I'm Launching a Second Newsletter (Here's Why I Think It's Worth the Risk)

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Experiment #[2]: The Layman's AI 

Goal: 1,000 subscribers. Monetization: Sponsorships. Timeline: 90 days.

Full transparency: I've been sitting on this idea for months.

Every time I thought about pulling the trigger, I talked myself out of it. You already have WiFi Moolah. You're spread too thin. Shiny object syndrome, Kris. Classic shiny object syndrome.

So I did something I should probably do more often — I asked you.

A few weeks ago I ran a poll: AI newsletter vs. no-code apps. Which experiment should I tackle next? You voted. AI newsletter won. So here we are.

This month, I'm officially launching The Layman's AI — a newsletter that explains AI tools and news to small business owners who don't have time to figure it all out themselves.

No jargon. No hype. Just "here's what this means for your business, and here's what you should actually do about it."

Let me break down why I'm doing this, what the plan is, and what success looks like.

This Is a Slower Game Than Last Month

Before I get into the plan — a quick reality check, because February's X account experiment is still fresh.

That experiment was brutal and fast. Results (or lack of them) showed up within days. Follower counts, engagement rates, account lockouts — it was all very immediate feedback. I documented the failure in real time.

This is different.

A newsletter doesn't give you quick feedback loops. You don't go viral overnight. Building to 1,000 subscribers through organic channels is a grind that plays out over months, not weeks. There's no algorithm handing you distribution — you have to earn every subscriber.

I'm setting expectations now so neither of us is surprised: this experiment needs at least 3 months before we can call it. If I show you 50 subscribers after 30 days, that's not a failure — that's just Tuesday. The real story will be in the trend line, the open rates, and whether the first sponsorship inquiry ever lands.

Patience is the skill being tested here. Not just the newsletter concept.

The Idea (And Why It's Different)

There are a lot of AI newsletters right now. Like, a comical amount.

Most of them are written for tech people, by tech people. They assume you know what a "model weight" is, that you care about benchmark scores, and that you have a strong opinion on the OpenAI vs. Anthropic drama.

Small business owners — the plumber, the boutique owner, the freelance designer — don't care about any of that. They care about one thing: will this save me time or make me money?

That's the gap The Layman's AI is designed to fill. Plain-English breakdowns of what's actually useful, tested and filtered so they don't have to be.

The format I'm testing:

• 1x per week

• 3 sections: What's New (one big AI development, explained simply), Tool of the Week (one tool, one use case, one verdict), Steal This Prompt (a ready-to-use prompt for a common business task)

• Short. Scannable. Useful in under 5 minutes.

The Money Side

I'm keeping this simple for now: sponsorships.

The AI tools market is exploding and companies are actively looking for newsletters with niche, engaged audiences to advertise in. A newsletter specifically targeting small business owners who are actively trying to adopt AI? That's a valuable audience.

Rough math on what I'm targeting:

I'm not banking on those numbers — I'm just mapping out what the ceiling looks like if growth goes well. The 1,000 subscriber mark is the first real test of whether the concept resonates.

How I'm Planning to Grow It

This is where it gets interesting (and where I expect to learn the most).

WiFi Moolah grew almost entirely through Reddit. The same playbook should work here — AI subreddits are enormous, and genuinely helpful content gets traction fast. But I also want to test a few other channels I haven't leaned into before:

1. Reddit — r/smallbusiness, r/entrepreneur, r/artificial — value-first posts, subtle newsletter mentions

2. Cross-promotion — newsletter swap with a complementary newsletter (WiFi Moolah readers are a natural fit)

3. SEO landing page — simple beehiiv page optimized for "AI newsletter for small business owners"

4. X/Twitter — short-form AI tips pointing back to the newsletter (lighter lift than a full account build)

I'm not planning to run paid ads at this stage. If I can't get to 1,000 organically, that tells me something important about the concept before I spend any money.

The Risk I'm Being Honest About

Running two newsletters means splitting my attention.

WiFi Moolah is the priority — always. The Layman's AI only works if I can build a sustainable content cadence that doesn't eat into what I'm doing here. My plan is to batch-write issues in advance and keep the format tight enough that each one takes 2–3 hours max.

If it starts bleeding into WiFi Moolah quality, I'm shutting it down. That's the deal I've made with myself.

What I'm Tracking

Here's how I'll know if this experiment is working (or not):

• Subscriber growth — target: 1,000 in 90 days

• Open rate — benchmark: 40%+ (AI content tends to perform well)

• First sponsorship — at what subscriber count does the first paid deal come in?

• Time cost — how many hours per week is this actually taking?

I'll report back every month with honest numbers. If it's working, you'll see the data. If it's not, you'll see that too.

Why I'm Betting This Works

I've spent the last six years in the online income space. I've seen trends come and go.

AI isn't a trend — it's infrastructure. Every small business is going to need to figure it out eventually, and most of them are overwhelmed and lost right now. A trustworthy, plain-English guide delivered to their inbox every week? That's a problem worth solving.

And if I'm wrong? I'll document the failure here and we'll both learn something.

That's the whole point.

— Kris

P.S. If you know a small business owner who's been trying to figure out AI, send them the link. Would mean a lot at this stage.

Startup cost: $0 (beehiiv free plan to start)

Time invested so far: ~4 hours

Subscribers at launch: 0

Target: 1,000 in 90 days

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