Email Is a New Way to Deliver the News

The inbox may be the new doorstep and the new homepage. A Quartz study of 940 executives from around the world found that email newsletters were their preferred source of news, eclipsing the Internet and mobile apps.

It Is Digestible

In an age of information overload, people increasingly appreciate something they can start and finish. Fagerlund writes, “Newsletters have a beginning and an end, you can finish it. You can never finish the Internet.”

It Is Ubiquitous

Nearly everyone has an email address. The “2015 Digital News Report” from Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism found that there was an “enduring effectiveness of email as a distribution and retention mechanism for news.”

It Is Accessible

Most people not only have an email address but also know how to use email programs. It is low tech — no downloading apps, no tweaking settings.

It Is Mobile

Email is built into most smartphones and is one of the most used apps on smartphones. For many people, email is mobile-first already.

It Is a Platform You Control

In a time of anxiety around how platforms shape and control the delivery of news, newsletters are a delivery route you control. While there may be nuances in the ways companies sort and filter people’s inboxes, email generally lets publishers take back control of how and when people see their content.

It Is Messaging

Newsletters are part of the emerging interest in messaging platforms — for example, Facebook Messenger, WeChat, Snapchat, and Kik. Moreover, newsletters can (and often should) be a two-way medium as well.