Justin Welsh’s Saturday Solopreneur – Turn Your Knowledge Into Income

In 2023 Justin Welsh made over 2 million dollars.

In 2024 he made over $4.15 million.

We have seen him and his newsletter, Saturday Solopreneur, pop up quite a bit among our deep dives, so before we dive into our breakdown below, I want to do a quick recap of just a FEW of the things we have discussed...

1. In our deep dive on Newsletter Types and Styles we took a look at how Justin writes from the Thought Leader perspective, and discussed how Marketing Max, founder of Growth Daily (a media-brand newsletter that earns over seven figures), mentioned Justin when asked what he would do differently if he was starting his newsletter over (referring to how his preference for a Creator Newsletter rather than a media-brand newsletter).
2. In our deep dive on Newsletter Business Models we broke down Justin's revenue streams while discussing the supremacy of Creator Newsletters.
3. In our deep dive on building a Newsletter Content Flywheel we did a full breakdown on Justin's Hub & Spoke Model for repurposing organic content from his newsletter.
4. In our deep dive on developing and leveling up your flagship offer Justin was one of the top creators we looked at for inspiration.

It's safe to say that there is A LOT to learn from Justin and his newsletter.

BUT, I also want to preface with this before we begin breaking down his content: 

• Justin's newsletter archetype is what we'd call: The Thought Leader. 
• He has over a million followers and has made millions online. It is VERY hard to replicate his style newsletter before building authority.

That said, his style, formatting, passive selling and overall flow is still something newsletter creators should be learning from.

Which is why he's coming in as our third ever newsletter content deep dive where I break down exceptional newsletter content to show you how top creators craft engaging emails, structure their newsletters and seamlessly build trust and authority—so your newsletter can fuel growth and sales on autopilot.

Before we dive into the content, though, I want to start by sharing one of my favorite quotes from Justin about his newsletter:

My newsletter has grown from 0 to 125k+ in 77 weeks.

And since launching, revenue has increased by 305%.

Social media like LinkedIn and Twitter are great for business, but a newsletter provides something much different:

An opportunity to see how someone thinks at a much deeper level.

It's one of the most powerful ways to build:

• Trust

• Expertise

• Authority

Read the second and last line again.

1. Revenue increase of 305%. 
2. One of the most powerful ways to build trust, expertise and authority.

This is what we're all about.

Let's learn from Justin's newsletter content.👇

🎯 The Value Proposition

As always, we're starting with the value proposition.

Before we dive in, remember: Justin now has over a million followers. His content HAS to be broad...so who does he target?

Justin starts by calling out beginners in his Main Header Text [H1], stating:

"Practical tips guiding you from first-dollar to full-time solopreneur."

There is Justin's value proposition and promise.

He's going to help us go from our first dollar to making a full-time income, solo.

"From first-dollar" allows Justin to speak directly to an absolute beginner, while "full-time solopreneur" tells them he is going to help them level all the way up!

So, while his newsletter can (and does) absolutely help creators making tens of thousands of dollars a month, that is not who Justin is calling out for his newsletter.

When we move to the next line we get a clear description of how Justin will accomplish this promise.

In his Sub Header Text [H2] he states:

"Every Saturday morning, you'll get 1 actionable tip to launch, grow and monetize your internet business in less than 4 minutes."

That is how Justin plans on helping us go from our first dollar to full time solopreneur.

We now have the value proposition and the way it's going to be delivered.

Now let's take a look at that delivery.

🚪 Sections 1-3: Header Through Introduction

There's nothing that is overly shiny or sexy about Justin's content.

But his newsletters are consistently good lessons that fulfill his value proposition.

Here's what we can see at a quick glance at the first three sections:

1. Header Branding
2. Sponsorship Section
3. Introduction Section

We'll break down what we need to know about each of these sections, starting with his header branding.

Header Branding is one of the 3 must-have sections within a Creator Newsletter.

If you have been following along for our newsletter content deep dives you shouldn't be surprised by this. It is something I expect to be seeing in a large majority of the Creator Newsletters we break down each week.

Next, we have Justin's sponsorship section. This actually appeared in our deep dive on how to add sponsorships to your newsletter.

Justin usually has at least one sponsor, but can have up to two per newsletter, and they appear in this top slot every single week.

Next up we have Justin's introduction section. 

Justin typically tells a short story here that leads into his lesson. He sometimes shares his own story, a story about one of his creator friends, or even a client or smaller creator that he has helped (or is helping). 

It can vary, of course, but regardless of whether it is a story or just a short observation, Justin segues us right into his main lesson for the week.

Here are some examples:

• "Last week, I walked away from a guaranteed annual revenue partner business that I admire."
• "During a recent Creator MBA Office Hours event, a student shared something pretty interesting."
• "A few months ago, I had lunch with a founder who told me something wild."

The introduction section is a great place to inject stories, even when your newsletter is a deep diver archetype and/or one that leads with lessons and depth.

📬 Sections 4-5: The Core Content

Justin's introduction is technically part of his core content. 

