Good morning. Lenny Rachitsky just turned a newsletter into a $1M revenue machine with one email—what's the smartest monetization move you've seen lately? Hit reply and tell me.

If you're new here, this is where we track the newest marketing tools, creator updates, and founders cashing out—without the noise.

NEW MARKETING TOOLS

1. Pikzels — Make viral YouTube thumbnails in seconds

Pikzels is an AI YouTube thumbnail generator that makes click-worthy designs like MrBeast in just a few clicks. Swap faces, use prompts, or train a custom model with your face for consistent branding across videos. Start turning every video into a click magnet today — try Pikzels here.

BIG MONEY

Lenny's newsletter bundle hack: $1M+ from one email

Lenny Rachitsky gave away 15+ premium tools worth $10,000 to paid subscribers for just $200/year. With 1.1 million subscribers, he only needs 5,000 conversions to hit $1M+ revenue.

The genius? He created an "Insider tier" at $350/year with guaranteed access, while the $200 tier runs first-come, first-served. This isn't just clever pricing—it's pure psychology.

The psychology breakdown: Anchoring effect ($10,000 value vs $200 price), scarcity ("while supplies last"), and reciprocity (subscribers feel he's doing them a favor). Companies get engaged users and data, subscribers get massive value, Lenny builds an ecosystem where everyone wins.

This transcends typical newsletter monetization by creating a growth engine where all incentives align for sustainable, exponential growth.

MARKETING MOVES

Scratch-and-sniff billboards invade NYC streets

Billie launched scratch-and-sniff billboards where people could literally "scratch and sniff the pit" to promote their new Coco Vanilla scent. NYX, Rare Beauty, and others quickly jumped on the trend.

The execution: Brands send raw scent in oil form, which gets infused into adhesive patches on billboards. The patches need constant replacement—rain drains scent, and thousands of people touching the same surface creates hygiene issues.

The strategy: It's pure nostalgia marketing. Scratch-and-sniff peaked in the 1970s, disappeared by the 1990s, and now feels fresh again. Locations target younger women in shopping areas where people have time to stop and interact.

Sometimes the oldest ideas become the newest trends when enough time passes.

📺 PLATFORM UPDATES

TikTok launches Scaled Rewards for Live users—new monetization feature rolling out to streamers.

Meta launches Professional Dashboard for creators with better performance insights and monetization tools.

Instagram testing "Picks" feature to highlight favorite shows, songs, and books on profiles.

🔥 TRENDING NOW

• Creator live events are a booming business—ticket sales are way up this year as major creators take their shows on the road

• MrBeast and Mark Rober raise $40M for clean water with $12M coming from Donaldson's Kick stream

• TikTok now lets US users book hotels in-app, allowing creators a new way to make money from travel videos