Axios tops 1m subscribers in local email play as Substack lays off 14% to conserve cash PLUS Five things to consider in buy or build decisions from @WNIP

June 30, 2022

In terms of conversion and even direct revenue strategies, newsletters have played a prominent role some would argue forever although the strategy goes in and out of vogue. Axios is leaning into its newsletter strategy as it expands to local markets in the US. They now have 1m subscribers and are looking to expand to other cities.

But the beauty of newsletters is that they can generate income from a small, focused audience as you can see from a Columbia Journalism Review piece about Punchbowl, a newsletter focused very much on the inner workings of US politics in Washington DC. Their 3000 paying subs help support a reporting team of five.

But it wasn’t all sunny on the email newsletter front today. Newsletter platform Substack, a favourite of journalism solopreneurs cut 14% of its staff. Looking behind that headline figure, TechCrunch says it was down to the company not wanting to take any more venture funding. VC cash can push companies to focus on short-term growth over long-term sustainability.

The other thing that caught my eye was a piece in What’s New in Publishing about buy vs build decisions and five factors to consider. This is, of course, something we think about a lot at Pugpig - my day job. We take a lot of the effort and cost out of not only building apps and sites but also in the continual development of our products.

Plus:

  • How publishers plan to keep growing their subscriber base after the pandemic.

  • Media companies that went big into crypto are now reassessing.

  • Speaking of bear-ish markets, Buzzfeed's SPAC looks even worse.

  • With the growth of audio content, that market shows resilience with a $7.5m investment into audio measurement company Vertronic.

  • The UK's National World shifts to a focus on city websites (and cuts 30 jobs).

  • For media managers, what is the difference between OKRs and KPIs.

  • The US continues to lose newspapers, but the Local Media Association cautions against "trashing 'legacy' media".

The expansion of Axios Local into new cities across the U.S. has fueled its rapid growth

Punchbowl and power in Washington, DC

They have 3000 paying subscribers, but they earn enough revenue to support five reporters. Not bad going. 

Build vs. Buy – Is it better to develop your tech solution in-house or outsource? The race to stay on the competitive edge of digital media is fiercer than ever. Businesses across the globe are rushing to find more ways to understand and influence customer behavior so they can drive the value of their digital …

The newsletter start-up discussed raising funding last year but abandoned the plan after the market for venture investments cooled.

Like several other companies that boomed in a time when venture capital flowed more freely, Substack must figure out how to survive in a hostile economic time.

The total market for digital subscriptions will grow to $1.5T by 2025 from the current $650B, according to a report from subscription management solutions provider Lineup. The report predicts that subscriptions will have staying power post-pandemic. And while subscriber commitment issues will persist, subscriptions will continue to grow beyond the media model. “Chugging along at …

In this week’s Media Briefing, media editor Kayleigh Barber reports on how publishers are adapting their blockchain-related efforts amid crypto's bear market.

The company will use the funds to further its audio measurement and attribution capabilities and to grow its engineering and sales staff.

The U.S. has lost a quarter of its newspapers since 2005 and is losing two a week (almost all weekly papers) on average, according to a new report from Northwestern University's Medill School. In all, 2,500 American papers have disappeared since 2005.

Penny Abernathy, the author of the report an…

Press Gazette has been reporting on British journalism without fear or favour since 1965. Our mission is to provide a news and information service which helps the UK journalism.

Some ex-BuzzFeed employees, it turns out, were able to trade while others could only watch the shares plummet.

“Legacy” media. We use the phrase as shorthand for “media that have failed to change with the times.” I get that. Lost, though, is another aspect of the meaning of “legacy”: what you are known for — your reputation earned over time for your work. A news organization’s legacy matters in three important ways, and […]

OKRs and KPIs are popular goal-setting methods that help organizations set meaningful goals and execute effective strategies to reach them.