The Daily Headliner is the one-stop-shop to stay afloat of all that encapsulates the entertainment industry. Michael, Daniel, and Josh, founders of The Daily Headliner, aim to take the dispersed information and provide readers with a single source, eliminating the guesswork of the most mysterious industry.
After chatting with the creators of The Daily Headliner, I realized how much I didn’t know, how much information still needs to be unpacked, and the lack of industry openness, transparency, and accessibility. We went through a scenario that I went through regarding a concert that I had booked pre-COVID-19, after spending upwards of $600 on tickets, I received only one email stating: “your tickets are still valid, we’ll let you know when the artist reschedules.” After a few confusing re-reads, I was shocked to find no information on the situation. That’s where The Daily Headliner comes in — they open the dialogue and provide answers.
Who are the founders and how did they come together?
Michael was a super fan of the industry and began exploring different communities such as Daniel and Josh’s. In this group, enthusiasts share information, tips, ideas, articles, and other fun content for everyone to enjoy. The idea sparked when Michael’s serial side-hustler kicked in and began chatting with Josh and Daniel. As COVID-19 began to unfold, the lack of information circulating began to diminish further and further and the number of questions subsequently arose. As the newsletter industry made its mark as the universally coveted source of information, Daniel, Josh, and Michael missioned to seek out knowledge and deliver to their readers, every day.
Why did you decide to create a newsletter?
Josh: I like the fact that we went with the newsletters because in our industry everyone is always on the go, the best part, is that we did both. If you don’t have the time to read in the morning, enter our website and uncover the unknown.
Michael: I like the idea that a daily newsletter adds a regular touchpoint with readers as well as maintaining the website. It’s a way to consistently interact with readers and provides another level of connection.
Dan: It’s a morning habit, it kicks off the day and is part of my and many other’s daily routines.
What’s your process like?
Collection & Curation
Michael: It begins with newsletters, these are my major sources to pull information from. I, then, look at Slack and see what people are talking about, interested in, and have questions about. My last stop is Google Alerts where I dissect general topics such as sports, music, artists, and segment related to each topic. We’ll collaborate on the articles that we decide to push.
Josh: I’ve been in the industry for over 15 years and I know the truth of what’s going on, so when we started the collection process, I’ve made sure to place everything that I’ve been hoarding in my mind and placing it on paper to ensure the truth is going out.
Michael: I read as many sources as I can get through and decipher what to include to make sure our followers are informed. I’ll then pull the articles to our Office 365 folder where I create a new document for each newsletter (every day) and I’ll begin pulling, summarizing, and segmenting each article into general topics and start to expand by creating a narrative on Mailchimp, furthering the importance of the curation.
Michael: We wanted to cover the live-event industry. That’s what we enjoy, and that’s what we are knowledgeable about.
What’s the most important aspect of the creation process?
Josh: If you are going to be in this space, you have to cover everything from music, concerts, theaters, etc. If we are going to choose to do something, you should do it right.
Michael: I definitely take the lead on the newsletter — some of which is curated but most are our own writing and created content. When it comes to creation, we go back and forth on a piece, give each other feedback, correct any formatting overlooks, and then once approved, we publish.
Aside from curating good content, it’s the second evolution of ours to change the aesthetic of the newsletter. We are still super early and there’s plenty of room for improvement. It’s super important to iterate, make it aesthetically pleasing, add credibility, in order to find out what works for you and the readers.
Josh: I think collaboration and different points of view are critical as well. It’s the most crucial aspect of our process, everything gets a universal approval to ensure optimal interests from our readers. I mainly speak to the company highlights, Michael speaks to the news, and Dan covers industry updates. It helps to have a team of three, that way we constantly are bringing unique ideas and remain true to ourselves.
How does it feel to publish a newsletter daily?
Michael: It goes back to consistency. Our decision to make it daily was to ensure growth from a newsletter standpoint and as a writer. I think the more writing becomes habitual, the better you’ll get, and your newsletter in turn follows. Aside from taking a stance from an idealistic standpoint, we do check Google Analytics and measure open and engagement rates along with posting on social media and uploading the original content to our website. It’s pretty cool to track both website and newsletter, mainly because having a website prolongs the experience and becomes a source that anyone could check if they couldn’t get to the newsletter in the morning.
What’s one piece of advice you would give to others just starting out?
Michael: One regularity as well as consistency, you may not have subscribers when you just start out, but it’s important to remain consistent. Pulling things together is not the easiest to do, but it’s the only way your newsletter, website, blog, etc. will grow.
Josh: Focus on what you love and are passionate about, it shines through. Consistency plus love and passion is the perfect recipe for an awesome newsletter.
Daniel: Build slow and steady, don’t rush into things, that way it comes naturally and you are putting forth excellent content.
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Originally published at https://www.listory.com/en/blog/
