For our latest season of the Media Voices Podcast, kindly sponsored by Poool, we’re be publishing ten episodes exploring the biggest trends of 2022 and how they affect publishers; from subscriptions and membership to advertising, platforms, emerging technology and more. Our fifth episode explores the year in newsletter trends, from worldwide readership to how creators are driving publisher strategies.
One of the oldest digital delivery systems of all has continued to dominate industry headlines in 2022 as publishers rethink the way they work with email newsletters. Email-first news publishers have continued to go from strength to strength, with Axios and Industry Dive both acquired this year for significant sums. As overwhelm and news avoidance has grown, email newsletters have been seen as a solution to the firehose of content available online, as Reuters noted in this year's Digital News Report.
The trend of journalists leaving outlets to go solo has definitely peaked, with fewer making the move than anticipated. Stability, and the realities of making a living from just a newsletter have stemmed the tide of people taking it from a side hustle to a career. But publishers have responded by finding ways to support talented staff, with Forbes and The Atlantic both having made notable efforts to bring on board dedicated newsletter writers.
That's not to say it's been all plain sailing. Facebook (Meta) has binned Bulletin - its Substack competitor - after just over a year. The industry has also been struggling with Apple's Mail Privacy Protection Update, which has made measuring email open rates particularly challenging. This in turn is forcing innovation, and we're likely to see a substantial evolution of both metrics and email advertising over the coming years as publishers seek to bring the premium ad experiences of their sites and apps to their newsletters.
Overall, there seems to be an acknowledgement that newsletters have been a long-underserved medium that can actually be incredibly effective for publishers. As the hype has faded, there's a 'more realistic attitude' in place about the format and the business that can be built around it.
Joining us this episode to discuss the biggest newsletter trends of 2022 is Mark Stenberg, Senior Media Reporter at AdWeek in New York. He's reported on some of the biggest newsletter-related media stories of the year, and also has his own newsletter Medialyte.
This topic will be one of the chapters we explore in detail as part of our Media Moments 2022 report, launching on November 30th. Find out more and pre-register here to receive the report.
This season of Media Voices is sponsored by Poool, the Membership and Subscription Suite used by over 120 publishers from around the world. The team behind Poool are industry experts who have put everything they know into the product, ready to respond to your ‘how’ of launching & developing a reader revenue strategy.
poool.tech | @PooolTech
Future Chief Audience & eCom Officer Aaron Asadi on driving affiliate revenue
Journalism.co.uk Editor Marcela Kunova on nurturing innovation in newsrooms
Bauer CEO Chris Duncan on leading a magazine business through lockdown
Independent Digital News & Media's Jo Holdaway on the importance of data to publishers
Defector VP of Revenue & Operations Jasper Wang on growing an employee-owned newsbrand
MDIF Deputy CEO Mohamed Nanabhay on investing in sustainable media businesses
Decanter Editor in Chief Chris Maillard on refreshing Future’s wine brand for its loyal readers
Conversations: How Eurosport is turning its evergreen content into success in podcasting
The Membership Economy's Robbie Kellman Baxter on developing compelling direct to consumer offers
Columnist and lecturer Bo Sacks on why now is the golden age of publishing
Special: Which publishers won the pandemic?
Mental Floss EIC Erin McCarthy on the title's 20-year mission to make readers smarter
Twitch's Creative Strategy Lead Jack Woodcock on building communities through livestreams
The Fat Zine co-founder Gina Tonic on being an activist vs. being a publisher
WSJ Editor of Live Journalism Kim Last on virtual events as a live magazine
Shado co-founder Hannah Robathan on the magazine as an outlet for activism
The Big Issue CEO Paul Cheal on the magazine’s fight to survive lockdown
Wareable.com's James Stables on surviving a catastrophic loss of search traffic
The Delicate Rébellion's Hannah Taylor on supporting her community's creative passions
The Bureau Local director Megan Lucero on the collaborative future of news
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The emPOWERed Half Hour
NABOR® TALKS
U.S Property Podcast
Aligned Money Show
The Ramsey Show
Planet Money