#110 — The best newsletters on the internet
This week's issue includes articles about how diversified revenue streams are benefitting publishers, membership success stories, Spotify's new video podcast feature, why Google has donated almost $40million to more than 5,600 publishers worldwide.
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💯 Top picks
80 of the best single-operator newsletters on the internet
There's lots of great reads and inspiration in this post - with 80 of the most popular newsletters (free and paid) ran by individual creators.
💸 Business models
70% experimenting with new sources of revenue: Publishers are trying out new campaign types and revenue streams
"...publishers with diversified monetization strategies are doing much better on average. Across the industry, we’re seeing more and more publishers experimenting with new campaign types and revenue streams, and there are few signs that this trend will slow down anytime soon."
BoiseDev has attracted 800 members in 2 years
Find out how this local news site avoided paywalls, ads and clickbait and attracted 800 paid members by delivering community news for community members.
9% increase in subscriptions during lockdown for Dennis Publishing
"...subscription rates across all titles have increased by 9% overall during the lockdown and ongoing pandemic."
✍️ Modern journalism
As journalism jobs decrease, the future of the discipline might depend on general education
Without a robust news industry monitoring government and investigating the corporate elite, our only hope may be in the hands of the people.
Stop drowning alone, start sailing together
"16 steps for innovative newsrooms to navigate a better future for themselves and their communities"
💻 Technology
Publishers can now determine exactly how much traffic is generated from Google’s News tab
A new feature allows publishers to see precisely how much traffic they're gaining from the news tab. According to Google, it sends visitors to news sites more than 24BN times per month!
Spotify launches video podcasts
The global launch of video podcasts is available to select creators. Unlike YouTube, they're allowing all users to watch podcasts, and the ability to switch between the video and audio when using other apps or when your phone is locked.
Twitter might turn to subscriptions as ad revenue drops sharply
Since seeing a sharp decline in its core advertising business, Jack Dorsey suggests they may be actively looking at additional ways to make money.
“Hurting people at scale” Facebook’s employees reckon with the social network they’ve built
“We are failing, and what’s worse, we have enshrined that failure in our policies.”
🤷 WTF?
Google has handed out $39.5 million in coronavirus relief to 5,600 publishers across 115 countries
"The money is being applied in diverse and creative ways, from ensuring basic reporting needs and giving emergency stipends to allow reporters to cover the crisis, to driving audience engagement and generating subscriptions."
