'Forbes' Expands Paid Newsletter Platform For 'Journalist Entrepreneurs'
- by January 19, 2021
Forbes Media LLC plans to start a newsletter publishing service that lets journalists make money from subscriptions and advertising. The publisher of Forbes will hire 20 to 30 writers to help with the launch, Axiosreported.
The publisher plans to split subscription revenue 50/50 with its newsletter writers, giving them a cut of advertising revenue without any cap on
potential earnings. The ad revenue is based on page views and recurring visitors, Randall Lane, Chief Content Officer of Forbes, told Axios.
The "Journalist
Entrepreneurs" program is part of the publisher's effort to diversity its revenue, which mostly comes from advertising. It also comes as more journalists start publishing email newsletters with
platforms like Substack, which shares subscription revenue with writers.
Forbeswill offer a guaranteed minimum salary and benefits to writers, along with legal
counsel, editing support and fact-checking. The publisher plans to expand the platform to its online network of 2,800 contributors.
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As publishers seek to boost subscription
revenue, there are signs the market for paid newsletters is limited. About 84% of consumers said they aren't willing to pay a fee to access the content they like to read most,
according to a study by What If Media Group. The finding suggests that most email publishing will continue to be reliant on advertising.
