WEEKLY NEWS ROUNDUP
1. The Information launches newsletters in niche areas – Adweek
The tech site The Information, which employs a famously strict paywall, has launched five newsletters to deeply report on niche areas. A “few dozen more” are set to launch in the coming months.
“The announcement comes as the newsletter ecosystem continues to expand, prompted by platforms like Substack and Revue that have made it freshly apparent how much potential revenue lies in the inboxes of readers.”
2. Mediaite enters the subscription business – Mediaite
The American news site Mediaite, focusing on politics and the media, will soon be launching Mediaite+ for paying subscribers, on the back of strong growth.
“Going forward, every reader will still be able to view 10 Mediaite articles free each month. On the 11th story, you will be asked to subscribe in order to continue reading during that month.”
3. Twitter explores ‘undo send’ feature for paying users – Reuters
Twitter, which is dabbling in the subscriptions business to reduce its dependency on ad revenue, is currently exploring an ‘undo send’ feature which would be available to subscribers.
“A Twitter spokeswoman said the feature was being tested as part of the company’s exploration of how subscriptions could work on the platform. She said Twitter would be testing and iterating possible paid-for features over time.”
4. Financial Times hopes to boost subscriptions and retention with climate coverage – Adweek
The Financial Times has debuted a vertical dedicated to climate coverage. The move comes as the organization seeks to increase retention rates and drive subscriptions.
“According to Kaplan, the London-based publisher has over 1 million subscribers, more than half of which are outside the U.S. With the new climate section, “we’re trying to grow our U.S. audience,” in addition to global readership”
WEEKLY ANALYSIS ROUNDUP
1. Prediction: In the future, all social networks will have built-in monetization for creators – TheFix
This week, Facebook announced new tools and support for content creators, individuals and companies alike. This is a prelude to how social media giants will make it easier to maintain subscription businesses on their platforms, writes TheFix in an analysis.
“Facebook and others have introduced several programs over the years for publishers to get paid. Essentially all those efforts have been small experiments, and were never rolled out permanently across markets. […] Now, with pressure from other emerging platforms, things appear to be changing.”
2. Crossword puzzles are increasingly important for digital subscriptions – Nieman Lab
Crossword puzzles are increasing in importance when major American newspapers such as the New York Times, The New Yorker and the Wall Street Journal want to attract digital subscribers. The latter newspaper noticed, for example, that crossword puzzles were the most effective means of retaining readers, writes Nieman Lab.
“The “Subscribe” page highlights the crossword, noting that every option includes access to “newyorker.com, including the online archive and crossword puzzles.”
3. Financial Times CEO: Publishers don’t have to choose between ads and subscriptions – they can have both – Press Gazette
Publishers can both “have the cake and eat it” because the growth is strong both for digital subscriptions and in the advertising market, says John Ridding. But only if they have a robust foundation in reader revenue.
“He said the FT’s digital content revenues are now bigger than all its other revenue streams combined and more than three times print advertising, which is the next biggest.”
