Facebook has officially announced that it is entering the subscription newsletter business. After-all, you can’t keep this tech giant away from the major developments happening in the tech space.
A new service is being launched by Facebook today which will be called the ‘Bulletin’.
What Is Bulletin?
It allows authors to publish free and paid journals/newsletters that can be posted on the web, sent to subscribers on their e-mail, and also shared across Facebook.
This new platform “focuses on empowering freelance writers across the world, aiding them to reach newer audience bases and empowering their businesses to reach the next level,” commented Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg during a live audio conference that discussed the launch of the Bulletin service.
No Charges From Writers
Why will users switch to Facebook’s offering when there are already reputed newsletter subscription businesses in the industry?
Well, probably the biggest advantage yet: Facebook says it won’t take money from authors “on launch,” and authors will be allowed maintain full ownership of their work and the list of subscribers they garner.
At the launch, Facebook signed Malcolm Gladwell, Tan France, and Erin Andrews, among others to cover a wide range of subjects, from sports and finance to science and art.
Who Are The Competitors?
Bulletin is going to be in direct competition to the growing popularity of Substack and other newsletter media products.
Substack is used by many leading writers, including Glenn Greenwald and Anne Helen Petersen, and the company has been sending out guaranteed payments to it’s writers.
Twitter also recently purchased Revue, another newsletter platform. Twitter has, however, not done much to put connect Revue with it’s own social network. Substack takes a 10 percent subscription cut from the revenue of the writers while Revue enjoys a 5 percent cut.
Aims To ‘Monetize’ Writers And Creativity
Zuckerberg says the Bulletin is part of Facebook’s goal to continue to grow its creators’ money-making options.
“The goal here at the company is to fund the millions of people doing creative work,” he said.
Currently Bulletin does not accept subscriptions and signups. Facebook has brought in more beta writers and says it will add more “over time.” At the moment they are not adding any new writers, however.