Hey there! This is my regular Q&A feature that allows readers to ask me questions that I can answer in a future newsletter. Last month I managed to devote several newsletters to answering some really good reader questions, and so I’m excited to keep this going.
On Twitter, I often see advertisements for various newsletters, whether independent creators or from legacy publication like NYT and Economist. In your view, what is the most effective paid marketing for driving subscriptions (whether paid/free).
What opportunities exist for monetizing casual consumption of content and why haven't pay-per-read solutions taken off?
It seems to me like there's a big unaddressed pool of casually-engaged users who aren't engaged enough to buy a subscription, yet would gladly pay 50 cents to read an article (assuming payment friction is sufficiently low. That's much more revenue than I could expect from advertising. What's missing to capitalize on this kind of consumption?
Apologies if you've already covered this topic. I'm curious about the future of news media. My impression is that people are increasingly turning to newsletters for insight into domestic and international news vs a reliance on traditional media outlets. Is this an accurate impression, or am I extrapolating too much from anecdotal evidence?
If you were about to start a niche publication, which platform/format would you pick first?
Hi Simon, what's your take on the future of professional publishing? (think Reed Elsevier, Bloomberg, etc.). Thanks!
On Twitter, I often see advertisements for various newsletters, whether independent creators or from legacy publication like NYT and Economist. In your view, what is the most effective paid marketing for driving subscriptions (whether paid/free).
If you had to pick three media companies that you think have succeeded particularly in finding product-market fit, who would those be?
Is it necessary for a creator to embrace video and Tiktok/YouTube shorts? What's the future for creators that wish to continue with the written word
What opportunities exist for monetizing casual consumption of content and why haven't pay-per-read solutions taken off?
It seems to me like there's a big unaddressed pool of casually-engaged users who aren't engaged enough to buy a subscription, yet would gladly pay 50 cents to read an article (assuming payment friction is sufficiently low. That's much more revenue than I could expect from advertising. What's missing to capitalize on this kind of consumption?
How do you get newsletter sponsors?
If you could say one thing to inspire students to get into the media, marketing and preferably magazine industry, what would it be?
Is substack a medium killer??
How do you monetize your newsletters?
What are the most promising emerging AI tools that can help (rather than hurt) the newsletter creator?
Apologies if you've already covered this topic. I'm curious about the future of news media. My impression is that people are increasingly turning to newsletters for insight into domestic and international news vs a reliance on traditional media outlets. Is this an accurate impression, or am I extrapolating too much from anecdotal evidence?