Evolving Apes Newsletter

Overview

Evolving Apes started as a newsletter covering business strategy for tech professionals. We pivoted to AI content after realizing business strategy was interesting but “nice to have” for careers; AI fluency is urgent and non-negotiable. But our AI coverage was too generic; we were competing with aggregators like The Neuron, TLDR, and The Rundown who do news roundups better and at scale.

How we worked

My cofounder sourced articles and created outlines. Using those outlines, I wrote each piece and wove the facts into engaging, story-driven reads. Together we regularly reached out to subscribers for feedback on how to improve the publication.

Social media

I turned each publication into a scrollable carousel on Instagram, @evolvingapesmedia. Creative assets were generated on Gemini Nano Banana and posts were edited on Canva.

Infrastructure

I set up DMARC, DKIM, and domain warming to improve deliverability across different mailboxes. I also built our website and email sending setup on Beehiiv.

Outcomes

• 100+ subscribers in under two months, with 56%+ open rates sustained and less than 5% all-time unsubscribe rate.
• A LinkedIn post I wrote promoting one of our articles reached 37k impressions.