Newsletter strategy for publishers: Masterclass with the FT's Sarah Ebner
Feb 6, 2025
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Sarah Ebner, Head of Newsletters at the Financial Times, is a powerhouse in driving subscriber growth, expanding the FT's email base from 500,000 to 1.6 million. In this insightful discussion, she unpacks the transformation of newsletters into indispensable tools for reader engagement and loyalty. Ebner shares strategies for enhancing subscriber interaction through compelling content and targeted marketing. She highlights vital metrics for measuring success and emphasizes how newsletters can provide significant revenue while fostering a loyal audience.
Newsletters have evolved into essential tools for reader engagement and revenue generation, driving significant subscriber growth for publishers like the Financial Times.
Implementing tailored metrics and fostering community engagement through interactive features can enhance loyalty and connection between publishers and their readers.
Deep dives
The Growing Importance of Newsletters
Newsletters have increasingly become a vital part of modern journalism, serving as a direct channel to engage readers. Their importance has evolved from being mere afterthoughts to now being significant engagement and revenue drivers for publishers, as evidenced by survey findings on media investments. Readers appreciate the personal connection that comes from receiving communications directly from trusted journalists, leading to high open and engagement rates. As a result, many organizations are prioritizing newsletters by assigning some of their best writers to this platform.
Strategic Approach to Newsletter Content
The strategic distribution of newsletter content includes offering a variety of subscription tiers that cater to different audience segments. Publishers have moved towards creating premium content that showcases their top writing talent, with the Financial Times effectively utilizing a two-tier subscription model. This approach not only enhances reader engagement but also facilitates subscription growth, as demonstrated by the Financial Times’ substantial increase in newsletter subscribers. Experimentation with content targeting, such as the success of the free White House Watch newsletter, highlights the potential for newsletters to serve as effective tools for reader acquisition.
Analyzing Newsletter Metrics
Understanding the right metrics for newsletters is crucial for evaluating their success and impact. Key performance indicators can range from open rates and click-through rates to more nuanced metrics such as reader feedback and engagement levels. For instance, the effectiveness of free newsletters can be measured by tracking conversions to paid subscriptions. Recognizing that different newsletters may serve varying purposes, it’s essential to tailor metrics to align with specific goals while ensuring a comprehensive evaluation of both hard and soft metrics.
Building Reader Relationships Through Community Engagement
Developing a loyal reader base requires a focus on community engagement and active communication with subscribers. Successful newsletters often include features that encourage reader interaction, such as polls and personal responses to feedback. This engagement helps build a sense of community and loyalty among subscribers, enhancing their connection to the content. Moreover, utilizing strategies like showcasing reader comments and creating visually appealing and easily digestible content can further strengthen these relationships.
Over four years at the Financial Times head of newsletters for the title Sarah Ebner has helped grow the title's number of email subscribers from 500,000 to 1.6 million.
She told Press Gazette that email newsletters are now the biggest driver of reader engagement at the FT. They are also hugely important for driving subscriber loyalty and finding new paying readers as well as providing advertising and subscription revenue in their own right.
In this masterclass interview she explains how publishers can supercharge their newsletter strategy.