sponsorships. Think of your newsletter as a media platform—companies will pay to get in front of your audience. Alex also discusses the potential for paid newsletters, citing the example of Lenny’s Newsletter, which offers premium content for a monthly fee.

Tools of the Trade

Running a successful newsletter business doesn’t require a ton of tools, but there are a few essentials. Alex relies on Zapier for automation, Notion for organization, Slack for communication, and an Email Service Provider (ESP) for sending out newsletters. With these four tools, you have everything you need to start, grow, and scale your newsletter business.

Final Thoughts: Building More, Testing More

If Alex could go back in time and give himself advice, it would be to build more and test more. The key to his success has been consistently creating content and refining his approach based on what works and what doesn’t. And that’s the beauty of the newsletter business—it’s an ongoing experiment where the stakes aren’t just theoretical. With each send, you’re either making more money or learning how to make more in the future.

So, what are you waiting for? That blank Google Doc in front of you isn’t just empty space—it’s an opportunity. Follow Alex’s blueprint, and you might just find yourself with a six-figure newsletter and the financial freedom to match.