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Newsletter portfolios shrinking as publishers look to consolidate reader engagement

The social media traffic collapse has made newsletters more important than ever to publishers looking for real reader relationships, but less is looking like more in the fight for engagement.

 

Social media has never provided a secure foundation for publishers, but as platforms pass over publisher content or simply implode, newsletters have claimed their place as a much safer bet for audience development.

But despite the renewed hype for the decades-old format, this year has actually seen some publishers choose to slim down their portfolios with the aim of deepening engagement with existing content, and not spreading resources or readership too thin.

Of course, not everyone is cutting back. Publishers like Mill Media, the Financial Times, Reach and The Telegraph among others have still launched plenty of newsletters over the past 12 months. If you want a big-picture piece on everything that’s been going on in the world of publisher newsletters, here it is!


More from Media Moments 2023


 

Washington Post’s triggered e-mails offer opportunity for personalised engagement, lasting connections

The Washington Post team has strategically crafted triggers that seamlessly align with consumer interests and behaviours.

Talking of newsletters, here’s one from the Washington Post about how they researched and set up email triggers to increase engagement and conversion. Yes yes it’s all very well if you’ve got the resources of WaPo, but there are still some steal-able ideas here. I especially like favourite author triggers, and content diversity triggers: showcasing breadth and depth of coverage to readers who are solely engaged in one section.


 

How Mundial’s niche publishing strategy is winning over subscribers and building community

Mundial has recently introduced a weekly, longer-form newsletter for its existing paying subscribers or anyone who is willing to pay £1.99.

Digiday used to do fantastic publisher-specific deep-dives like these all the time, which I’ve missed in their more recent coverage. So it was nice to be able to read this about niche football publisher Mundial on their post-acquisition publishing strategy.


The demise of the third-party cookie is well underway – but what does that actually mean for publishers and audiences? Chat about it with us in our Community forum here!


 

Online news paywall inflation running at 20% in UK

Bloomberg has undergone the biggest price increase out of all the major digital news subscriptions offered to UK consumers in the past year.

The price of a digital news subscription has risen by 19% on average in the UK over the last year, according to Press Gazette analysis of 23 leading paywalled publishers. That’s well ahead of inflation, which is around 5% in the UK. Noted though that this doesn’t include discounts. Looks like 2024 will be the year of increasing average revenue per user (ARPU) rather than subscriber volumes.


More from Media Voices

 

Integrating AI into newsrooms: experiment, report, measure

In the second episode of this two-part series from Mx3 AI, we look at why, how and when publishers are integrating AI into their newsrooms.

 

AI in the newsroom: Opportunities, regulation and risk

We set the scene for AI and its use in publishing, as experts tell us how to prepare for internal and external changes to media businesses.

 

Info: The Publisher Newsletter Summit and Publisher Podcast Summit

Find out more about the Publisher Newsletter Summit and Publisher Podcast Summit from the Media Voices team, and register your interest for speaking, sponsoring or attending.

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