A newsletter with 50,000 subscribers can be worth less than one with 5,000 engaged readers. Engagement and monetization matter far more than the headline list size.

Start with the health of the list: open rates, click rates, unsubscribes, and how many subscribers are actually active. A list full of cold or purchased addresses is a liability, not an asset.

Then work out revenue per subscriber and how that revenue is earned. Sponsorships, paid subscriptions, and affiliate income behave very differently, and each carries different risks.

Finally, price the business on profit, not revenue, and discount for the work you will need to do to keep readers and replace churn.

See the final section of the full article for additional practical guidance on this topic.