• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, February 21, 2022

Consumers will subscribe to email newsletters for personalized content and some will even pay for regular emails, according to the 2022 Digital Publishing Survey report, a study from Jeeng, conducted by Mantis Research. 

Of those polled, 59% agree that they would subscribe to personalized email content, 21% strongly so. Another 26% are neutral, and 12% disagree.  

The percentage of those who want emails based on their behavior, interests, location or birthday is up nearly by over 20% since last year. Almost 25% will read an email because the content seems written just for them, especially millennials and Gen Z.  

In addition, 19% are willing to pay for email subscriptions and 27% for digital publication subscriptions. But most prefer free ad-supported content.  

Among evergreen sites, readers like and/or use: 

• Ability to read comments — 58%
• Ability to easily share content — 52% 
• Email alerts when something new is posted — 48% 
• Ability to discuss topics — 42% 

• Ability to read comments — 48% 
• Ability to easily share content — 53% 
• Email alerts when something new is posted — 50%
• Ability to discuss topics — 41% 

Consumption is up all around. For instance, 73% now visit publishers websites, versus 57% last year. In addition, 44% subscribe to curated newsletters -- up from 20% in the prior year. 

In addition, 41% subscribe to newsletters in general — up from 26% — and 37% subscribe to publishers’ emails, a leap from 20%.  

"This year's data once again shows that publishers have a tremendous opportunity to leverage the trust subscribers place in them to build more connected and engaged communities using email as a primary channel," Jeff Kupietzky, CEO of Jeeng. 

But Kupietzky adds that, “considering that all publishers struggle with limited staff and resources, deploying an automated AI technology is the only practical, realistic way to deliver on audiences' expectations for personalization, community and engagement. 

Mantis Research surveyed over 1,000 U.S. consumers in November 2021.