Operator · Monthly
Monthly Letter Newsletter Template
One substantial monthly update — like a Berkshire shareholder letter. A long, considered monthly letter covering everything happening in your work — strategy, numbers, reflections, what changed in your thinking. The Berkshire model, applied to any sustained endeavour.
Who this template is for
Founders, fund managers, and project leads writing to a sophisticated audience.
Issue structure
- This month in summary. One paragraph covering the headlines
- What we shipped. Specific releases or milestones
- The numbers. Detailed metrics — revenue, users, churn, anything you measure
- What I'm thinking about. 2–3 substantive reflections on the work or the category
- What's coming. What we're planning for the next month and the next quarter
When to use this template
- ✓ You're building something sustained and want a deep, infrequent communication channel
- ✓ Your audience is sophisticated — investors, peer founders, customers who matter
- ✓ You'd rather write one great long piece a month than a forced weekly cadence
Examples that work
Newsletters using a version of this template successfully:
- Berkshire Hathaway shareholder letters
- Naval's monthly notes
- Bezos shareholder letters
Use this template in Aldus
Aldus's AI editor uses this template as a starting prompt — paste your sources and the editor produces the first draft in your voice. Suggested prompt:
Topic: Monthly letter for [project / company]. Voice: Considered, honest, written to a sophisticated reader who already cares. Sources: [internal docs, financials, your private notes, the past quarter]. Cover the month in summary, what we shipped, real numbers, 2–3 substantive reflections, and what's coming. Avoid corporate-speak.
Frequently asked questions
Is monthly cadence enough to maintain audience habit?
For sophisticated readers who already care, yes — Berkshire's letter is annual and people read every word. For a cold audience trying to build habit, monthly is too slow; pair it with a weekly micro-update.
Should the monthly letter be public or subscriber-only?
Both work. Naval's are public; many fund managers' are subscriber-only. Public letters compound your audience over years; private letters deepen the relationship with the readers who matter most.