What Creators Should Know About Twitter’s Newsletter Acquisition
The newsletter industry is more popular than ever and as expected, social media platforms are aiming to beat what they see as competition. While TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook seem to be more focused on enhancing already-existing features, Twitter became a standout this week with its acquisition of newsletter platform Revue, officially renamed Revue by Twitter. The benefits for writers are mostly obvious but here is what all creators should know about this deal.
What is Revue?
Revue is an editorial tool (aka, a newsletter) for writers and publishers, founded in 2015. A free account (thanks to Twitter) includes ownership of your email list, which you can import and export anytime, profile page, engagement insights, browser extensions, and more. They’re also developing Revue Publisher, a platform for larger brands who will be able to run multiple newsletters, use multiple themes, and have access to a Promo Suite that lets users manage a slew of promo efforts in one spot.
Compared to other platforms, it also takes less money from those under a paid subscription plan. According to New York Times, “newsletter writers typically offer a mix of paid and free options and earn money primarily through subscriptions. Platforms like Revue and Substack take a cut of those subscription dollars. But while Substack’s cut is 10 percent, Revue’s is 6 percent. Twitter said it would lower Revue’s cut even further, to 5 percent in an attempt to attract new writers.”
How it started… How it’s going… pic.twitter.com/clmHoRGPqb
— Revue (@revue) January 26, 2021
Why Revue?
The media industry is seeing a record number of layoffs during the pandemic and print publishing has experienced its fair share of economic hardship in recent years. As a result, writers and other content creators have opted to monetize their expertise independently instead of working for a media entity. The newsletter model offers more autonomy over the type of content you create, a range of options for how you promote that content, and plenty of ways to monetize it.
As to whether it’s truly a more equitable media system, there are valid arguments both for and against it. But the newsletter industry continues to grow either way. Substack, arguably the most popular email newsletter platform, reportedly has more than 250,000 subscribers and doubled its membership between March and June of last year.
Long story short: content creators love newsletters and that love will only continue to grow.
How Will the Twitter-Revue Connection Work?
According to Twitter’s official announcement, the partnership could work in a number of ways, though it isn’t exactly clear which method they’ll be rolling out first.
“We’re imagining a lot of ways to do this, from allowing people to sign up for newsletters from their favorite follows on Twitter, to new settings for writers to host conversations with their subscribers. It will all work seamlessly within Twitter.” The takeaway here is that the work you put into both your Twitter following and newsletter community can be one in the same (and keep you on Twitter’s platform longer than you normally would).
Twitter has also made Revue’s Pro features free for anyone with a Twitter account and lowered the paid newsletter fee to 5 percent, as already noted above. Twitter, in collaboration with Revue’s team, will also “continue to invest in Revue as a standalone service, and its team will remain focused on improving the ways writers create their newsletters, build their audience, and get paid for their work.”
Is It a Free Service?
You can sign up for a free Revue membership or a low-fee paid account. For those doing the latter, expect incentivization offers from Twitter.
“We’re creating a durable incentive model through paid newsletters. Bringing Revue to Twitter will supercharge this offering, helping writers grow their paid subscribers while also incentivizing them to produce engaging and relevant content that drives conversations on Twitter. You can expect audience-based monetization to be an area that we’ll continue to develop new ways to support, whether it’s helping broaden revenue streams or serving as a cornerstone of someone’s business.”
Whether you’re a blogger, small business owner, or do-it-all influencer, Revue may be worth checking out if you want to expand your social media footprint, especially on Twitter.
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