

As Substack newsletters grow in popularity, we will have to pay more attention. Watch for more established journalists starting their own Substack.įor the world of PR, this may expand the number of “journalists” we can look to build relationships with and pitch stories. This type of editorial freedom is a big appeal for the site and one that may be more difficult for top publications to replicate. What makes Substack different is accessibility and freedom for creators. We’re already seeing this play out with more companies establishing their own email newsletter platforms to rival Substack’s offerings. Substack has the capability to change the landscape of journalism. He felt that news publications put too much emphasis on creating daunting, eye-catching headlines rather than providing context. While Sam is an established and accomplished journalist, he joined the platform because he saw an opportunity. The longtime Business Insider and Yahoo! Finance reporter sifts through daily stories to deliver the most important information for his readers, helping them stay informed and make better financial decisions. Sam’s newsletter is a compilation of top news stories related to the economy and stock market. A good proportion of his fan base is willing to pay $44 a month for his premium newsletter – more than the cost of a subscription to the entire New York Times. He doesn’t have a long career as a journalist or any awards, yet has over 48,000 followers on Twitter. Edwin is a recent graduate from Stanford University (class of 2020). He discusses which stocks to short and buying put options alongside flags to watch when it comes to corporate governance. It’s also a possible escape from the deluge of pitches that come from PR folks to writers at legacy outlets.Įdwin presents research on problematic public companies. There’s no permission from an editor to publish. For journalists, Substack offers freedom. While you don’t have to be a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist to create a Substack, Glenn Greenwald and Alex Raskin are there. Frequency depends on the author – some appear once a month, others every day. The writing usually has the feel of a blog post but there is no required format. From finance and banking, and investment strategy, to career advice, nutrition and lifestyle tips.
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Substack newsletters cover almost any topic.
#Substack newsletters free
Authors have the ability to hide their content behind a paywall or allow free access. Substack provides payment, analytics, and design features to its content creators (customers). Their users include journalists, large media companies, and experts – and laypeople. Substack provides an outlet for experts in any field to write about their field of choice.Īt its core, Substack is an online publishing platform that allows authors to create newsletters and send them directly to the inboxes of subscribers. It used to be the only way to showcase our knowledge was to talk the ear off the person closest to us until they got tired of listening. One specific topic we could talk about for days. We all have that one thing we’re an expert in.

You don’t need to be an accomplished journalist, just an email and an opinion. Substack is not quite like any publisher before it. This move from legacy outlets is in part a response to Substack, an open publishing platform.
#Substack newsletters driver
What was once an auxiliary benefit is now a key driver of subscriber growth. The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Business Insider, Fortune, now offer newsletters to subscribers. The New York Times recently put 18 newsletters behind a paywall to compete with similar offerings on other sites. This means for every $1 invested in email newsletter services, they make $45 back. According to a report from Neiman Lab, editorial email strategies have a return on investment of 45 to 1.

They have quickly become a profitable endeavor for publications. Some of the most popular examples include Morning Brew, FT Moral Money, and Matt Levine’s Money Stuff. Newsletters are all the craze these days.
