It was reported, late in January, that Facebook was working on its own newsletter platform for writers and journalists that will be deeply integrated into its vast social media empire and will also let them monetize their content. Well, looks all of it was accurate. Facebook has today officially announced plans of an upcoming publishing platform for independent writers that will go live in the coming months and will offer a ton of tools ranging from customization, audience reach, and of course, monetization.
We will start by partnering with a small subset of independent writers: Facebook
While Facebook is coy about how exactly it is going to partner with independent writers, a report by Axios mentions that the company will offer them paid deals to gain some traction for its publishing platform. Yes, Facebook is chasing its own piece of pie from the rising trend of newsletters – one that is currently dominated by Substack. But the company plans to gain an early lead by offering a more robust set of features such as:
2. It will offer a rich set of styling options to help independent writers create their own websites and newsletters.
3. There will be a subscription tool on the table, allowing writers to monetize their content.
4. In addition to text-based content, writers will also be able to publish photos, live videos, and even stories. Plus, the content will be deeply integrated with Facebook Pages.
5. Writers will have the flexibility to create Facebook groups in order to target a section of readers.
6. Facebook will also roll out discovery options for readers, helping them find content and new writers on its publishing platform.
7. And to help writers gauge their performance and engagement, they will get access to insights and analysis tools.
8. An accelerator program where more content creators can join a community and learn new skills.
Of course, Facebook is going against Substack, but will have much more to offer.
Facebook has made it clear that it is focusing on independent writers, and with its publishing platform, it aims to support independent local journalists. We don’t know what the social media giant’s publishing platform will be called, but from what Facebook has announced so far, it appears to be a fully-fleshed out service that will offer both customization and audience reach tools from the get-go, thanks to its social media platform that already clocks hundreds of millions in monthly active users.