Should European publishers use Substack for their newsletters?

A recent NiemanLab article reported that some American media outlets are now publishing their newsletters on the Substack platform, such as the beauty magazine Allure or New York Magazine.

This strategy aims to reach more readers using Substack audience growth features, such as recommendations, while making use of the ability to keep control of the audience, like owning the email list. “We’re constantly looking for new ways to find and engage potential readers, and Substack seemed like fertile ground,” New York Magazine’s editorial director for audience told NiemanLab.

The Substack platform, which was founded in America in 2017, has continued to grow in popularity in recent years, especially since newsletters have become part of publishers' development strategies. More and more journalists are also using it as a way to build their network or branding.

We can think, for example, of the British ABC news journalist James Longman, who shares behind-the-scenes stories and insights related to his reporting, or the popular American journalist Jim Acosta, who launched his Substack after leaving CNN. Although Substack is perhaps best known for housing individual creators, it’s also home for some publishers, such as The Bulwark or The Free Press.

However, the American trend to publish newsletters on this platform seems still new in Europe, as some publishers were not yet aware of it. “This was news to us! We haven't considered Substack as a newsletter platform for our own newsletters, though now you've piqued my interest !” said James Savage, publisher and CEO of The Local, an online news site that publishes news in English in different European countries.

“This is not a topic on the agenda at Mediapart at the moment,” said by email Cécile Sourd, CEO of the independent French investigative online newspaper Mediapart. Same answer from POV International, a Danish online media, which mentioned language issues. “We do not work in English, only in Danish, so it is not relevant for POV as a digital media based in Copenhagen,” said Annegrethe Rasmussen, co-founder, US correspondent and editor-in-chief at POV International.

So far, The Daily Mail seems to be the only big-name legacy publisher in Europe present on Substack.

Other European publishers considered it but ultimately did not launch or move their newsletters to the platform. “I really like Substack, but it’s probably better if you're not a publication but a single blogger who wants to focus on writing articles,” said Philippe Kramer, co-founder of The European Correspondent, an English-language online medium that tells the stories of Europe every day through newsletters. 

For Kramer it didn't really fit with their strategy. “We want to have full control over our website and the design of the newsletter. I think if you have a look at an edition of our newsletter, you will see that such a design would not be possible on Substack.” Kramer also added that up to 10 people are involved in the creation of the newsletter and that working like that on Substack was not really possible. 

Moreover, in recent months, Substack's rival Ghost has become more and more popular, notably due to its lower costs: only charging a flat fee for usage based on audience size, compared to 10 percent of the subscription revenue for Substack – a factor that can also influence the decision of the media to make the jump to the platform, just like being dependent on a third-party platform.

“I think the trade-off is not so clear. You save the costs of the website and email tool, and there is the additional growth from the recommendation engine. I think if you're small(er), this trade-off makes sense. For us, it was not the deciding factor,” said Kramer, adding that even if the certain organic growth through the recommendation of other newsletters in the sign-up process is really interesting, he had heard anecdotes that the quality of these subscribers is not as high.

Allure’s and New York Magazine’s launch on Substack “are two isolated initiatives from consumer media, very focused on the world of fashion trends. Substack has become a very fertile space in these niches, with increasingly large and participatory communities,” analysed Miguel Carvajal Prieto, professor of journalism at the Spanish Miguel Hernández University. “For these two magazines, it may make sense to connect with new audiences there, where they can grow organically.”

Professor Carvajal Prieto also believes that this trend would not be good for all publishers. “I find it’s more appropriate for niche media outlets seeking new audiences, looking to save costs, and lacking strong distribution and monetisation technology and capabilities,” explained Carvajal Prieto, adding that it is ultimately up to each media organisation to analyse its costs and benefits to do that.  

“That’s Substack's pain point: come here, write, and we'll take care of the rest. In that sense, niche magazines, independent journalists, or creative authors eager to share interesting stories away from the noise of X, Instagram, or TikTok find in Substack a fertile community conducive to scaling their audience.”

Source of the cover: Le Vu via Unsplash