To remain sustainable, the local media outlet combines direct ad sales, branded content, merchandise (coupon passports), and a Patreon membership. This multi-pronged approach provides stability and avoids over-reliance on a single, often volatile, revenue stream like programmatic advertising.

Spotify leveraged its brand love to successfully expand from music streaming into podcasts and audiobooks. This emotional equity provides the necessary consumer trust for diversification, turning brand into a strategic asset for growth beyond the core product.

Big Cabal Media intentionally cultivates on-air talent from within, identifying junior employees who resonate with the audience and investing in their growth. They find it more effective than trying to hire established creators, who often prefer to remain independent. This approach turns the media company into a talent incubator, building loyalty and brand-specific stars.

Big Cabal Media's publication Zococo successfully transitioned its brand from a "BuzzFeed-y" model of quizzes and listicles to a more prestigious format resembling New York Magazine's The Cut. They now focus on long-form, first-person interviews and deeper stories, showing a clear path for evolving a media brand's depth and appeal as its audience matures.

Instead of creating everything from scratch, Klue's Compete Network began by aggregating content and partnering with existing thought leaders. They provided the production 'plumbing,' allowing creators to focus on their expertise, which accelerated the network's growth and value.

To grow an established product, introduce new formats (e.g., Instagram Stories, Google AI Mode) as separate but integrated experiences. This allows you to tap into new user behaviors without disrupting the expectations and mental models users have for the core product, avoiding confusion and accelerating adoption.

Escape the content creation treadmill. An effective strategy is to produce a small number of high-quality, high-performing pillar assets. These core ideas can then be endlessly remixed into different formats and angles, maximizing their impact and reducing the need for constant net-new creation.

Eric Coffey's entire media monetization plan—from courses to a tiered community—was mapped out for him by a YouTube subscriber. This engaged fan called him and detailed a concentric circle strategy, proving that the best business ideas can come directly from your most ardent followers.

Big Cabal Media repurposes content from its paid conferences, like "Naira Life," into free YouTube masterclasses and podcast series. This strategy creates a virtuous cycle: the high-quality content attracts new subscribers and builds brand authority, which in turn drives ticket sales for future events from an engaged, pre-warmed audience.