In the dynamic landscape of online content creation, stories of niche blogs blossoming into thriving businesses are both inspiring and instructive. One such narrative revolves around John Gannon and his eponymous blog, johngannonblog.com. Emerging from the intersection of personal career aspirations and a gap in online resources, the John Gannon Blog has become a go-to platform for individuals seeking to navigate the venture capital (VC) industry. This article delves into the journey of the John Gannon Blog, exploring its evolution, key strategies, and the lessons it offers for content creators and those interested in the VC world.
John Gannon’s path to creating a successful blog was not a straightforward leap into entrepreneurship, but rather a calculated pivot from the world of finance. After graduating from Columbia Business School in 2008, Gannon faced a pivotal decision: startup founder or venture capitalist? While the allure of launching his own venture was strong, a pragmatic approach, influenced by the desire for stability as he and his wife planned their family, led him towards the venture capital route. His fascination with VC was ignited years prior, fueled by readings about firms like Benchmark, a name synonymous with VC success. This early intrigue solidified his career direction, setting the stage for his later content creation endeavors.
Joining a $160 million VC fund focused on IT and digital media in 2008 provided Gannon with firsthand experience in the industry. However, it also illuminated a significant void: the lack of comprehensive, accessible information about venture capital online. Aspiring VCs struggled to find resources, often reaching out to industry insiders like Gannon for guidance. Recognizing this unmet need, Gannon leveraged his insider perspective to bridge the information gap. While today, VC thought leadership through blogs and podcasts is more common, back in 2008, the industry operated largely behind closed doors, making Gannon’s initiative particularly timely and valuable.
In that same year, the John Gannon Blog was born on WordPress. Initially, it served as a curation platform, aggregating links to relevant VC resources. However, over the next decade, it organically expanded its offerings. Job listings became a crucial feature, followed by online courses designed to demystify the VC world, industry surveys providing valuable data, productized services tailored to VC professionals, and a suite of newsletters catering to different segments of the VC audience. By 2022, the blog’s success allowed Gannon to transition to full-time content creation, a testament to its robust business model. Remarkably, course sales alone have generated over $1 million, demonstrating the monetization potential of niche, high-value content.
The Pivotal Role of Job Listings in Blog Growth
The initial years of the John Gannon Blog were characterized by modest traffic. It wasn’t until 2015 that a strategic pivot dramatically changed its trajectory. Gannon identified a pain point within the VC industry: job postings were scattered across numerous platforms, making it difficult for job seekers to get a comprehensive view of available opportunities. His solution was to aggregate these listings on his blog.
Initially, job postings were simple WordPress pages, each with the job title as the headline and requirements in the body, linked back to the original application site. Crucially, Gannon implemented a WordPress widget to signal job listing schema to Google, optimizing for job-related search queries. The impact was immediate and significant. Traffic exploded, as illustrated in a chart Gannon shared, showcasing the rapid growth after this strategic shift.
Traffic growth chart from John Gannon's blog
Recognizing the need for scalability and consistency, Gannon onboarded a virtual assistant to manage job postings more frequently than his initial twice-weekly schedule allowed. This move further amplified traffic growth. He developed a checklist-based system for sourcing jobs from major job boards and VC websites, ensuring comprehensive coverage. To streamline the process, a Google Form was implemented, enabling VC firms to directly submit job openings to the John Gannon Blog. Geographic segmentation of job listings by city further enhanced user experience. Over time, the blog transitioned from being discovered through search engines to becoming a direct destination for VC professionals seeking job opportunities.
Expanding Reach and Engagement Through Newsletters
While Google search remained a significant traffic source, Gannon recognized the importance of diversifying referral channels and building a direct relationship with his audience. Social media wasn’t his preferred avenue, but newsletters presented an appealing alternative. He integrated a newsletter signup form at the bottom of job listings, promising email notifications for new postings.
This initial offering, VC Careers, evolved into a weekly newsletter featuring job listings and Gannon’s insights on breaking into VC. This single newsletter then branched into a suite of newsletters sent throughout the week, each focused on a specific VC topic. VC Deals, sent on Mondays, summarized publicly announced startup investments. Moves in VC, delivered on Thursdays, highlighted key hirings within VC firms. Instead of separate sign-ups, all newsletters were initially sent to every subscriber, with opt-out options for individual newsletters. This strategy effectively tripled ad inventory overnight without noticeable subscriber attrition, showcasing a smart approach to content diversification and monetization.