There's not necessarily a separator outside of him usually putting a small heading on the next section.

Note: The heading is not the title of the lesson, it's a sub-point within the lesson, because the intro is already part of it.

Similarly, both sections 4 and 5 are also technically part of his core content - but I am separating them to point out some of Justin's structure and consistency.

So if we start with section five we're going to call this the actual start of Justin's Core Content.

This is where I would say Justin starts getting into the real meat of the lessons that he just brought us to with his introduction.

It's where Justin moves from story and hook to the actual way we solve the issue. The real lesson.

Justin has actually shared a bit of his structure in the past:

• What's a big problem?

• How do most people solve it?

• Why doesn't it work for them?

• How might I solve it differently?

• Recommended action step(s) for readers with this big problem

This may seem like it would be extremely variable, but the consistency is what makes Justin's content not only so helpful, but also applicable to a MASSIVE audience.

Let's take a look at two examples with just the core content and headlines...

Here's the newsletter titled "Being vague is costing you money":

1. Introduction Section
2. The Power Of Specificity
3. Two Questions That Change Everything
4. The Bottom Line

You can begin seeing where he is following the structure in these headlines just by seeing them paired with the main lesson.

Let's do one more...

Here's a newsletter titled "Basic content is dying (and that's good news)":

1. Introduction Section
2. Why The Traditional Funnel Is Dying
3. The New Reality
4. The Bottom Line

In my opinion this one is even more clear.

And it also shows another section that I want to bring attention to: The Bottom Line.

I'm giving this sub-section its own number just like I did with Justin's introduction because both are almost always there.

Justin almost always leads with an introduction and then finishes with his Bottom Line, wrapping up the lesson and giving recommended action steps.

A newsletter is something that is at its best when it becomes habitual. Justin's consistency and proven structure allows him to deliver immense value to a massive audience.

Note: Also notice that Justin gave a very soft plug for his flagship offer "The CreatorMBA" in his bottom line in the image to the right. This is a tactic Justin teaches that is passive selling, but extremely effective (and one we see from Dan Koe as well).

🔄 Sections 6-8: Branded Signature & PS Section

Justin wraps up his lesson with his Bottom Line, and then begins closing us out with sections 6-8; starting with his Branded Signature.

Similar to our Header Branding, our Branded Signature is another one of our must-have sections of the newsletter, and something that we will likely be seeing in almost every Creator Newsletter we examine.

From there we have Justin's PS Section, which is another must-have section of any creator newsletter, and I am highlighting two different variations.

To the left we see one from an email address where I have purchased both Justin's LinkedIn Operating System and Content Operating System, and on the right it's to an email address that has not made any purchases.

As you can see, Justin has me segmented and varies the PS Section based on what I have purchased, only showing me what he has to offer that I haven't already bought.

From there I would normally close out, but I am adding section #8 which is literally just an unsubscribe box (or what Justin calls an Email Preference box).

And the only reason I added it is because it's unique to Justin's newsletter and just adds an extra layer of his branding to an already incredibly well structured email.

🧠 Key Takeaways

Justin Welsh's Saturday Solopreneur is a masterclass in systematized simplicity that delivers incredible value in just 1000-1200 words a week.

As you may be able to see above, Justin's flagship offer is his CreatorMBA which matches his newsletter's value proposition by teaching people how to build a lean, scalable business.

Justin also makes money with sponsorships, but they make up a tiny sliver of his overall income (in 2023 it was around 5% and in 2024 it was around 7%).

While he diversifies his income a bit with sponsors and even low ticket subscriptions, the LARGE majority of his income comes from course sales.

It's important to also note that Justin now has a massive audience, but he slowly leveled up his flagship offer over time; originally starting MUCH more niche than he is now.

That said, I do want to go over some key takeaways that we can pull from this.

Here are some key takeaways we can learn from Justin and his Saturday Solopreneur newsletter: 

1️⃣ Your newsletter's value proposition should be clear on who you serve, how you serve them...but a level up is matching the promise of your flagship offer!

Justin's newsletter value proposition matches the promise of his flagship offer.

He has lower ticket courses that teach how he scaled his business on LinkedIn, and with his own unique content system, but the flagship product is the promise of the newsletter.

This adds a powerful layer that essentially has his audiences telling him that they are the right fit for that offer as soon as they first subscribe to his list.

They are saying "Yes, I want help doing this." by subscribing.

This is incredible when paired with our Niche Down X Brand Wide Framework.

2️⃣ Consistency compounds.

Justin's newsletter follows a predictable structure, making it easy for readers to digest and trust his content week after week.

His formulaic approach allows him to scale without burnout, while also making it applicable to nearly 200,000 weekly readers.

3️⃣ Authority grows with experience—and so should your positioning.

Justin started niche and expanded his positioning as his authority grew.

He didn’t start by calling himself the “go-to solopreneur expert” but earned that positioning over time by proving results.

Now he has a massive audience, and his content style matches that.

BUT, he still teaches that starting niche is the way to go.