2Add-ons, independent
$999Shop build-out, once
0$Ads setup fee
100%Ad accounts stay yours
Phase 2 built the platform and turned on the content engine. Phase 3 fills it with creators. Phase 4 is the two pieces you asked about on our call: a Collegist shop with merch and products we design and keep fresh, and Meta ads run for your newsletter, so the list grows on purpose instead of by accident. Pick one, pick both, or park it. Nothing here bills until you say go.
You mentioned merch on the call and the backend already speaks Shopify. The shop lives on your domain, looks like the rest of The Collegist, and we design and run it so you never touch a product page. Founding Campus Editor tees, the Tuesday Test workbook in print, the mom checklist as a real notebook, campus postcards from the collage series. Drops are content, and content is what we already make for you every month.
Pass-through at cost, yours: the Shopify plan (about $39/month) and the product cost per order. We pick suppliers with you so the margin makes sense before anything goes live.
Rides alongside the Content Engine, which already makes the graphics and runs the calendar. That is why it is $297 and not $497.
Right now the list grows when a post lands. Ads make it grow every day, to the exact person you want: the mom of a junior in Texas, the senior touring three schools this fall. We run the campaigns inside your own Meta account, feed them the creative the content engine already makes, and report in plain English every two weeks. Below is the whole thing, including how the money actually works, because you should never have to guess.
Ad spend is separate and paid by you directly to Meta on your own card, so you always see exactly what the platform charged. The fee never scales with spend.
You can raise, lower or pause the daily budget any time. We tell you what it will do to the learning phase before you do it.
| Month one media budget ($25 a day) | ~$750 |
| New subscribers at the target ($3 each) | ~250 |
| Newsletters convert free readers to paid at a median of about 0.6%, top quartile 2 to 5% (industry data, 2026) | 2 to 12 paid |
| Where the money really comes from: the list itself. Sponsorships, university placements, the shop, Premium, and the halo that makes your organic posts and podcasts work harder. | compounding |
Ads are the fastest lever for list growth and the slowest lever for direct profit. We say that up front so the first 90 days are judged on cost per subscriber and list quality, and the paid side is judged on the welcome sequence and Premium. Once the shop is open, the same machine runs product campaigns with a plain return-on-ad-spend target, where 2 to 3 times spend is the bar we hold ourselves to.
We will not run ads to a dead page, buy followers, or let a campaign burn through the learning phase because a budget got yanked around. We will not report vanity numbers. Every report says what it cost to earn one real reader, and whether she stayed.
| The Collegist Shop, build-out (once, at kickoff) | $999 |
| Shop design & upkeep | $297 / mo |
| Meta Ads management (90-day runway, then month-to-month) | $797 / mo |
| Ads setup (standard $500) | waived |
| Phase 4, both add-ons, monthly | $1,094 / mo |
| Recommended ad spend, paid by you to Meta (not a Vessels fee) | ~$600–$900 / mo |
| With Phase 2 running (Foundation $497 + Content Engine $997) | $2,588 / mo total |
The 90 days on ads is not a lock-in for our sake. It is the minimum honest window to get through learning, consolidate and read real numbers. Cancel anytime after.
What this adds. The add-ons you select below are added to your plan at launch-partner terms, between The Collegist (Bri Crum) and Vessels · The Lees Media LLC. The Collegist Shop: $999 build-out once at kickoff, then $297/month design and upkeep; the Shopify plan and per-order product costs are yours, pass-through at cost, with suppliers approved by you first. Meta Ads, the Subscriber Engine: $797/month management with setup waived; ad spend is paid by you directly to Meta at a daily budget you set; a 90-day runway from kickoff, then month-to-month. Scope for each is exactly as listed above. Phases 1, 2 and 3 are unaffected.
Start & billing authorization. Signing locks these terms; billing does not begin at signature. It begins at your confirmed kickoff date, which you choose. From kickoff, you authorize Vessels · The Lees Media LLC to charge the payment method on file for the selected add-ons as stated above, until cancelled with 30 days' written notice (the ads runway ends 90 days after its kickoff). Ad spend is never charged by Vessels.
Scope. Ideas beyond the listed scope are always welcome and get scoped and approved separately in writing before any additional charge.
Your terms are locked and saved, and nothing bills until you say go. Here is what happens when you do:
Questions first? Text or call Gavin any time. Nothing here expires while we talk, and neither add-on is required for the launch.