Thursday 15th September: Why tone of voice is vital to Morning Brew’s newsletter success

September 15, 2022

Good morning! Today's newsletter is brought to you by Peter.

Esther has been writing about how newsletter poster-child Morning Brew has carved out its own unique tone of voice while other publishers have kept their email correspondence strictly professional.

Each issue of the Brew opens with a short, sometimes witty, but always friendly comment from the day’s editors. Then it links to that day’s top stories, with a mini editorial or explainer initialled by the relevant editor talking about the key points of the news item and any additional context.

Elsewhere there are gifs, memes and jokey headlines, way more informal than many other news-focused emails. “In the daily newsletter... we are basically aggregating what’s out there," said Managing Editor Neal Freyman. "We think our differentiating factor is the fact that you can read about it and laugh along with us.”

The Verge has relaunched and, in a world where too many websites look depressingly samey, this redesign is really interesting. Alongside its 'fresh, modern logo, fast and beautiful new article pages, and vibrant colors' it has a brand new homepage that looks a lot like an old-school blog. Taking inspiration from the site's roots, the Verge team decided, "well shit, we just need to blog more.” Chronological content feeds FTW!

FTSE 250-listed Future publishing has said the 'encouraging' performance outlined in its June trading update has continued, with the group returning to organic audience growth in the second half. Shares were up 6% on Tuesday's statement, to £18.27, although they are still down by about 50% compared to last year.

Truth-teller Trump's failing social media company, Truth Social, is hiding full follower counts from users, possibly to obscure slowing growth. According to Rolling Stone, Trump's answer to Twitter has already warned investors that it may not be profitable, 'stiffed' one of its major vendors, and pleaded with Google to approve a long overdue Android app. SO. MUCH. WINNING.

Coming Soon(er):

Media Moments 2022 - sponsored by membership & subscription suite Poool - will bring together the key events which have shaped the media and publishing industry this year. We'll be launching it at a virtual event on November 30th. Pre-register here to get sent the report as soon as it lands.

In this teaser episode, we discuss our plans for the day, and which sessions we’re most looking forward to. The Publisher Podcast Summit is designed for publishers of all shapes and sizes, whether you’re contemplating launching your first podcast, or have a whole stable and want to know how to take your strategy to the next level.