Get ready for the world’s most famous steeplechase…
Afternoon, all. Here we are, then, the Newsletter Grand National!
AND THEY’RE OFF AND RACING! Substack into the lead, the clear favourite.
There’s LinkedIn hot on its heels, looking determined. Beehiiv coming up on the inside…
We have some serious contenders in this race. WhatsApp coming up fast on the outside with its handy template! He’s got big ambitions and wants to be the winner – in a league of his own with a 98% open rate.
Mobile newsletters, what a novelty! As they say, go where your customers are. Will he take it?
15 fences to run, and no one’s fallen yet. Substack holding it steady.
OUT! Revue, Bulletin fall at the ninth. Revue and Bulletin both gone. Medium has drifted out to 100/1… struggling at the back of the field. LinkedIn leaning in… gathering pace, could she take the race?
There’s Oatly Spam. An outsider! With a giant billboard ad for its new brand newsletter. Stopping us all in our tracks. What a cheeky move. A brand newsletter, of all things – what a workhorse.
Here’s the famous fence, Becher’s Brook – and they’re all over! All cleared it safely.
My money’s on Substack, but I’ve stuck a quid on LinkedIn because of the promotion (900M members) if she can sort the paid element. Not an easy job with data and privacy issues – still no subscriber list…
But if she puts her mind to it, she could win. Can LinkedIn compete? Let’s see!
It’s a beautiful day at Aintree. What a race! Big ambitions for the newsletter and creator space. Who will be riding into the sunset a Grand National champion?
The world is watching!
Two to jump and Substack holding steady… we’re in for a great finish!
Over the last hurdle, the final fence and it’s Substack who heads down towards the last. LinkedIn second, WhatsApp in third. Bunching up in the Grand National! The final 150 yards… here we go!
SUBSTACK WINS THE NATIONAL! 20M+ monthly active subscribers and 2M paid subscriptions.
What a turn-up for the books!
Substack is the winner. LinkedIn was second, and WhatsApp fell away to third. Convert Kit fourth. Beehiiv fifth.
And congratulations to the winning jockey, Rachael Blackmore, who is making phenomenal strides in a male-dominated sport.
Good news! All horses and jockeys are back safe. No fatalities. Well done to the BHA for investing in safety and improvements to the course.
Another gripping Grand National – the world’s most famous steeplechase and what a story. I hope you had a placed horse. Good day!
Substack posted this on their blog: A new economic engine for culture, a position piece on what comes after social media as we know it. And where Substack is headed.
20M+ monthly active subscribers and 2M paid subscriptions to writers on Substack is a fantastic achievement. Well done to the team 👏
It’s inspiring to look at the leaderboard for different sections and see writers making thousands each month from their work.
There are many publishing platforms, and I’ve stuck around because of the mission and manifesto – and the community. They are constantly innovating and trying new things to help make writers’ lives easier.
And because I like to keep my tech stack and workflow simple!
But I am republishing posts later on WordPress and LinkedIn – and keeping an eye on what LinkedIn does next for newsletters…
Good discussion about it on This Old Marketing – how Substack is becoming the WordPress of how to create an audience these days. Joe says he can’t fault the business model. “Letting writers be entrepreneurs – it could be the new WordPress.”
PS, Joe needs some help with The Tilt’s creator economy survey – they are 23 responses short of 1K. You’ll get access to final report, and a chance at $250 or AirPods – fill it in here.
Last call to nominate someone (or yourself!) for their list of content creators doing good work who deserve a shoutout.
Keep moving!
Nika 🙂
The Shift Hot 5 🔥
In Praise of (Brand) Newsletters. What Oatly did next – launched its newsletter, Spam, on a giant ad billboard. A poke-in-the-eye to current marketing trends and the latest cheeky move from a company breaking conventions. Here are a few lessons Angela has learned through trial and error. I’ve moved on to pea milk.
Remote Work Spain Guide to LinkedIn. How to use LinkedIn to find employed or freelance work. Google now indexes LinkedIn post content, which can help you get discovered. Check out Maya’s Facebook group for remote job opportunities and tips. Spain’s digital nomad visa is (just about) here!
WhatsApp is working on a private newsletter tool for a future app update. Choose who you want to hear from and follow broadcasters of your choice right within WhatsApp. They are giving people a new feature they’ve been asking for. Mobile newsletters have a much higher open rate of 90% than email newsletters at 22% (Gartner). Worth experimenting!
The Publisher Newsletter Awards – now open for entries. A new programme from Media Voices celebrating newsletter excellence, sharing best practices, and elevating publishers’ work. Free to enter – here are the categories. Entries close on April 24th.
7 Modern Writing Tools That Changed My Life – recommended tools to keep the writing struggles away. Writing online is self-care. “Each article is a little seed that you plant, which will grow into trees and take care of you.” Stop overcomplicating things. Experiment. Keep it simple and have fun.
I enjoyed listening to Snoop Dogg read this post!
Thoughts, questions, or topic suggestions?
Get in touch. I’d love to hear from you! Email nika@nikatalbot.io
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