#127 — How to grow a newsletter & join the rise of the media artisan
There were lots of great pickings for this week's round up. Hopefully it provides a relaxed and productive way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
Penny for your thoughts? Which articles do you find the most useful? We'd love to hear your feedback. Admittedly there won't be an exchange of pennies, but we're always looking for ways to make this newsletter genuinely useful for you, so don't be shy!
💯 Top picks
[Video] How Harry Dry grew a 40k+ newsletter audience
Harry quit a job in design to turn a side-project, Marketing Examples, into a full-time gig. One year later his dedication has produced an impressive email list, sponsorship deals, and plenty of new opportunities on the horizon. In this 1 hour video, Harry talks candidly about everything learnt along the way. Don't miss it!
💸 Business models
Rise of the media artisan
"Some call it the 'passion economy,' others the 'creator economy.' I prefer a different term. (Creating new names for existing concepts is also a thing in the media industry.) I like to call myself a media artisan. Here’s why."
How the Daily Memphian plan to grow paid subscribers without flash sales or gimmicky offers
"Here’s an idea to steal and adapt: Focusing on newsletter subscriber acquisition will increase your digital subscriptions and donations to help fund your newsroom and editorial projects."
What is gated content and how to use it in email marketing
Software companies have been using gated content to attract new email subscribers for quite some time, but this article popped up in the publishing news this week and we can't help but wonder if we're going to see publishers and newsletter writers using this tactic?
How to get over ‘never good enough’
One for the people with perfectionism tendencies and imposter syndrome: "Learn to spot unhealthy perfectionism, understand its emotional sources and find a way to silence that self-critical voice"
Stop sending newsletters, start sending emails
"We thought about our own inboxes and what we open. That came down to two criteria: immense utility or personal communication. So we set out to capture those two fundamental requirements in our existing offerings."
✍️ Modern journalism
Why Matthew Yglesias left Vox
He is the latest high-profile writer to abandon traditional media.
The Substackerati
Did a newsletter company create a more equitable media system—or replicate the flaws of the old one?
Apple is reducing the cut it takes from most news publishers’ subscriptions
"Instead of taking 30% of new subscribers’ payments, it’ll take 15%. The money’s welcome, but it’s also a reminder of how little control publishers have over the terms they get from tech giants."
💻 Technology
Instagram cautiously considers paying publishers
"Instagram is mulling plans to pay publishers on its platform as it grows as a news and information source for users, sources tell Axios."
YouTube launches audio ads
"YouTube is now entering uncharted territories, with the company’s first ad format without a video component, aiming to reach music and podcast listeners."
Squarespace launches Member Areas
"Squarespace is making this available as an add-on to the core website building platform"
🤷 WTF?
Quote tweets have turned us all into jerks
Social media design choices help us all to shame each other.
