Marika Zinca May 20, 2021 Publishers that use programmatic native ads to monetize their newsletter boost revenue. What’s not to love? Find out the details in this email monetization SWOT analysis.
Key Takeaways:
- Monetizing newsletters offers a ton of potential.
- In order to get the most out of your experience with email monetization, you need to know the strengths and the weaknesses.
- In order to get the most out of your experience with email monetization, you need to know the strengths and the weaknesses.
Table of Contents
- How Much Are Publishers Earning from Their Newsletters?
- A SWOT Analysis for Email Monetization
- Strengths of Email Monetization
- Weaknesses of Email Monetization
- Opportunities that Come with Newsletter Monetization
- Threats that Come with Newsletter Monetization
- How to Monetize Your Newsletter, Increase Revenue, and Delight Subscribers
How Much Are Publishers Earning from Their Newsletters?
It depends, but the potential is massive. As an example, look at the story of savvy newsletter startup Morning Brew. Their email newsletters are the company’s main product, and their main revenue stream is email monetization.
Using a formula of consistent publishing and highly useful, easily digestible newsletter content – the type you can read while sipping coffee and instantly turn into a slightly more informed human – they went from $ 3 million in revenue in 2018 to $ 13 million in 2019.
Here’s the fascinating part: Morning Brew’s daily newsletters account for 95% of overall revenue!
I know what you’re thinking: I don’t have time to publish daily or to make amazing content, so making the effort to monetize my newsletter isn’t worth it.
Actually, getting started with email monetization is incredibly simple. And, because of the way programmatic native advertising works, you don’t have to worry about diminishing the user experience or spending time optimizing the ads to generate revenue.
Programmatic native ads are powered by AI. That’s right. Artificial intelligence calls the shots, ensuring subscribers only see content that’s related to their interests.
Practical, easy, and subscriber-friendly – what’s not to love about this alternative revenue booster?
A SWOT Analysis for Email Monetization
Monetizing newsletters can be a win-win for everyone – publishers, advertisers, and subscribers. But, it’s important to really understand all the nuances of this marketing channel so you know how to leverage it.
To make sure you’re well-informed, we’ve put together this in-depth SWOT analysis of email monetization using programmatic ads.
SWOT stands for:
- Strengths – What are the unique advantages?
- Weaknesses – What are the unique challenges or limitations?
- Opportunities – What does your business stand to gain?
- Threats – What risks do you need to be aware of?
Doing this type of analysis is a great way to get a well-rounded understanding. Let’s get started.
Strengths of Email Monetization
Everyone is talking about monetizing newsletters with native ads for several very good reasons. Here they are.
Easy to access
As long as you partner with a provider that offers a highly technical solution, getting started is simple. This holds true no matter why type of newsletter publisher you are. This is because the technology is flexible enough to serve your needs based on your assets: newsletter content, subscriber lists, number of subscribers, and their engagement level.
Zero costs, zero effort for your internal team
Your business doesn’t have to invest anything to start monetizing your email campaigns with programmatic native ads. Once you get started, you also won’t have to give up your greatest asset – your time. There’s no extra work involved to make the ads work or to optimize them.
Advanced technology is the secret to creating great results
AI and machine learning work to understand consumer behavior, so the platform only shows relevant ads subscribers are likely to click on. Also, you’ll have information on their online behavior and preferences, helping you to create even more engagement.
Secured revenue
An alternative stream of revenue can boost resilience. By using AI-driven technology, you’ll be able to deliver the RIGHT content, which leads to higher click-through rates and more money for your business.
Weaknesses of Email Monetization
Nothing’s perfect. Let’s look at the shortcomings.
Lower revenue compared to direct-sold placements
Using programmatic native ads doesn’t guarantee a certain amount of revenue. How much you earn mainly depends on your subscriber list and click-through rate, two factors that can go both up and down.
Less control over what ads are delivered
That’s the downside of relying on AI – artificial intelligence makes some of the decisions for you so you don’t have total control. However, you do still get to choose what categories of ads appear in your newsletter. Nutrition, celebrities, health, travel – it’s all up to you.
You’ll need a lot of subscribers to generate results
To start generating significant revenue, you’ll need a large email list, as well as engaging content. This isn’t the case with direct-sold ads you’ve worked to secure.
Opportunities that Come with Newsletter Monetization
With a winning email newsletter and email monetization using programmatic native ads, the sky’s the limit.
More engaged subscribers
Thanks to AI and machine learning, you know you’re providing the right content and the right moment. This can help to bring in more revenue for your business.
Dedicated content
Native ads appear naturally as useful recommendations of articles, products, and services your readers may be interested in. This enables you to deliver content that perfectly aligns with your audience’s preferences, a core part of successful digital advertising.
Easy integration
It doesn’t matter what email service provider (ESP) you’re using. They all integrate easily with programmatic native ads.
Rising revenue
The more subscribers you have, the more money you can bring to your business. And, because the ads are native, they’re more likely to click on the ads and interact with your newsletter’s content.
Threats that Come with Newsletter Monetization
Make sure you know what the risks are so you can mitigate them.
Too much commercial content
Too much advertising can turn subscribers away. We recommend following the “less is more” adage. Then, look at the data to see how your metrics change if you change the number of ads in your newsletter.
A cluttered or intrusive appearance
Be mindful of how your newsletter appears. Some types of email monetization can lead to a cluttered or distracting appearance – which can lead to a loss of subscribers. With a solution that integrates ads that look like your newsletter’s content, you can expect great results.
Neglecting other marketing channels
When you monetize your newsletter with programmatic native ads, you are essentially creating a stable revenue stream for your business. But, this doesn’t mean you should neglect other channels such as social media. Ideally, all of your channels work together to uplift engagement and revenue generation.
How to Monetize Your Newsletter, Increase Revenue, and Delight Subscribers
There you have it. Email monetization has tons of strong points. With native ads, you can offer a seamless experience as long as you keep in mind potential weaknesses, capitalize on opportunities, and mitigate risks.
And, as long as you use an email monetization platform that makes everything easy, there’s no limit to how much you can earn.
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