This Week's Interview

Elle Griffin is a writer who uses Substack for a different sort of newsletter: She's publishing her first novel as serial fiction. You might know Elle's writing from her viral post about the bleak outlook of the publishing industry. Now, she's using creator economy tools to change it.

This week Elle shared her advice for writing and publishing online—whatever you write. Don't miss it.

Trends in Tech & Media:

• 🎙️ Podcasts at Substack. Substack is launching its own podcast network. The network is called Booksmart Studios, and it will launch this year with five new shows. Podcasts are becoming an important part Substack's business: Some fledgling shows are already making "hundreds of thousands of dollars a year," according to CEO Hamish McKenzie. The creators of the first five Booksmart Studios shows have been offered similar advances to those for Substack Pro, money upfront in exchange for a cut of the future revenue. Judging by Axios' reporting, this launch is only the start of Substack's long-term ambitions for podcasting. 
   
• ✍️ Facebook adds 31 writers. Facebook added 31 writers to its list of publishers on the Bulletin platform. The platform initially launched with a small group of big names, including Malcom Gladwell and Tan France. Now, 31 more writers are joining the platform, including 24-year-old Nobel Peace Prize Malala Yousafzai. The names are pretty impressive! The controlled, hand-selected approach is also no mistake. From TechCrunch: "Facebook’s investment in platforming (a select few) journalists and writers comes in direct opposition with the emphasis from Substack and Medium on user-generated content."
   
• 🎮 The biggest bundle. This week, Netflix announced plans to offer video games as part of its monthly subscription. Video games will not be sold separately, according to co-CEO Reed Hastings, but will be offered as an additional incentive to choose Netlix over Disney, Hulu, Apple, or any of the other streaming services. "We're a one-product company," Hastings said. Whether for newsletter writers or executives at the biggest media companies on the planet, bundling services seems to be the only content strategy that matters. 

 Surveys! 🎉

Newsletter Crew is doing a survey to collect data on the business of newsletters. Help us by sharing completely anonymous data about your newsletter (open rate, sponsorship pricing, and more.)

When we're done, we'll have a real-time data set to understand what's working for newsletter writers. Your answers will only be used to help other writers! Fill out our survey below.

Resources:

• Revue offered four places to look for newsletter topic ideas. 
• Sarah Baird explained her strategy for launching a local newsletter in Kentucky.
• Patricia Mou piloted a reader-generated newsletter experiment. 

Inside Newsletter Crew's Community

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• The Profile. The Profile studies the most successful and interesting people and companies in business, entertainment, tech, sports, and more. Everyone has a story, and we can all learn a lesson or two from the world's most successful. Subscribe.
   
• The Publish Press. Get the 3 biggest stories from the creator economy delivered free to your inbox every Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe.
   
• Medialyte. A pseudo-serious newsletter that explores the innovators, innovations, and reasons for optimism in the media industry. Subscribe.
   
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• The Half Marathoner. The Half Marathoner is a newsletter written by Terrell Johnson, the founder and editor-in-chief of Half Marathon Guide, plus Carissa Liebowitz and Hollie Sick, a pair of highly experienced runners who share everything they know about how to become a better runner. Subscribe.
   
• Fintech Today. Fintech Today is a newsletter on what's newsworthy and noteworthy in the fintech space, written by Ian Kar and Julie Verhage. Subscribe.