The Rise of the Newsletter
What Facebook and Twitter getting into the newsletter game means for the future of news
I want to start by saying thank you for letting me reach you directly through email. I know what it’s like to have a cluttered inbox so I promise not to be spammy!
Email may be one of the older forms of online communication, but it is still so valuable and intimate. Whether you’re someone who strives for inbox-zero or someone who lets that email notification number creep into the thousands, email is still something you’re likely checking every day, multiple times a day.
So it only makes sense why two of the largest news distributers, Facebook and Twitter, each announced this week that they’re getting into the email newsletter space. Let’s look into why email newsletter platforms (like the one I’m writing on right now) are gaining in popularity and why their rise is so important.
What are Newsletter Platforms?
Platforms like Substack and Revue (the one acquired by Twitter) are services that make it easy for writers to start a newsletter and begin monetizing. All of the technical details like scheduling and sending emails, setting up paid subscriptions, email formatting (like embedding that tweet up there), etc. are handled by the platform. All you have to do is write, which, you know, is what writers do.
Why would writers choose to write on one of these platforms, instead of writing for a more established media company like the New York Times, for example? The answer is simple: independence.
At a large company, writers contend with other writers for space on the front page and for different writing assignments. They may also disagree with how the lead editors want to cover/prioritize a certain topic. And, of course, not all of the company’s profit goes to the writer, and an increase in readers does not lead to an increase in pay.
In comes the newsletter platform, which places an emphasis on independent journalism. Writers on these platforms work for themselves, controlling how often they post and what they post about. The more subscribers they get, the more money they make, all of which comes directly from paying subscribers rather than distracting ads. Finally, arguably the most important benefit, their newsletter goes straight to the reader’s inbox. We started this article talking about the pervasiveness of email, and the journalists who are flocking to these newsletter platforms are capitalizing on it and making millions.
Changing the News Industry
The relevance here comes back to the reports that Facebook and Twitter are planning on running their own newsletter services. In a 2015 study, the Pew Research Center found that a majority of Facebook and Twitter users said they use the sites as a source of news. These moves could be seen as an attempt to become a more “traditional” news platform, and repair the image of fake news and misinformation that they have garnered over the past few years; the recent spread of conspiracy theories shows just how effective these social media companies are at disseminating information. Imagine what kind of messages can be sent without having to fight with the Facebook news feed algorithm.
On a more optimistic note, getting catered newsletters straight to your inbox can be an effective way of getting information you care about from sources you trust. The very business model of these platforms incentivizes independent writers to continue to engage their readers and maintain credibility.
Either way, if we really are entering the newsletter era, we will need to rethink how we consume media. While I do think quality journalism should be free and available to anyone, if better news comes from independent writers, paying to support them may be something we’ll need to consider — though I’m not quitting my day job any time soon, so my writing shall remain free :). We will also need to be very intentional with who we let into our inboxes, especially if these newsletters are coming attached to one of the largest social media companies, which make a living off of our data.
We are now in a time where information spreads like wildfire. We have had to adapt to social media and navigate a world where just a handful of companies run most of our information streams. With new forms of media coming into the fray, it is more important than ever to continually take stock of how we get our information and who gets that precious inbox real estate.