Hey you, thanks for reading me. Today we're going to get meta and talk about newsletters—why we love them, why they're having a resurgence, and the trends happening in the newsletter landscape.
So what's the deal with this old-school channel that's newly capturing our inboxes, again? Let's start with a quick history lesson, not necessarily in chronological order, but in the evolution of how people and brands alike have used the internet to promote themselves:
The internet went mainstream in 1993 and then came bloggers. The blogging platform Blogger launches in 1999.
Email went mass around the time AOL (1993) and Hotmail (1996) came onto the scene.
And then came newsletters (and e-blasts, but we're not going to talk about those spammy things) with platforms like Mailchimp launching in 2001.
YouTube launches in 2005, and then social media platforms like Instagram (2010), Pinterest (2010), Snapchat (2011) launch, which attracts droves of bloggers, vloggers, brands and influencers taking advantage of these new channels.
Social media influencer platforms proliferate at a dizzying rate—for example, HelloSociety was originally a Pinterest influencer company that was purchased by NYT in 2016.
And as we've discussed before, the sheer scale of content deluge reaches an insane peak and everyone gets overwhelmed with everything. We put ourselves on digital diets and then we find ourselves coming back to the old school 1.0 medium of a newsletter, along with other analog channels and products.
You can see from the chart below that as the interest for blogging dwindles, the interest for newsletters kindle (with Mailchimp surpassing Blogger in 2018).
Google Trends
This is likely why "venture capital has finally come for the least sexy communication style," per The Atlantic.
This past year, the well-known crew at Andreesen Horowitz led a $15MM round of funding for Substack, a platform that makes it easy for writers to start a newsletter and get paid for it via subscriptions.
Other newsletter startups are writing their way onto the scene as well. TinyLetter (purchased by Mailchimp), Buttondown and Revue offer a varying degree of similar services.
According to Andrew Chen, it is “a pivotal time in the history of mass communication" and “the golden age of new media.”
Not only are the newsletter companies seeing success, but the companies sending newsletters are also reaping benefits.
According to Digiday, 65% of publishing execs say email was the most effective customer acquisition channel by a long shot. It's no surprise that savvy brands like The Economist are making newsletters a key foundation of their growth strategy.
A reader who gets one of their weekly newsletters is 1.4x more likely to subscribe to content behind the paywall and they're also less likely to churn. The Economist is continually optimizing its newsletters and has seen more than 2x growth in driving web traffic, which recently surpassed the referral traffic Twitter drives for them as a brand.
NY Times is doubling down on their newsletters as well. In 2015 they had 33, now they have 50 which has contributed to 13MM email subscribers, a 200% growth from 2014.
So, why have newsletters found a special place in our inboxes?
They are intimate and personal. "It was 8:15 a.m., and I was crying on the L train. Here she was telling me about it in what felt like a one-on-one format, a diary entry with her as the pen and me as the page." A great description of how meaningful a newsletter can be. Arguably, The Skimm revolutionized the way brands write in newsletters, in the voice of how their readers actually talk, which many other newsletters have embraced as well.
They’re in your control. Vanity Fair proclaims that “in this age of the attention economy, newsletters let you be intentional about who you give your attention to.” By nature of opting-in to an email, you have the power to read it or not, vs. brands and influencers flooding your streams with mostly useless and uninteresting information.
They're algorithm-less, meaning when I send an email to you at 12:30, you get the email at 12:30, unlike the algorithms that social platforms embrace, which Buzzfeed says "broke our sense of time". The consistency of when they're sent makes them something you can rely on, and come to expect.
In a way, newsletters are the last "untouched" territory that hasn't been completely overrun or ruined by advertisers. Most of them are simple, not super flashy and barely have space for ads if any at all. And when there are ads, they're done well—organic, in the right tone, and extremely relevant to the reader.
Of course with any trend, not all newsletters are created equal. Some that were mainstays have faded away like Lenny Letter. On the other hand, Gwyneth Paltrow has turned her newsletter Goop into a full-fledged consumer brand and retail operation.
The types of newsletters people subscribe to are revealing—similar to when you see a friend's set of cookbooks or record album collection. Sharing your newsletter diet has become dinner party fodder in and of itself and a way to connect with other people. Side note, "what's your favorite newsletter" is a great interview question.
If you haven't guessed yet, there's a chance that I'm a newsletter addict. Which means I have many, MANY recommendations that would take days to list. So here are my favs in no particular order, and a peek inside my inbox :)
Quartz's Daily Brief (and specifically their Weekend Edition) - If you're looking for global news with a splash of weirdness (also, their Obsession emails are amazing).
Cassandra Daily - If you want to keep a pulse on Gen Z trends in a quick-hit format.
The Hustle - Finance meets tech news in a voice that's like your i-banker BFF who isn't quite full of himself yet.
WSJ CMO Today - Worth the money you pay to keep tabs on the top topics in marketing with a dose of humanity.
IPG Media Lab - Extremely comprehensive media deep dives that make me so happy along with recaps from big conferences.
Girls Night In - If you love staying in, being cozy and reading books, this is the club for you.
The Daily Carnage - Has tactical recos for media that I've actually used. They also have a super fun Facebook group.
What's the Difference - A recent find of my own, and so fascinating. Will perpetually satiate your curiosity.
Internet Brunch - If you want to know what's trending before it's trending. And so freaking funny.
What does this all mean? Newsletters can be a great way to create meaningful connections with audiences, drive growth for your brand and set you apart from your competitors. And I feel very lucky to make it into your inbox every other weekend!