Overview
- Personal/Brand Name: prototypevenom (BlackHatWorld member, self-identified as an experienced entrepreneur in e-commerce and cryptocurrency, currently focusing on building AI business and newsletter).
- Implementation Timeline: Started from July 30, 2024, and lasted until April 18, 2025 (262 days), with updates reported until April 12, 2025.
- Target Market: Not specifically mentioned, but targeting global markets, especially B2B businesses and solopreneur communities, with content distributed through platforms like Substack, Beehiiv, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
Revenue Model
Primary Income Sources:
- AI Newsletter: Create a newsletter focused on AI Marketing Automation tools (Social Media Automation, Content Generation, Outreach), monetizing through sponsorships and advertising (Beehiiv Boosts, WellPut, PassionFroot).
- SaaS and Services: Develop SaaS products (like EngagementX) and AI automation services (like supply chain systems and AI dialer) to sell to e-commerce businesses.
Cash Flow Generation:
- Newsletter: Attract subscribers through paid advertising campaigns (Meta Ads, LinkedIn Ads) and “growth hacking” strategies (using multiple Substack accounts). Monetize through advertising and sponsorships, with major sponsors like HubSpot and Nike. Achieved ~$1,000–2,000/month by April 2025, targeting $5,000/month.
- SaaS and Services: Develop tools like EngagementX (Twitter engagement bot) and AI dialer, targeting e-commerce businesses. No significant revenue from this segment yet, but potential partnerships identified through Reddit.
- Operating Costs: High due to paid advertising (~$1/subscriber) and tools like SmartLeads.ai, Apollo.io, Beehiiv, Substack. However, potential profit margins are high (estimated 50% for SaaS + newsletter model).
Key Features:
Model combines newsletter and SaaS, leveraging AI and automation trends to target B2B niche. Uses “Build in Public” strategy to build personal brand, create valuable content, and attract community. However, risks include dependency on paid advertising and Beehiiv deliverability issues.
Tools Used
ChatGPT o1 and Claude 3.5 Sonnet:
- Role: Support detailed planning (roadmap), newsletter content creation, and marketing strategy development.
- Key Features: Increases planning efficiency, but requires prompt engineering skills for optimal results.
RAG-based AI (Custom):
- Role: Build search tools and solution recommendations based on database of 20,000+ collected AI tools.
- Key Features: Integrated into website, allows users to search AI tools by need, adds value to newsletter.
Substack:
- Role: Primary platform for managing and growing newsletter, with strategy of using multiple accounts to “growth hack” subscriber numbers.
- Key Features: High deliverability, but faced issues with manual review when adding large numbers of subscribers (~4,800 subs under review).
Beehiiv:
- Role: Primary platform for website and main newsletter, integrated with Beehiiv Boosts and ad network for advertising monetization.
- Key Features: Good monetization support, but poor deliverability, causing inbox delivery challenges.
Hypefury:
- Role: Schedule posts across social media platforms (Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn).
- Key Features: Saves time, allows testing short-form content to find high-engagement topics.
SmartLeads.ai:
- Role: Send cold emails to find partners and sponsors.
- Key Features: Low effectiveness (~3,000 emails received few responses), but reasonable cost.
Apollo.io:
- Role: Build ideal customer profile (ICP) lists for email and outreach campaigns.
- Key Features: Supports accurate B2B targeting, but requires skills for optimization.
Vextapp.com:
- Role: No-code tool for managing AI tools database, supporting RAG-based search.
- Key Features: Doesn’t support Airtable, limiting flexible management capabilities.
Creative Cloud:
- Role: Create video content and animations (South Park-style) for brand building and newsletter content.
- Key Features: Increases creativity, but requires hiring video editor for execution.
Meta Ads, LinkedIn Ads:
- Role: Attract subscribers through paid advertising.
- Key Features: High cost (~$1/sub), but brings large number of subscribers (90% from this source).
Reddit, Twitter, LinkedIn:
- Role: Content distribution channels and subscriber attraction (organic and paid).
- Key Features: Reddit provides SaaS collaboration opportunities, Twitter is main channel for AI community engagement.
Implementation Process
Phase 1: Foundation Setup and Content Building (July–September 2024):
Actions:
- Launched project (July 30, 2024), set up newsletter on Substack and Beehiiv, focusing on AI Marketing Automation niche.
- Collected 20,000+ AI tools, built database and recommendation engine with RAG-based AI.
- Created content on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube (short-form videos, reels), used Hypefury for scheduling.
- Experimented with Reddit to find collaborators and podcast opportunities, but got banned from some communities.
Details:
- Used “Build in Public” strategy to build personal brand, sharing daily progress.
- Developed unique branding idea: turning LLMs (Large Language Models) into characters with individual stories and voices.
Results: Reached 12,000 subscribers (Substack + Beehiiv), completed website prototype and recommendation engine. Revenue still at $0.
Phase 2: Growth and Monetization Testing (October–December 2024):
Actions:
- Grew subscribers through Meta Ads and multi-Substack strategy (reached 14,000 subs, then 27,000 subs by February 2025).
- Started monetization through Beehiiv Boosts and advertising (HubSpot, Nike), earning ~$150/month initially.
