Newsletters are becoming creator power centers; onfluencers owning their audiences is reshaping how they monetize—and how brands leverage those audiences.

This FAQ breaks down what’s next for the creator economy and how marketers should respond.

Email’s reliability is no longer enough to offset rising consumer expectations. AI accelerates production and enhances relevance, while engagement, trust, and tougher inbox rules push marketers to rethink how they will use the channel in 2026.

Substack is testing its first structured sponsorship program, allowing selected writers to insert paid brand placements directly into newsletters—an opt-in beta that keeps creators in full control and avoids programmatic ads. The move follows significant audience growth, with US uniques doubling in a year, but minimal marketer adoption: only 5% of brand marketers use Substack today. Sponsorships offer a way to monetize large free audiences while preserving the platform’s editorial identity. For advertisers, the beta introduces a premium, high-intent environment suited to thought leadership and niche expertise—an early indication that creator newsletters may become more formal components of influencer and upper-funnel strategy.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution will publish its final print edition on December 31, 2025, before becoming a digital-only outlet on January 1, 2026. Publisher Andrew Morse said the move will allow resources to flow into newsletters, podcasts, video, and a new mobile app. The 157-year-old paper has already posted double-digit digital subscription growth and expanded statewide reach. The shift mirrors broader industry trends: nearly half of US adults never read print newspapers, while digital ad spend continues to climb. AJC’s farewell to print underscores the inevitable math: audiences and advertisers are digital, and adaptation is survival.

The rest of the year is top-of-mind for leaders in marketing and retail, which they expect to be challenging but riddled with opportunities to stand out from competition.

Substack vies for video content: While video use on the platform is growing, Substack has a long way to go—and risks alienating its core base.

Bloomberg launches Weekend Edition: The news outlet aims for 1 million subscribers by 2025 for its newsletters and audio content.

LinkedIn proves the newsletter isn’t dying: Any user can create a newsletter on LinkedIn now, but advertising features have yet to debut.

LinkedIn isn’t an ad leader, but it’s learning from others’ mistakes: A slew of new ad products highlight user-generated content and privacy initiatives.

What’s the best way to monetize a newsletter? Publishers are benefitting from the newsletter boom, but repeating mistakes from the past.

Twitter’s Super Follows isn’t to attract new creators—it’s to keep the ones it has: As the platform slowly sheds US users, new monetization options and better anti-harassment features are the least it can do.

This quarter, we are adding TikTok to our social media update series, which analyzes key developments for marketers from the major social platforms.

BuzzFeed will pay up to $10K to creators: The program will award prizes for top-performing content. Though it will only last through the summer, it's likely a pilot program or a precursor to a more social BuzzFeed Community hub.

Scroll on, Twitter: The platform's acquisition of ad-free news startup Scroll is the latest in its effort to build out enough features and content to feasibly sell paid subscriptions to its users.

On today's episode, we discuss which pandemic-related behaviors will stick around, whether newsletters can replace local newspapers, YouTube and the music streaming wars, how you can master the intimacy of the inbox, why Amazon is opening a salon, the first movie to ever release a soundtrack, and more. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer analysts Nina Goetzen and Blake Droesch, and principal analyst at Insider Intelligence Jillian Ryan.

On today's episode, we discuss why paid newsletter subscriptions are having a moment, the competitive advantages of the biggest players, and why marketers should (or shouldn't) get involved. We then talk about HBO Max's upcoming ad-supported offering, whether Microsoft buying Discord makes sense, and the real problem with password sharing. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer analyst at Insider Intelligence Nina Goetzen.