About Journalists Pay Themselves

Journalists Pay Themselves is a weekly newsletter and community project from subscription marketer Lex Roman.

I cover marketing and monetization for indie journalists. Worker-led outlets and solo reporters are doing really well on their own. I’m tracking patterns, writing recipes, creating tools, running trainings and overall, aiming to make this path easier for more journalists to take.

What to expect from the free edition

What to expect from the paid edition

You can also support this project by Buying Me a Coffee ☕️

About Lex Roman

I led conversion, revenue and churn projects for tech companies like Gusto, Prosper, The Black Tux, Joyable and Burner. Counter to many growth practitioners who focus on scale, my expertise is in monetization and how to turn each casual viewer into a loyal paying fan. I’ve had my own independent growth practice since 2019.

I started my first newsletter business in 2020, a civic explainer publication called LA Pays Attention which got statewide attention from major outlets including the LA Times, CalMatters and KCRW before it was acquired by the LA Public Press in 2023.

Since then, newsletters have been my primary marketing and sales tool, driving the bulk of my revenue through memberships, subscriptions and sponsorships.

You can find me most actively on LinkedIn or reply to any newsletter edition to start a conversation.

Journalists Pay Themselves is produced in partnership with Outpost publishers cooperative.

Lex and Outpost

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