- Sent cold emails via SmartLeads.ai (~3,000 emails) and LinkedIn outreach, but with low effectiveness.
- Launched website on Beehiiv, integrated features like saved searches, newsletter popup, and sidebar.
Details:
- Faced deliverability issues with Beehiiv, especially during peak season (November–December), leading to low open rates (~30%).
- Optimized Substack strategy: filtered quality subscribers (>5 opens, though metric inaccurate), migrated to Beehiiv.
Results: Achieved $1,000–2,000/month recurring revenue, 14,000 subscribers, but didn’t reach $5,000/month target.
Phase 3: Optimization and Expansion (January–April 2025):
Actions:
- Focused on monetization: Secured $1,500 sponsorship contract (unpaid), signed contracts with WellPut, PassionFroot, and Paved for ad slot sales.
- Grew subscribers to 31,000 (Substack + Beehiiv), tested LinkedIn Ads and Reddit mass DM.
- Hired team to develop AI agents, automate newsletter and e-commerce management.
- Planned next phase: focus on AI automation services for e-commerce (AI dialer, supply chain system).
Details:
- Adjusted strategy after realizing newsletter was “boring” and wanted to diversify into services/SaaS.
- Created 3-month roadmap (Month 1: $1,000–1,500; Month 2: $2,000–3,000; Month 3: $5,000), but only achieved ~$3,000–4,000 by end of challenge.
Results: Recurring revenue $1,000–2,000/month, 31,000 subscribers, but didn’t reach $5,000/month target. Established foundation for next phase with AI services and e-commerce.
Results Achieved
Revenue:
- Total ~$3,000–4,000 in 262 days, with recurring revenue $1,000–2,000/month (from Beehiiv Boosts, WellPut, and $1,500 sponsorship).
- Only achieved 40–80% of $5,000/month target.
Activity Volume:
- 31,000 subscribers (1,400 Beehiiv, remainder Substack), with ~30% open rate.
- Collected 20,000+ AI tools, launched website with recommendation engine.
- Created content on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Reddit, achieved 18 YouTube subscribers and some collaboration opportunities through Reddit.
Other Achievements:
- Built newsletter automation system (80% automated), with features like saved searches, popup subscribe box.
- Developed potential SaaS products (EngagementX, AI dialer, supply chain system) and partnerships through Reddit.
- Created Ultrapreneurs community, attracted solopreneurs and built personal brand through “Build in Public.”
Challenges:
- Poor Beehiiv deliverability, especially during peak season.
- High advertising costs (~$1/subscriber), increasing CAC (Cost per Acquisition).
- Low cold outreach effectiveness (~3,000 emails received few responses).
- Distraction between newsletter and e-commerce, leading to slow progress.
Key Lessons Learned
Main Success Factors:
- “Build in Public” Strategy: Created transparency, attracted community and built personal brand, helping find collaboration opportunities (podcasts, SaaS).
- Substack Growth Hacking: Used multiple Substack accounts to rapidly increase subscribers, then filtered and migrated to Beehiiv.
- Early Monetization: Signed contracts with HubSpot, Nike, and WellPut, creating cash flow despite small scale.
Creative Innovations:
- LLM Characters: Turned LLMs into characters with individual stories and voices, creating uniqueness for newsletter.
- RAG-based Recommendation Engine: Built recommendation engine with RAG-based AI, providing real value for B2B users.
- Newsletter + SaaS Ecosystem: Combined newsletter with SaaS and services, creating AI ecosystem (BotsGoneWild) instead of relying on single revenue source.
Challenges and Solutions:
- Challenge: Poor Beehiiv deliverability. Solution: Used Substack to increase inbox rate, planned to test ConvertKit.
- Challenge: High advertising costs. Solution: Optimized Meta Ads, tested LinkedIn Ads and Reddit mass DM to reduce CAC.
- Challenge: Distraction between projects. Solution: Hired team, built detailed roadmap with AI (ChatGPT o1, Claude 3.5 Sonnet), and focused on AI services in next phase.
Tips for Beginners:
Start Small:
- Create newsletter on Substack (free) with specific niche (e.g., AI tools, marketing automation). Use ChatGPT content for writing, post 1–2 times/week.
Build System:
- Use Hypefury (~$19/month) to schedule posts on Twitter/LinkedIn.
- Collect AI tools list (use free scrapers like BeautifulSoup), create simple database on Airtable.
- Integrate Meta Ads (~$100/month initially) to attract first 100–200 subscribers.
Marketing: Focus on valuable content (e.g., “Top 5 AI tools for X”), share on Reddit (r/marketing, r/SaaS) and Twitter. Use “Build in Public” to build credibility.
Initial Cost: ~$50–100 (Substack Pro, Hypefury, Meta Ads). Can use personal accounts on Twitter/LinkedIn to reduce costs.
Learn Skills: Read Substack/Beehiiv documentation, watch Meta Ads tutorials on YouTube, and join BlackHatWorld to learn growth hacking.
Important Notes: Ensure quality content, avoid spam to prevent bans on Reddit/Substack. Focus on one channel (newsletter or SaaS) before expanding.
Sources / Links
Original Link: Journey to $1M AI business – milestone 1 $5k/mo in 262 days
