Derick Sozo Ruiz is a web developer and writer who works remotely as a digital entrepreneur. He founded and sold RemoteLeads, a lead-generation business aimed at helping web developers land their next remote freelance job. He agreed to share his acquisition experience and what he learned in the process.
What newsletter did you sell?
I sold RemoteLeads, a daily newsletter that sends remote jobs and projects to developers. I originally listed the newsletter on Duuce. I did get some interested parties emailing me, but eventually, I found Paul Metcalfe.
He was searching for a newsletter to buy, so I got in touch via DM. I found him by searching on Twitter for “sell newsletter” or “buy newsletter,” or some keyword like that. Twitter Search is extremely useful, I recommend you use it.
I also recommend sellers to not rely on a single source, but to check out multiple sources. Just like how jobs exist in multiple places, your ideal seller might be on a different website.
I first contacted Paul on October 13, 2020 via Twitter. I received the payment from Escrow.com on October 23, 2020. The whole process took 10 days. All the exchange of information took place on Twitter DMs, and we didn’t move over to email until I started transferring assets to him.
Why did you sell your newsletter?
I was still freelancing as a web developer at the time. I had some additional personal expenses that I knew were coming up soon. I needed to prepare for those costs, and I also felt like the newsletter could be a lot better than it currently was in the right hands.
Here are some examples of what needed to be improved:
- Introducing a new paid product that performed better to the current audience. I had a paid version of the newsletter which performed okay, but it could have been better.
- Further automating the newsletter and introducing more job sources so that it was easier to send out on a daily basis.
Why do you think buyers were interested in your newsletter?
Paul was very focused on buying a newsletter at the time and growing it. I’m not completely sure why, but I saw on Twitter that he was interested. I was following his tweets, and so I reached out to see if he might be interested in the freelancer niche. He was.
There were a few other buyers who were interested. Everyone had a different reason for wanting to purchase. Some wanted access to the audience, and others wanted a newsletter to compliment their existing SaaS product.
What single action did you take that moved the needle the most?
I created a lot of blog posts related to finding remote web developer jobs on my Medium.com account. That acted as a source of organic marketing. These articles moved the needle the most. There’s an article called “Top 7 Web Development Contract Templates” that performed exceptionally well.
What are you working on right now?
It was my first time selling a business, so it opened up the possibilities for me. I came to see myself as more than just a web developer or a writer, but I had the ability to sell an online business. I’m currently working on another business in the same industry called Freelancer’s Handbook, which is primarily focused on content and partnering with others.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
Paul eventually resold the newsletter to another individual named John, who is the new owner.
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