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[00:00:00] Renga: Welcome to episode 5 of the Letter Stack podcast. Today's guest is special. I've been on his newsletter since its earliest days when it was just a passion project.

[00:00:12] Renga: Please welcome Chris Cher, founder of Remote Base and Digital Nomad Trip Reports—a newsletter covering the best local deals at affordable prices worldwide.

[00:00:30] Renga: I discovered Chris’s newsletter during the pandemic, and since then it has grown to thousands of subscribers. Today we’ll learn how he runs Remote Base, Digital Nomad Trip Reports, and multiple ventures he’s building. Chris, welcome to the show.

[00:01:01] Chris: Thank you so much, Renga. That was a fantastic introduction. I’m happy to be here talking about my favorite subject—email newsletters.

[00:01:12] Renga: Perfect. Newsletters are my favorite too, and I’m sure the audience agrees. Let’s dive in. But before Remote Base, what was your life like?

[00:01:25] Chris: Before Remote Base, I worked in financial services in the UK. It was a niche, tax-related role—very dry and boring. But my background was in marketing and advertising. Returning to newsletters felt like coming home, back to something I was always passionate about.

[00:02:15] Renga: Were you always passionate about traveling and being a digital nomad?

[00:02:21] Chris: Maybe not the first wave, but I was always interested in travel. While working in financial services, my company was progressive and allowed remote work as early as 2016.

[00:02:54] Chris: On my first day, I joined a call with a teammate working from Croatia while I had just moved back to London. That moment stuck with me. Eventually, I started working remotely too—first from home, then further afield. That path led me to create Remote Base, curating accommodation deals for digital nomads and remote workers.

[00:04:22] Renga: We first connected through the Slack community “We Work Remotely.” Was it hard to get your first subscribers?

[00:04:50] Chris: At the time, I didn’t think much of it—it was just a fun side project while I had a day job. I shared it in the Slack group, asked if people would subscribe, and got an enthusiastic response. On launch day I had 112 subscribers.

[00:06:00] Chris: Remote work was growing but hadn’t exploded yet. There were only a few forums and Slack groups, so I shared it there. Growth was slow—it took years to reach 1,000 subscribers because I wasn’t focused on SEO, social media, or brand building. But once I hit 1,000, I started taking it seriously.

[00:07:47] Renga: When did you decide to quit your full-time job and focus fully on newsletters?

[00:08:05] Chris: The pandemic accelerated everything. Initially, I paused because no one could travel. Once people started again, I refocused on the newsletter. I went part-time at my job, then realized splitting time made me do both poorly. Eventually, I quit and went all-in, even without stable sponsorship revenue or a paid version. Risky in hindsight, but necessary.

[00:11:14] Renga: At that point, what platform were you using?

[00:11:21] Chris: The first site was on Weebly, connected to Mailchimp. Later I tried Carrd, Tilda, WordPress—but Mailchimp remained my main email tool. Around 2023, I moved the free newsletter to Beehive while keeping the paid version on Mailchimp until Beehive had better segmentation.

[00:13:25] Renga: That overlap makes sense. Today Remote Base has around 10,000 free subscribers, right?

[00:14:00] Chris: Yes, around 10,000 free subscribers. A percentage pay for premium, but my focus has leaned toward sponsorships. Sponsorship revenue has been more rewarding, so I sometimes neglect conversion optimization for paid.

[00:15:43] Renga: Remote Base offers vetted travel and accommodation listings. That must take a lot of work. How do you manage it?

[00:16:21] Chris: In the early days, people called it “Scott’s Cheap Flights for Airbnb.” Each email had 10–20 listings. Putting them together is tedious because automation only goes so far. I have an assistant who helps build emails and another part-time person for operations. It’s lean, but the quality shows. Many subscribers stay for years because of the value.

[00:19:09] Renga: I’ve noticed your newsletters don’t stick to one schedule. Sometimes they arrive on Mondays, sometimes Saturdays. Why?

[00:20:00] Chris: We do keep a schedule: Remote Base goes out on the 2nd and 18th of each month. That avoids sending on New Year’s Day or my birthday. It feels irregular, but subscribers say it adds a sense of surprise.

[00:21:40] Renga: Besides Remote Base, you also run Digital Nomad Trip Reports. Was that inspired by your Remote Base audience?

[00:22:20] Chris: Yes, partly. I wanted to capture the value of conversations nomads have: “Where have you been? Where are you going?” Those one-to-one exchanges are rich, so I turned them into a one-to-many format.

[00:23:26] Chris: I tested the idea by posting trip reports on LinkedIn—they were well received. Later, I acquired a small email list from another creator who stopped his project. I bought his list, merged it with mine, and grew from there.

[00:25:47] Chris: Trip Reports is community-led. Subscribers submit reports through Airtable. An assistant formats them in Beehive. I never worry about content generation. It now has about 2,000–2,500 subscribers, goes out every Friday, and runs on small sponsorships.

[00:27:32] Renga: And now you’re spinning up another venture—Mad Banana Media. Tell us about that.

[00:28:06] Chris: The name comes from my love of bananas—I always have one nearby. Mad Banana Media houses all my publications: Remote Base, Trip Reports, and others. It also formalizes consulting I was already doing.

[00:29:26] Chris: We offer three services:

1. Auditing email operations and course-correcting mistakes.
2. Building full newsletter strategies for businesses, brands, or creators.
3. The “Email Doctor” service—subscribing to your newsletter and giving light-touch feedback.

[00:31:04] Chris: Sometimes people ask me to write their newsletter for them. I push back, because usually the problem is strategy, not writing ability.

[00:31:57] Renga: That’s a lot under one umbrella. Kudos for managing it all without burning out.

[00:32:15] Renga: Many people are considering passion projects now, especially with layoffs and AI shifts. What advice would you give someone starting today who wants to build the next Remote Base?

[00:33:02] Chris: Start organic. Don’t overthink. Get a landing page up—Beehive, MailerLite, whatever. Find where your readers are, engage with them, and focus on early organic subscribers. Build personal relationships with them. Optimize later—just start.

[00:34:33] Renga: Exactly. Even with a smaller list, writing as if you’re speaking to 1,000 people is powerful. The space is still warming up. Owning an audience via email is the best way forward.

[00:35:53] Renga: Chris, you’ve lived the dream and are doing it multiple times. Thanks for joining us.

[00:35:59] Renga: Folks, if you love traveling—or bananas—check out Remote Base and Mad Banana Media. Chris responds to every DM, so reach out. Thanks again, and see you in the next episode.

[00:36:25] Chris: Thank you.