While Gannon authored the core content, he built a team of contractors to assist with aggregating deals, announcements, and job postings, enabling scalable newsletter production and audience growth. Paid newsletter advertising, with acquisition costs as low as 40 cents per subscriber, significantly below industry averages, further fueled growth.
Leveraging Audience Surveys as a Growth Catalyst
Audience surveys emerged as another key growth lever for the John Gannon Blog. Annual surveys were conducted to collect salary data and other industry metrics, with results published on the blog. The VC Salary Survey article quickly gained high rankings in Google search results for related queries. While top-level findings were freely available on the website, the full report was gated behind an email signup, serving as a highly effective lead magnet. This strategy significantly boosted newsletter subscriptions, expanding his valuable email list.
To date, the John Gannon Blog boasts an email list of 25,000 subscribers, primarily composed of current and aspiring VC professionals – a highly desirable demographic for advertisers and service providers.
Venturing into Online Course Creation
The foray into online courses was not initially planned but rather evolved organically. Gannon began with live, in-person experiences, offering one-on-one coaching and small-group workshops focused on breaking into venture capital. These live sessions paved the way for digital products. One recorded session was repurposed into the VC Jumpstart course, a Slidecast presentation format, and sold on Gumroad. Promoted on the John Gannon Blog and newsletters, the course generated thousands of dollars in short order, validating the demand for structured VC education.
This initial success spurred the development of a comprehensive suite of online courses and productized services, including:
- VC Job Launchpad: An enhanced version of the original course, priced at $348.
- Investment Thesis Playbook: Teaching investment evaluation, priced at $199.
- Custom VC Resume + LinkedIn Review: A personalized service with video feedback, priced at $348.
- VC Financial Modeling Bundle: Covering essential financial modeling concepts for VC roles, priced at $248.
- Ace the VC Interview: Interview preparation for VC positions, priced at $348.
- VC Job Launchpad + Bonuses: A bundle of all courses, priced at $1,394.
To effectively guide users to relevant courses, a questionnaire was added to the newsletter signup process, gathering information about subscriber needs and experience levels. Automated email sequences then pitched tailored product recommendations based on individual profiles, optimizing course sales and user engagement.
Strategic Sponsorships: Beyond Traditional Advertising
The valuable, affluent audience of the John Gannon Blog naturally attracted advertisers. Traditional newsletter sponsorships were offered, allowing companies to promote their products. However, Gannon innovatively developed content-integrated sponsorship opportunities.
The weekly VC Deals and Moves in VC newsletters became prime sponsorship vehicles. VC firms could pay to have their investment or hiring announcements featured prominently at the top of these newsletters. This upselling was seamlessly integrated into the submission process. Google Forms for deal and hire submissions included a question about premium placement, with payment processed via Stripe.
The rationale for VC firms paying for premium placement is rooted in the industry’s lifeblood: deal flow. Hiring and investment announcements are crucial for generating visibility and deal opportunities. The John Gannon Blog became a valuable platform for amplifying these announcements within the target audience.
Spin-off Venture: GoingVC
Building upon the success of the John Gannon Blog, Gannon co-founded GoingVC in 2018. Recognizing the demand for community and direct interaction with VCs, GoingVC offers cohort-based programs that connect job seekers with VC professionals through weekly sessions and a Slack community. Priced around $6,000 per participant, GoingVC has served over 500 individuals and developed a robust curriculum. Gannon’s co-founder manages day-to-day operations.
GoingVC also includes an angel seed investment arm, leveraging Gannon’s extensive network built through the blog for deal flow. This expansion highlights the potential to further capitalize on the proprietary network and audience cultivated by the John Gannon Blog. Gannon is exploring various avenues for leveraging this network, including launching a dedicated venture fund or facilitating fund placement through his platform.
However, his primary focus remains on expanding the information products business of the John Gannon Blog. With a goal of reaching $1 million in annual course revenue within a few years, excluding other monetization streams, the John Gannon Blog continues to demonstrate the power of niche content, strategic diversification, and a deep understanding of audience needs within the venture capital industry.
