As a way to keep creators on the network, Facebook announced their new newsletter platform, Bulletin. The new site will be a place for writers and podcasters to publish content and build a subscriber base right on the platform itself.
As this new platform is in development, Facebook is testing tools and features with a small number of selected writers but shares an overview of what’s to come.
Facebook explains Bulletin as:
“Through Bulletin, we want to support these creators, and unify our existing tools with something that could more directly support great writing and audio content — from podcasts to Live Audio Rooms — all in one place. We respect the work of writers and want to be clear that anyone who partners with us will have complete editorial independence.”
Source.
With Bulletin, creators will own the rights to their content and subscribers list, although the platform will still be dependent on Facebook’s infrastructure. For example, subscribers don’t have to have a Facebook account to access free content but they will need to set up an account to use Facebook Pay for any transactions and subscription fees to the creators they follow. An account seems to also be necessary to enjoy some of the subscription perks, such as being a member of special Facebook groups. Bulletin will also be on a separate site, but its articles and podcasts will appear in users’ Facebook News Feed and within the Facebook News sections for distribution.
In addition to writers, Bulletin also wants to attract podcasters to join their platform as well. Their announcement says Bulletin will include tools that allow the distribution of podcasts, including those that are hosted elsewhere, with additional audio features that remain unspecified for now. A great way for podcasters to expand the reach of their shows.
Creators will have access to Facebook’s existing tools like Facebook Live and Audio Rooms to connect with their audience and keep the discussion going with some moderation tools like turning off comments or allowing only paid subscribers to comment altogether. The biggest perk for now joining Bulletin: Facebook says it won’t take a fee from creators “at launch,” and writers retain full ownership of their work and subscriber list.
Bulletin is a direct answer to the growing popularity of Substack and other newsletter products. Substack is used by a number of major writers and the company has been courting talent with guaranteed payments. Twitter also recently purchased Revue, another newsletter platform, though it hasn’t done very much to integrate it into the social network yet. Substack takes a 10 percent cut of subscriptions, while Revue takes a 5 percent cut.
Facebook has been trying for a while now to keep creators, of all kinds, on the platform. This new tool is just another way Facebook is looking to incentivize these creators. Will you be using Bulletin? Let us know in the comments below.