Bulletin, which was launched in June, is a platform for writers to publish newsletters to a mailing list of subscribers, using a similar model to that used by newsletter platform Substack.
The platform allows independent creators to publish newsletters to their audiences outside of any external editorial control and get paid for it.
Brown wrote: "Bulletin is a new kind of product for Meta, and in its early phase we’ve taken a careful approach to opening up the product for wider use by creators. But we’ve been encouraged by the progress we’ve seen with this pilot group. While many only launched their publications in the last few months, more than half of the creators on Bulletin have over 1,000 free email subscribers, with many having more than 5,000 or 10,000.
“This group of writers reflects a diverse cross section of expertise and interests, ranging from local news writers to fashion, food, science and sports. Most importantly, we’ve seen the reach and community-building power of Meta’s platforms help these publications and independent creators connect with audiences, and each other, in a number of exciting ways.”
She gives an example of when Malcolm Gladwell, who uses the platform to publish his newsletter Oh, MG, wrote about Paul Simon, he joined Mitch Albom who writes Life at the Orphanage (also hosted on the platform) on a Facebook live to discuss their shared admiration for the musician.
She writes that in future they will provide more customisation options for writers, including “customs fonts, pinned articles, article previews, and social media sharing options.”
She adds that they “are also consistently providing third-party perks to enable these writers to become successful independent businesses” including “access to a variety of services and educational opportunities designed to assist in editorial and revenue growth.”
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