5 ms·

Do you monetize newsletters with ads only, or are there other ways? Also, what kind of ads can you use? I don't think AdSense can be used in emails.

Cmccann7 16y ago
There is no adsense for email (big opprotunity) but right now monetization is through directly selling ads or through ecommerce like groupon and thrillist do.
- eli 16y ago
  There actually are companies that do ad targeting into email newsletters (industrybrains comes to mind), but I think you're kind of missing the point by doing it that way. You've got a list of people who are very interested in a particular topic. Hopefully you know some more about them too (read: you should be asking questions on the signup page that advertisers want to know the answers to). You can probably tell what kind of ads are going to do well with your audience better than a text analysis algorithm. And ideally you want advertisers who understand the value of an email newsletter over other media, not ones who are willing to appear next to certain keywords, wherever they may be.
eli 16y ago
There are some newsletters that charge directly for their content, though those are the exception. You couldn't do that for just any market. For example, The Hotline from National Journal is a paid email newsletter that lots of politicos here in DC subscribe to. I've even seen people who charge for the newsletter, but you can get it for free if you fill out an extensive questionnaire and "qualify".
- Cmccann7 16y ago
  Lerter.ly Is trying to make charging for email newsletters easier. I agree that it's not right for every market though, we polled our audience and less that 1% were willing to pay $5/mo for the content. In the startup world there is just too much free info to justify paying for it.
  - eli 16y ago
    I think that having actionable content would be the key. People who work in politics have a lot riding on being in the know, so Hotline succeeds. I think this is also part of the reason why WSJ can charge for their website, but USA Today can't. Thanks for the tip on letter.ly

Cmccann7 16y ago

There is no adsense for email (big opprotunity) but right now monetization is through directly selling ads or through ecommerce like groupon and thrillist do.

eli 16y ago
There actually are companies that do ad targeting into email newsletters (industrybrains comes to mind), but I think you're kind of missing the point by doing it that way. You've got a list of people who are very interested in a particular topic. Hopefully you know some more about them too (read: you should be asking questions on the signup page that advertisers want to know the answers to). You can probably tell what kind of ads are going to do well with your audience better than a text analysis algorithm. And ideally you want advertisers who understand the value of an email newsletter over other media, not ones who are willing to appear next to certain keywords, wherever they may be.

eli 16y ago

There are some newsletters that charge directly for their content, though those are the exception. You couldn't do that for just any market. For example, The Hotline from National Journal is a paid email newsletter that lots of politicos here in DC subscribe to. I've even seen people who charge for the newsletter, but you can get it for free if you fill out an extensive questionnaire and "qualify".

Cmccann7 16y ago
Lerter.ly Is trying to make charging for email newsletters easier. I agree that it's not right for every market though, we polled our audience and less that 1% were willing to pay $5/mo for the content. In the startup world there is just too much free info to justify paying for it.
- eli 16y ago
  I think that having actionable content would be the key. People who work in politics have a lot riding on being in the know, so Hotline succeeds. I think this is also part of the reason why WSJ can charge for their website, but USA Today can't. Thanks for the tip on letter.ly