In November 2023, State of Digital Publishing (SODP) hosted PubTech2023 – an online event for digital publishing and news media professionals.
This article is based on the summary of key learnings of a presentation by Mex Cooper, Head of Audience Development, Nine.
While email has been one of the most effective ways of reaching and engaging audiences for decades, 2023-2024 has seen a fresh wave of interest from publishers in utilizing newsletters to grow and nurture their audience. In the age of first-party data, this is hardly surprising.
Developing deep connections with audiences
In the age of media fragmentation and endless sources of information, developing deep relationships with an audience and keeping it connected are increasingly difficult tasks for publishers.
Most publishers aspire to develop these meaningful connections with their readers – to become a part of their daily lives instead of a one-off site visit.
Newsletters can help achieve these objectives.
Why publishers focus on newsletters
Mex Cooper, Head of Audience Development at Nine, explains: “Publishers are increasingly focusing on newsletters because they offer many opportunities to connect with readers directly without giving up control to third-party platforms and channels.”
Examples:
- Readers who sign up for The New York Times newsletters are twice as likely to become subscribers.
- The Times and Sunday Times report that subscribers who engage with their daily newsletter are 49% less likely to cancel their subscriptions.
Newsletters help eliminate dependency on third-party platforms. They give publishers control over the content presented to readers while also giving the readers control over when to engage with that content.
Furthermore, newsletters allow publishers to combat news fatigue by presenting curated content.
Newsletters – a time-tested channel
The death of emails has been predicted numerous times, especially with the rise of messaging platforms and Slack-type collaboration tools. Yet, emails remain.
Newsletters should be easy to build, easy to find, and easy to measure:
- Easy to build: publishers should ensure a unified system to create all their newsletters that are, ideally, integrated with or connected to the CMS. The less time-consuming a newsletter is to build, the better.
- Easy to find: publishers should avoid burying newsletter signup pages deep in their sites. The sign-up page should be engaging, intuitive, and easily discoverable by visitors. Publishers can promote a CTA on their homepages, at the end of each article, via QR codes at events, etc.
- Easy to measure: editorial teams should be aware of newsletter results – what’s working, what’s not, and where there is room for improvement. Additional measurements like heatmaps can help publishers better understand their readers’ journey and interaction with the signup page and the newsletter itself.
Newsletters – a dynamic channel
Publishers should constantly monitor and audit their newsletters. Newsletters that are not performing should be killed off, and the resources should be allocated elsewhere. Some newsletters have a short lifespan – e.g., newsletters that were launched during the COVID-19 pandemic – and when no longer relevant, they should be removed from circulation.
Keeping newsletters engaging and relevant should be a priority to maintain a more meaningful connection with readers.
Determining the purpose of a newsletter
Each newsletter should have a clear purpose. For example, it can be to:
- Generate revenue via a subscription-only access
- Attract new readers
- Provide more context on a specific topic/area
- Engage a niche community
Depending on the purpose of the newsletter and its target audience, publishers should create individual promotional channels and custom types of newsletters – the design, the frequency, the structure, the length, etc.
Content from our partners
Integrating newsletters in the larger newsroom ecosystem
Oftentimes, newsroom staff is disconnected from newsletters. Publishers should try to bridge that gap by keeping their newsrooms appraised of the feedback, of metrics, and the audience’s engagement with both the newsletter and individual pieces.
Deciding to launch a newsletter
When determining whether to launch a newsletter, publishers should ask themselves:
- Who is it for?
- How do we know that we’re targeting the right newsletter?
- What do we want to be known for?
- What value can this newsletter offer that isn’t available elsewhere?
- What resources are required to build the newsletter consistently?
- What is the best way to present this information to this audience?
- How will we ensure that the intended audience finds it?
Watch the full session:
Download the ebook of learnings from PubTech2023 here.
