The Publisher Podcast by Media Voices

For our latest season of the Media Voices Podcast, kindly sponsored by Poool, we’re be publishing ten episodes exploring the biggest trends of 2022 and how they affect publishers; from subscriptions and membership to advertising, platforms, emerging technology and more. Our fifth episode explores the year in newsletter trends, from worldwide readership to how creators are driving publisher strategies.

One of the oldest digital delivery systems of all has continued to dominate industry headlines in 2022 as publishers rethink the way they work with email newsletters. Email-first news publishers have continued to go from strength to strength, with Axios and Industry Dive both acquired this year for significant sums. As overwhelm and news avoidance has grown, email newsletters have been seen as a solution to the firehose of content available online, as Reuters noted in this year's Digital News Report.

The trend of journalists leaving outlets to go solo has definitely peaked, with fewer making the move than anticipated. Stability, and the realities of making a living from just a newsletter have stemmed the tide of people taking it from a side hustle to a career. But publishers have responded by finding ways to support talented staff, with Forbes and The Atlantic both having made notable efforts to bring on board dedicated newsletter writers.

That's not to say it's been all plain sailing. Facebook (Meta) has binned Bulletin - its Substack competitor - after just over a year. The industry has also been struggling with Apple's Mail Privacy Protection Update, which has made measuring email open rates particularly challenging. This in turn is forcing innovation, and we're likely to see a substantial evolution of both metrics and email advertising over the coming years as publishers seek to bring the premium ad experiences of their sites and apps to their newsletters.

Overall, there seems to be an acknowledgement that newsletters have been a long-underserved medium that can actually be incredibly effective for publishers. As the hype has faded, there's a 'more realistic attitude' in place about the format and the business that can be built around it.

Joining us this episode to discuss the biggest newsletter trends of 2022 is Mark Stenberg, Senior Media Reporter at AdWeek in New York. He's reported on some of the biggest newsletter-related media stories of the year, and also has his own newsletter Medialyte.

This topic will be one of the chapters we explore in detail as part of our Media Moments 2022 report, launching on November 30th. Find out more and pre-register here to receive the report.

This season of Media Voices is sponsored by Poool, the Membership and Subscription Suite used by over 120 publishers from around the world. The team behind Poool are industry experts who have put everything they know into the product, ready to respond to your ‘how’ of launching & developing a reader revenue strategy.

poool.tech | @PooolTech

For our latest season of the Media Voices Podcast, kindly sponsored by Poool, we’ll be publishing ten episodes exploring the biggest trends of 2022 and how they affect publishers; from subscriptions and membership to advertising, platforms, emerging technology and more. Our sixth episode looks at the world of podcasting, from how publishers are refocusing strategies on engaging superfans to the growing popularity of video podcasts.

Many publishers were enticed into podcasting by the promise of high listener numbers and the opportunity to grow their audience outside of the usual channels. While the latter proved true, the year has proved to be something of a reality check for those seeking millions of avid listeners and subsequent ad revenue riches.

That's no bad thing. What it has led to is a realisation that podcasts are best used to serve the superfans. Monetisation and growth strategies have evolved to match these new aims, whether that be high-value sponsorship packages for small B2B podcasts, or shows used as a member-only benefit.

Another surprising trend this year has been the rise in popularity of podcast consumption via YouTube. From simple audio exports with just a logo on to full studio filming of podcasts being recorded, the platform is used by 58% of people in the US to consume podcasts. This has put pressure on publishers to look at video options for their shows, which can be a complex and potentially costly endeavour.

Although the podcast format is an old one, there is still room for change and improvement, most notably in discovery. Despite the best efforts of the big platforms like Spotify and Apple, and smaller apps like GoodPods, it is still difficult for listeners to connect with shows that they might potentially enjoy. This is an area still ripe for innovation over the next few years.

To discuss 2022's biggest podcast trends we're joined this week by Naomi Mellor, producer and host of multiple podcasts including Smashing The Ceiling, and founder of The Skylark Collective and the International Women’s Podcast Awards.

This topic will be one of the chapters we explore in detail as part of our Media Moments 2022 report, launching on November 30th. Find out more and pre-register here to receive the report.

This season of Media Voices is sponsored by Poool, the Membership and Subscription Suite used by over 120 publishers from around the world. The team behind Poool are industry experts who have put everything they know into the product, ready to respond to your ‘how’ of launching & developing a reader revenue strategy.

poool.tech | @PooolTech

This week, we hear from Erica Anderson, Executive Producer of Content and Partnerships at New York Magazine and Vox Media. She talks about what she took from her time working at Google and Twitter, what goes into developing outstanding podcasts, and what Vox Media is doing to prepare for changes in the podcast industry. In the news roundup the team discuss how easily segments of the British press were gulled into reporting a fake story, whether Tim Davie's new social guidelines at the BBC are helpful, and discover who the main winners in adspend are for 2020. We demand more Pick'n'Mix.

This week, we hear from Casey Newton, founder of Platformer. He was previously The Verge's long-time Silicon Valley editor, where his newsletter The Interface grew to 20,000 subscribers. Now, he's gone solo with his own Substack newsletter Platformer. He talks to us about what made him decide to take the plunge, how his first week at his new newsletter Platformer has gone, and what a Platformer podcast model would look like. He also discusses where he sees platform regulation ending up after more than a decade of covering the tech giants, and shares the first steps he would take to fix them if he was put in charge. In the news roundup the team discusses whether coronavirus will have a long-lasting impact on trust in journalism. We also discuss the sale of Quartz, Stylist's move away from being a free magazine in favour of distribution through Ocado, and how one Arkansas title reduced churn to 1%. Pod save the Queen.

The winner of the 2020 Publisher Podcast Awards Sports category was The Spin from the Guardian. Podcast producer Geoff Gein says editing is an essential part of the podcasting process, don’t underestimate how much time it takes. And although podcasting is not rocket science, get expert advice to help you build out infrastructure and fix formats quickly.