In 2015, Alex Lieberman and Austin Rief, two University of Michigan students, set out to solve a simple problem: business students found it hard to keep up with financial news. While publications like The Wall Street Journal provided deep insights, they were dense and time-consuming to read.
Their solution? A short, engaging, and easily digestible newsletter that summarized key financial stories in a conversational tone.
What started as a dorm-room side project, initially named Market Corner, quickly gained momentum. Within three months, it had 100,000 subscribers. By 2020, Morning Brew had over 3 million subscribers, leading to its $75 million acquisition by Insider Inc..
Their go-to-market strategy was anything but traditional. They bootstrapped their way to success using a referral program, ambassador network, psychology-driven marketing, and strategic paid acquisition.
Here’s how they did it.
Table of Contents
The Go-to-Market Strategy That Built a Media Empire
1. Identifying a Market Need
Great businesses solve real problems. Lieberman and Rief saw that finance students struggled to stay informed because traditional business news was too complex and time-consuming. They decided to fill this gap with a newsletter that was:
- Short and concise
- Easy to read
- Highly engaging
- Packed with useful insights
By solving a real pain point, they built a product with natural demand.
2. Bootstrapping Growth with a Referral Program
With no initial budget for ads, Morning Brew grew its audience organically. Instead of relying on social media ads or cold emails, they took a hands-on approach:
- University Lectures – Lieberman and Rief pitched their newsletter in business lectures at the University of Michigan. They distributed paper sign-up sheets, manually collecting email addresses.
- 75% Conversion Rate – When they initially asked students to sign up online, fewer than 10% did. But when they collected emails in person, conversion skyrocketed to 75%.
- Ambassador Program – To expand beyond Michigan, they recruited student ambassadors, or Brew-bassadors, who replicated their in-classroom sign-up strategy across multiple universities. These ambassadors collected thousands of emails, helping Morning Brew scale rapidly.
3. Psychology-Driven Marketing: How Morning Brew Hooked Its Audience
Beyond clever tactics, Morning Brew leveraged psychological principles to drive engagement and referrals:
- FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) – People prefer knowing over not knowing. The newsletter positioned itself as a must-read source for business insights, making readers feel like they would be at a disadvantage without it.
- The Curiosity Gap – Their catchy subject lines played on readers’ curiosity, compelling them to open emails and engage with content.
- Reward Bias – Morning Brew created a gamified referral program. The more friends a subscriber referred, the better the rewards—ranging from mugs and T-shirts to an exclusive trip to the Morning Brew headquarters.
4. Paid Acquisition & Cross-Promotion
Once they had organic traction, Morning Brew reinvested its revenue into paid acquisition. Unlike most startups that rely on Facebook and Google Ads, they took a unique approach:
- Newsletter Ads – They bought ads in other business and tech newsletters, targeting users who were already comfortable consuming email-based content.
- High-Quality Subscribers – This strategy worked exceptionally well because newsletter readers are more likely to subscribe to another newsletter, making them more valuable than cold traffic from social media.
- Cross-Promotion – Instead of just paying for ads, Morning Brew partnered with other media brands. They helped other companies improve their ad campaigns in exchange for access to their mailing lists, growing their subscriber base further.
5. Copywriting & Content Optimization: How Morning Brew Kept Readers Hooked
Growing an audience is one thing, but keeping them engaged is another. Morning Brew mastered the art of content optimization:
- A/B Testing Subject Lines – They tested multiple versions of subject lines on smaller audience segments before sending the best-performing one to their entire list.
- Clever Copywriting – Instead of dry, formal news reporting, Morning Brew used witty, conversational language to make finance and business fun to read.
- Simple Layouts – Each newsletter was designed to be scroll-free, ensuring that all content fit neatly within a single screen view on a phone.
6. Expansion into Niche Verticals
After establishing itself as a leading business newsletter, Morning Brew expanded into niche verticals to attract new audience segments:
- Retail Brew – Focused on the retail industry
- Emerging Tech Brew – Covering the latest in technology
- Marketing Brew – Insights for marketing professionals
This strategic audience segmentation allowed Morning Brew to increase engagement and advertising revenue, creating new monetization opportunities.
Key Takeaways: How to Build a Winning Go-to-Market Strategy
The Morning Brew story provides valuable lessons for startups and entrepreneurs:
- Solve a Real Problem – Start with a product that fills a clear market gap.
- Leverage Organic Growth First – Word-of-mouth, referral programs, and ambassador networks can build momentum before investing in paid ads.
- Use Psychological Triggers – Strategies like FOMO, gamification, and curiosity gaps can drive user engagement.
- A/B Test Everything – Optimize your headlines, copy, and marketing strategies to improve results.
- Scale with Paid Acquisition – Once you have traction, invest in targeted paid ads and partnerships to accelerate growth.
Want to Develop a Winning Go-to-Market Strategy?
The Morning Brew case study proves that a well-executed go-to-market strategy can turn a simple idea into a multi-million-dollar business.
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