5-Minute Newsroom: January 14, 2026

This week: The single best free newsletter acquisition tactic I’ve found — and why most creators get it wrong.

Welcome to the first edition of the revamped 5-Minute Newsroom newsletter.

5-Minute Newsroom is a weekly briefing for people building audiences, products, and revenue in public — filled with reporting, trends, and tactics you can actually use.

👀 What caught my eye this week…

• From anonymous TikToks to six-figure-profit months (Creator Spotlight)

• Instagram head Adam Mosseri admits “the feed is dead” and warns AI content will become indistinguishable from reality (Affiverse Media)

• Amy Poehler wins Golden Globe for best podcast, becoming award’s first recipient (Variety)

• Disney Plus is also becoming TikTok (TubeFilter)

• After studying 10,000 YouTube integrations, Agentio reminds brands that patience is a virtue (TubeFilter)

• Limited inventory and thoughtful partnerships: How brands at NRF are making the most of TikTok Shop (Glossy)

• From skepticism to strategy: media adapts to the creator economy (Digital Content Next)

• Received an Instagram password reset email? Here’s what you need to know (Malwarebytes)

• How to negotiate brand contracts like a creator attorney (Creator Spotlight)

• How influencer marketing is changing in 2026 (Vogue)

• China’s hottest app is a daily test of whether you’re still alive (Wired)

• Top 50 Most Subscribed YouTube Channels Worldwide • Week Of 01/11/2026 (TubeFilter)

🎯 Steal this from me, please…

Stop burying your newsletter pitch (and why I put mine 15 seconds in)

By Ryan Welton, Doable Digital Media

I’m not a salesperson. Never have been, probably never will be. I don’t have those skills, and honestly? I often feel squeamish during the sales process — like I’m bothering the person on the other end of the email or phone.

But here’s the thing: I’ve stumbled upon a tactic that has, without question, contributed to my newsletter’s growth. And I’m pretty confident it would work for your newsletter too.

My newsletter is Oklahoma Memo, and in one year, I’ve grown it to 1,300 email subscribers with zero paid acquisition. The newsletter maintains a 60 percent open rate with a 12 percent-plus click-through rate.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. Other newsletters in the local news space hit 20,000 subscribers in their first year. You’re right — but almost all of those grew via paid acquisition. My strategy has been different. I’m building a community of true believers, and my best acquisition channel has been vertical video.

The Script That Actually Works

Let me show you what I mean. Here’s how I open most of my videos:

What’s happening, Oklahoma?

There might be a new political party in the state soon, and I want to tell you about it.

But, first – HELLO – my name is Ryan, and I operate a daily local newsletter called Oklahoma Memo. It’s fairly new and growing real fast. Every morning at 7:00, Monday through Saturday, I send you the most important headlines of the day from our state. It’s free and always will be, and you can sign up for it at Oklahoma Memo dot com slash subscribe…

And then I carry on with the story.

Notice anything? The ask comes early. Really early.

📌 Why This Actually Matters

There’s this tendency among creators — and I get it, it comes from a good place — to wait until the end of the video to make the ask. We think it’s more polite. More humble. Less pushy.

I’ve tested this over and over, and I’m telling you: only making the ask up front makes a measurable difference. On a hot story, it can make a significant difference.

Think about it this way. Newsletter acquisition via social amplification isn’t a long, deep funnel with Zoom calls and meetings and subtleties. It’s a direct exchange. You have something valuable to offer, and in return, you’d like people to connect with you via your email newsletter.

Sometimes we just have to spell it out.

The Best Sales Advice I Ever Got

A friend of mine who works in sales at my previous employer gave me his best piece of advice, and it was beautifully simple: Make the ask.

In his world, there is a process. He was coaching me to “not forget to make the ask.”

What I’m suggesting to you is this: do it in your social videos closer to the top of your script than at the end. Don’t hide it. Don’t apologize for it. Just state what you do and how people can get it.

Because here’s the truth — if someone’s going to subscribe to your newsletter, they’ll do it whether you ask them at the 15-second mark or the two-minute mark. But if you wait until the end? A whole lot of them won’t even make it there.

That’s it for this week.

If you’re building an audience, a product, or a newsroom-of-one, this is what I’ll keep bringing you: what’s changing, what’s working, and what’s worth stealing.

I’d be honored if you shared this with friends and colleagues.

Reach out anytime. I reply to everybody! Email: [email protected]