Editorial email newsletters - new paper on the pitfalls and opportunities

01 Nov 2016

Editorial email newsletters offer news organisations a chance to maintain a strong direct relationship with readers, a high degree of targeting, better showcasing of existing content and original analysis and commentary.They’ve become a popular choice across legacy print and newer players, with a sharp increase in recent years, as emails continue to dominate our daily lives. But while they offer gather readers’ attention and build traffic, challenges remain – particularly around technology and monetisation. In Editorial email newsletters – The medium is not the only message, a new working paper published by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, Andrew Jack, head of curated content at the Financial Times and RISJ visiting fellow, explores the pitfalls and opportunities of email newsletters. How can email newsletters drive monetisation? Are younger audiences less convinced by their appeal? And is there a risk of user fatigue kicking in over time? “Editorial emails have been neglected in the rush to newer technologies, but have some of the best as well as worst qualities of both print and digital,” says Jack. “They provide a useful way for readers to cope with a growing information overload, supported by strong judgement.”

Read the working paper here

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