Open Letters, from Anne Applebaum
Investor Due Diligence Report
substackPolitics
democracy and dictatorship, Russia and Ukraine, America and Europe, local and global, past and present.
Investor Due Diligence Report
democracy and dictatorship, Russia and Ukraine, America and Europe, local and global, past and present.
188K
11.2K paid
+0.3%
Insufficient data
29 of 30 days needed
Pricing
$8/mo
$80/yr annual option
$71K
11.2K paid subs
$71K/mo – $71K/mo(±0%)
25.1
905.4
0.49%
(comments + likes) / subscribers
Weekly
1.1 posts/week
71/100
Consistent (~6.7d avg)
| Newsletter | Subscribers | Weekly Growth | Price | Platform |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quick Update | 2M | N/A | Free | substack |
| State of the Day | 487K | -0.3% | $10/mo | substack |
| Silver Bulletin | 339K | +1.0% | $15/mo | substack |
| Ryan Grim | 302K | N/A | $5/mo | substack |
| Month | Subscribers | Est. Revenue | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 2026 | 157K | $68,325.48 | — |
| Mar 2026 | 164K | $71,371.92 | +4.5% |
| Apr 2026 | 170.5K | $74,195.76 | +4.0% |
| May 2026 | 173K | $75,289.68 | ~0% |
| Jun 2026 | 176.5K | $76,809.72 | +2.0% |
| Jul 2026 | 180K |
Platform Dependency
Hosted on substack subdomain
Publishing Consistency
Regular publishing schedule
Key Person
Single-author publication — key-person dependency
Audience Concentration
Consistent engagement across posts
Subscriber threshold
188K subscribers — above the 7K category median for first paid tier
Has paid tier
Active paid subscription offering
Peer monetization
95% of 56 similar-size peers in Politics have paid tiers
Pricing position
$8/mo vs $6.25/mo category median (681 newsletters)
| Date | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | $8 | $80 |
Disclaimer: This report is generated automatically based on publicly available data and proprietary estimation models. Estimated subscriber counts are derived from engagement patterns and should be verified through direct disclosure. Revenue estimates are based on known pricing and estimated paid subscriber counts. This report is for informational purposes only and should not be the sole basis for investment decisions.
| Component | Score | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Engagement Rate | 100/100 | 30% |
| Paid Subscriber Ratio | 100/100 | 25% |
| Growth Consistency | 82/100 | 15% |
| Publishing Consistency | 40/100 | 10% |
| 99K |
| -0.5% |
| Free |
| substack |
| $78,336.12 |
| ~0% |
| Aug 2026 | 182K | $79,201.08 | ~0% |
| Sep 2026 | 185K | $80,511.24 | ~0% |
| Oct 2026 | 187K | $81,376.2 | ~0% |
Revenue Model
Active paid subscription tier