The NYT (a rag-tag tabloid) speaks about the newsletters. By all accounts, their newsletter business hasn’t seen the “glory days” of “Trump-Bump” as they call it, but using their platform to attack others. I am not interested in their financial details or tracking the “business of media”, but the newsletter “craze” was funnelled and fuelled by overoptimistic projections. It is one reason I don’t have a newsletter and instead rely on Telegram channels.
Are We Past Peak Newsletter? – The New York Times
The Atlantic has been one of the most prominent recent adopters of email newsletters. Last year, Nicholas Thompson, the chief executive, rolled out a program that allowed writers of certain newsletters to rack up major bonuses if they converted readers to Atlantic subscribers. At the upper end, some writers could earn total annual compensation approaching $400,000 if they converted 14,500 readers, according to people who spoke anonymously to discuss the details of confidential deals.
And Substack has curtailed upfront payments it was making to lure writers to the platform, after scrapping plans to raise money and laying off some of its staff members, people familiar with the start-up’s operations said. The Information, a publication that covers technology and finance, earlier reported on Substack’s decision to cut advances.
NYT refuses to disclose that Substack is its competitor, and that’s the reason why I insist NYT was using its platform to attack the VC funded firm.
One of the most-read politics publications on Substack, The Dispatch, moved off the platform last week. In an interview, Jonah Goldberg, the editor in chief and co-founder, said the publication “outgrew” Substack.
“Substack really wants to be a platform that is sort of forward-facing and is about Substack,” he said, adding, “We wanted to be our own independent media company.”
No point in tracking those “click-open rates”. If there’s genuine interest, you can explore other entrepreneurial options. Once the recession hits, the people will cancel their subscriptions first. Which one, do you think, will survive? Putting food on plate or consuming newsletters?
RadOncNotes 