HOW BIG MEDIA IS CASHING IN ON THE NEWSLETTER BOOM
These days, it’s impossible to scroll through your socials or open your email and not find a freshly minted Substack on offer from just about anyone: your friend, a coworker, your dog walker. But when it comes to the elite C-suite corporate class, as The New York Times recently reported, there’s a new initiative from newsletter leader Semafor tailored specifically to CEOs in high-earning companies (we’re talking firms with revenues of $500 million and up). And, just as you might expect for such a rarified group, it’s invite-only, helmed by some of the best writers and editors in the financial and business worlds, and offers market hyper-specialization in the most effective ways.
In targeting what Semafor CEO and co-founder Justin Smith calls “the global leadership class” and by packaging it with Semafor’s annual business and policy-centric event in Washington, D.C., as well as other synergistic podcasts, videos, and events, the company’s making a bold play for decision makers’ undivided attention in an already crowded newsletter publishing space.
There are a few valuable takeaways here, including the importance of honing in and niching down on your desired audience and how utilizing top-notch writers in thought leadership and platform development can deliver effective, on-brand, and authentic newsletter content that keeps your audience hooked. In short: the newsletter industry is primed for a new corporate Gold Rush, and we at GG are ready to help aspiring publishers seize these opportunities. If you are exploring launching a prestige play product — or scaling an existing one — please get in touch.
