Newsletter publishers are diversifying beyond the inbox | Publishing Updates

Publishers are embracing technology and seeking unique AI-driven solutions to improve search performance.

Newsletters have become an important entry point for media startups. But a single channel is probably not enough for successful publishing, and Digiday has been talking to his publisher for a series of newsletters that plan to expand beyond the inbox. Four companies are moving to events, videos and podcasts to diversify their business and grow revenue in 2023.

Limitations

There’s no easy way to grow a media start-up, but newsletters offer a very direct way for publishers to build audiences and create habits around their products. According to Collective’s Dan Oshinsky, newsletter publishers could see revenue plateau.

Publishers may hit the ceiling on how much they can sell newsletter ads for as their audience grows, so expanding into other products and channels is a good sign.

According to Oshinsky, the cost per open of a newsletter can range from $20 to $60 per 1,000 readers, but even if the newsletter readership grows to 1 million readers explains that advertisers who spend $5,000 or $10,000 on newsletter ads are unlikely to spend $50,000.

In this regard, he sees more and more newsletter publishers offering advertisers “different products” to attract different audiences and draw in more advertising budgets.

Diversification

Newsletter ads account for nearly 70% of Front Office Sports’ revenue, but the company is looking to grow digital, social video and online education from 30% to 50% of the company’s revenue by the end of the year. Founder and CEO Adam White told his Digiday:

Newsletters are the entry point for media companies and grow from there. We no longer think of ourselves as a newsletter company.

Digiday reported that the media director of an unnamed ad agency said their team rarely buys ads “one channel at a time.” Instead, we’re looking at multiple platforms for publishers. they explained:

It’s important to reach your audience on the best channel or mix of channels possible, rather than each individual channel that delivers your newsletter.

Expansion

Other areas where newsletter publishers can expand include podcasts, events and marketing services.

• Liz Gough, co-founder and COO of subscription newsletter publisher Puck, told Digiday the company hosted four events in the first quarter of 2023. These included dinners at the Sundance Film Festival, screening events in New York and Los Angeles, and networking events for Puck’s. Premium Subscriber.
• Entertainment industry newsletter The Ankler also plans to increase revenue from events and podcasts this year. CEO Janice Min said it sells pre- and mid-roll podcast and newsletter ads. The company also hosted her inaugural summit in March and partnered with Advertising Week to run her NXSTREAM Global for the streaming sector.
• Sean Griffey, co-founder and CEO of B2B newsletter publisher Industry Dive, told Digiday that the company is looking at increasing revenue from its custom content arm, studioID. Custom With his content making up about 40% of his dive revenue, Griffey said:

We are newsletter driven, but digital media [and] Marketing services company.

This article originally appeared on Spiny Trends and is republished with permission. Spiny Trends is a division of Spiny.ai., a content analytics and revenue generation platform for digital publishers.every week For the latest industry news updates and analysis you need as a media and publishing business, subscribe to Spiny’s Trends weekly email roundup here.

peter houston

Peter Houston is the co-host of the Media Voices Podcast. He is a writer, consultant and trainer helping publishers build a sustainable multi-platform future. He runs his Guardian masterclasses, speaks at Google’s ThinkPublishing conference, and has been a judge for several magazine awards. He has written about media for The New Statesman, The Drum, FIPP, InPublishing and Publishing Executive, and researched and authored “State of the Media, 2017” for The Media Briefing.