Peak newsletter? Or just a bit of irrational (and unsustainable) exuberance about the format PLUS 'publishers' addiction' to push notifications

October 21, 2022

At the end of the week, there are rumbles in the media press looking at the possible end games of digital tactics including newsletters and push notifications. Looking at some of the examples given, as with both tactics, it might not be that they still aren't effective but rather that we're finding the limits and boundaries of their effectiveness.

The Local Media Association highlights reports from the WAN-IFRA conference on reader revenue paying 70% of newsroom costs, and they review some of the common traits that successful subscription-supported publishers share.

A great piece on what YouTube strategies you might reasonably employ and what strategies quite frankly are beyond the reach of most publishers (meaning ones that can't afford to dedicate a two-dozen-strong team to YouTube).

The humble email newsletter, which became a star in its own right, appears headed back to earth.

An interesting look at some retrenchment of newsletter efforts, which covers a wide range of the market from Meta's end to it's Bulletin newsletter feature and The Atlantic reconsidering some of their lucrative contracts for newsletter writers. And there are also questions raised about the success of creator-led standalone newsletter, mostly in questions about Substack's model.

These are all fair questions, but I think that some of this is down to the consolidation that we see in digital markets, but I also think it doesn't really consider the broader uses that publishers have for newsletters when it comes to being part of a subscriber-acquisition model. Yes, it is touched on with the eye-watering amounts that The Atlantic was paying some writers, but that can be a costing issue as much as anything.

The most successful news organizations when it comes to reader revenue have buy-in at the top, strong journalism, and more.

The headline says that reader revenue is paying for 70% of newsroom costs for some print and digital publishers, but in some cases that figure rises to 100%. Another bright spot is the amount of revenue being generated by branded content. One trend that is probably isolated to the US is the huge role that philanthropy is playing. Yes, there are foundations in other countries, but they simply don't operate at the scale that they do in the US.

But carpet cleaning videos might be a better inspiration A recent Pew Research survey of American teens (ages 13 to 17) shows that TikTok is one of the leading social media platforms that has everyone talking about it. Meanwhile Facebook has dramatically sunk in popularity. I suspect the trend is very similar in Europe and elsewhere; we …

A great piece from the team at The Fix looking, who provide a clear-headed assessment of YouTube strategies at places like Vox. The teams are just so large that most outlets couldn't simply copy the approach. However, I will say that one of the lessons that publishers should take away from Vox is that when prioritising strategies is that their YouTube strategy is a long play. They have been at this for seven years!

With open rates becoming less reliable, the FT needed a way to better measure the success of their email strategy. They found it through surveys.

So smart. With changes by Apple, open rate reporting can be less reliable as Apple pre-fetches some content for privacy reasons, leading to double counting. To sense check the data, the FT launched a survey. This is a case study to replicate.

BRICKS is a London-based independent print publication and online platform exploring social-political issues within fashion, music, arts and culture. The team – led by queer and working-class creators – are passionate about opening up access to the creative industry, amplifying under-represented voices from climate activists and BLM organisers to trans rights activists. Although the publication …

A good case study looking at the products that make up their membership strategy including a review of different products and their pricing. It is very interesting to see podcasts as a member benefit.

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.

A great bit of data collection by the Press Gazette looking at the number of push notifications sent out by major publishers. I noted a lot of Reach publications in this league table.

When Rob Curley set out to host events as a fundraiser for the The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, he wasn’t aiming to raise money from ticket sales.

This is the second example in the past week of using books as part of a revenue-generating offer. In both instances, it was a book club, and with book clubs, it is obvious to include author events, which can be a real money spinner.

Media companies are restructuring their commerce teams after realizing that a siloed approach only fragments revenue.

How to build your monetisation team and how to find people with the right skills.

Economic issues facing US media

Rick Edmonds at Poynter looks at how inflation in the US is eating away at newspaper profits, while Mediapost looks at weakness in the ad market.

All media are dealing with rising costs, but newsprint, fuel, ink and more have put print organizations in a particularly bad situation

U.S. Ad Market Falls For Fourth Consecutive Month, Signals Start Of New Recession - 10/20/2022

A review of Semafor's launch

Semafor has launched with a new article format that it believes will increase transparency around their journalism and rebuild trust. Here we have a business look from CNBC, an interview with their executive editor, Gina Chua, and a highly critical look from The Defector.

Semafor debuted Tuesday showcasing a new take on the old-fashioned news article.

The startup founded by media stars launches this week, aiming to tackle low trust and high news avoidance. But have we not heard that before?

All around the world, and especially in the United States, widening economic inequality, deep sociological divides, pathetic political systems, rapacious capitalism, and failing public institutions have stripped concepts like the common good, democracy, and progress of any broadly shared meaning. Untethered both from each other and a shared version of reality, citizens have divided themselves […]