Newsletters... The Democratization Of Media? Or Just The New Hotness.
It seems as though many professional journalists are leaving legacy media, by choice or otherwise, and turning to doing news their own way via the newsletter.
I've talked about this before in this newsletter, but it's worth talking about again.
It seems as though every journalist out there is starting a newsletter. Regardless of the service they're using, journalists have found an outlet where they can control what they right and how they monetize. All this is through the newsletter medium.
As traditional journalism outlets falter, more professional journalists are getting laid off. These journalists are having trouble finding their way back into a shrinking legacy journalism world. Because of this many journalists are finding that they need to grab a machete and wack their own path through the jungle of media consumption and forge their own path.
Though what many budding entrepreneurial journalists miss is that with going out on their own, they need to not only write, but do their own marketing and sales.
Some have found success, like Isaac Saul, the founder of the newsletter Tangle, but others are still struggling to find their spot.
This is where marketing and branding comes into play.
No longer is the journalism outlet branding the journalist. It's on the individual writer to get in front of people on their own. And this takes time and effort in addition to writing the actual content.
Here's some tips I found that have worked for me, thus far:
- Share pieces of your content on social. Not the whole piece or newsletter, instead, just enough to get readers intrigued enough to want more.
- Don't be afraid to make your archives a premium and charge.
- Figure out the freemium model. Give some content or issues out for free and then entice the readers to upgrade to get more of what they're enjoying.
- Use different types of media. Podcasts are a great supplement to a newsletter. Or vice versa. Showing up on camera and/or on audio helps people connect more with you as a person and as a brand they trust.
- Making a weekly recap of what's happening in the industry you're covering and linking back to previous coverage (that can be pay walled) is a great way to convert readers into paying members of your content.
The newsletter might be the newest hot trend. But I think the medium is only starting to hit its stride and it's going to be here for the long haul.
The Newsletter Isn't New
The newsletter isn't a new medium. In fact, newsletters are older than the United States. Thomas Paine and Benjamin Franklin produced newsletters. Heck, I'm sure my author friend Jeff Jarvis would agree, that newsletters go back to Gutenberg.
So Start A Newsletter Already!
In the end, if you have something to say and share then start a newsletter. Remember it takes time to grow an audience, but the best part is that the audience will be yours and not owned by big media.
What do you think? Let me know!
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