#129 — Enter the multi-SKU creator
The big question in this issue: Should writers create more than one product? Having multiple revenue streams is definitely attractive, but is it better to double-down your efforts, or create multiple products? Let us know your thoughts.
💯 Top picks
Why a paid newsletter won't be enough money for most writers
Even if your paid newsletter is your beachhead, it's just one SKU, argues Hunter Walk. Writers may choose to create other products too — podcasts, speaking, books, consulting, guest columns and more.
💸 Business models
[Podcast] 'I believe enough in this to try to do it myself': CollegeHumor owner Sam Reich on the brand's future potential
Founded in 1999, comedy site CollegeHumor was acquired by IAC in 2006 and grew into one of the most successful video publishers on YouTube. But where content has thrived, business hasn't always been easy. This year IAC decided to stop financing CollegeHumor and sold to Sam Reich, who shares some insight on the future in this Digiday podcast episode.
All the ways to make money in media without ads
It turns out there are a lot of ways.
A guide to community-led content
"Documented was born in 2018. Since then, we have made four rounds of user research, held more than 50 individual meetings with users, and sent call outs via email and WhatsApp for people to shed some light on that subject we are reporting on."
✍️ Modern journalism
How to restore moral and technical order in a time of misinformation
"In October, the Media Manipulation Casebook, published by the Technology and Social Change (TaSC) team at Harvard’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Policy, gave us the tools to understand and analyze the origins and motives of some of the most viral misinformation and disinformation campaigns in the past few years."
A crop of startups are trying to make for-profit local news work
"An unlikely trend is developing in the media industry: people think they can make real money from local news."
How can digital media map out a more purposeful future?
"While there aren’t necessarily any quick fixes, leading thinkers from publishers, brands, agencies, and academia have plenty of ideas about where the focus should be to fuel enduring sustainability, fairness, and innovation."
💻 Technology
Google says its News Showcase will have free access to paywalled stories
Google News Showcase visitors will soon be able to read select paywalled articles at no extra charge.
Reddit claims 52 million daily users, revealing a key figure for social-media platforms
The disclosure comes as the tech company pursues new advertisers.
Yes, the adtech bubble is going to burst anytime now
"From the inside, adtech looks exactly like the subprime mortgage industry right before 2008."
🤷 WTF?
Facebook ads could be reaching saturation point
"Facebook platforms are starting to feel like homes with too much furniture. It is getting difficult to move around."
