140: Some thoughts on e-newsletters

For starters, it’s “e-newsletters,” okay, and that’s the way I’ll say it.

“An article on theaudiencers.com says e-newsletters are having a serious (and very lengthy) moment in the limelight for digital publishers, not only as a valuable engagement tool but also for monetizing audiences.”

The article asks, “What is it that’s so special about e-newsletters?” And the answer is that people who subscribe to an e-newsletter and then subscribe to their premium product are 50% more likely to still be a subscriber after 12 months.

That’s an interesting answer, because it frames the value of the e-newsletter in the context of its value to the publisher, not to the reader. You could argue that retention is a proxy for value to the reader, but I still think it’s worth noting.

The article highlights the importance of regularity – to become part of the reader’s routine. That’s a good point, and I ought to learn that with this podcast. Sorry that I’m somewhat irregular in my daily posting times.

Reader surveys show that many people start their day reading the newsletter in bed. Which is … great, except – people – you shouldn’t have your phone in bed.

E-newslettters can be a chance to develop a more personal relationship with the reader. The editor can establish a voice for the whole letter, and make room for replies and interaction.

People like to say that “being human” will be a differentiator in the world of AI, but I suspect it won’t take long for AI to be better at being human than we are. So, take advantage of that while you can.

One paragraph about The Edinburgh Guardian jumped out at me.

“The whole concept grew out of the horrible user experience of having to file through the adverts on publisher’s sites to find the news that’s worth reading. I do this work so readers don’t have to, putting it in a short, curated digest.“

Yeah. Reading on a mobile website is usually awful. The page is so full of ads and pop-ups and distractions that half the time it’s not worth it. Getting readable content in an e-newsletter is … quite relaxing.

One thing that fascinates me about digital content is the funnel. It used to be so easy. The top of your funnel was visitors to your website, and the bottom of your funnel was one product – like an e-newsletter. Now we have Substack and Whatsapp and TikTok and who knows what else, and you might not be driving them all to one email newsletter. You might deliver the content ten different ways.

If your e-newsletter is only in email, it makes metrics a little easier, and on that score, clicks are probably your best metric, since opens don’t mean so much any more.

My Krehbiel letter goes out in the mail, in email, and as a LinkedIn newsletter. And I could easily add an app, a video version, etc. It gets a little exhausting – both in terms of production and in terms of measuring results. It’s clicks over here and views over there and likes in this other place.

What I like about my letter, and about e-newsletters, is that the publisher can establish a direct relationship with the subscriber that X or YouTube or Facebook can’t mess with.

Most e-newsletters are used to sell people on subscriptions to premium products. I do my newsletter so you’ll hire me to solve your tech problems.

I’ve picked a few of the interesting insights from this article, so if you’re interested in e-newsletters, I suggest you read the whole thing.

Resources

How to make newsletters valuable in a reader revenue model – The Telegraph & The Edinburgh Guardian
https://theaudiencers.com/operations/how-to-make-newsletters-valuable-in-a-reader-revenue-model-the-telegraph-the-edinburgh-guardian/