FirstFT and the art of a good email newsletter

FirstFT, an email newsletter launched nearly a year ago by the Financial Times, was the result of months of analyzing the value that FT readers placed on emails, detailed scoping of rival editorial products, market research of existing email users before the launch of FirstFT, and market research of subscribers after its launch.

FirstFT typically has over 40,000 total daily reads, with some readers opening it multiple times. The business newspaper has seen increased FT.com visits from FirstFT readers  — up to a 50 percent increase in unique page views — compared to before they signed up to the newsletter.

In fact, almost all of the FT’s email newsletters, including Free Lunch, Opening Quote and UK Politics, are enjoying strong growth in signups and have similar or higher engagement levels as FirstFT.

Andrew Jack is head of curated content at the Financial Times. He was previously Moscow bureau chief, Paris correspondent, financial correspondent, general reporter and corporate reporter for the FT.

He is author of the books “Inside Putin’s Russia” and “The French Exception,” has written numerous articles for medical journals including BMJ and the Lancet, and written reports on French insurance, audit committees, networking and work shadowing.

He led the FT’s coverage that won the communications award of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in 2011; First Prize in the Stop TB Award for excellence in reporting for 2010; and a Kaiser Family Foundation mini-fellowship in global health reporting in 2008.

Jack, who says that the FT is looking at other email newsletters to launch, spoke Thursday with Talking Biz News about FirstFT. What follows is an edited transcript.

What is it about an email newsletter that makes readers pay attention to what’s in it?

I think there’s a distinction between newsletters by email and curated content in the broader sense. Email is one of the core ways that our readers like to get information and to have content in email is very convenient. You get swept away in the Twitter storm, and it’s very difficult to track this stuff. And people don’t have enough time to continually watch their screen. People can open the email and come back to it at their leisure.

The second point that why we have invested into this is that it’s an expert, human curated guide of handling the vast amount of information out there. Here’s some high-level editorial judgment of the top 10 or 15 stories that you should focus on. Putting that in front of you is a very powerful thing and makes you feel informed on the day.

Give me an idea of the typical FirstFT reader.

They very much tie into FT readers in general. They tend to be decision makers in fairly senior positions. FirstFT email readers are even slightly higher in seniority. Owners, managers, consultants, people in senior positions in the private, public or non-profit sectors. Geographically, many are in the UK and the United States.

There are also many in Europe and Asia as well. That’s why we have launched a third edition in Asia, which comes out at 6 a.m. Hong Kong time. These regional editions come at different times of the day and are globally relevant stories rather than ones only targeted to their region. Many of them want the news globally that connects the dots.

What type of content do you try to include in every issue?

It ultimately comes down to human judgement. I have people in Hong Kong, Chicago and London, looking at the stories on the FT and also digging around to less well known but interesting media that is out there. They discuss their choices with the relevant FT editors in their regions. They understand what matters to their readers.

I’m mainly trying to create a balance in what we provide every day. There is some cultural, some breaking news stores, and some that are more reflective and analytical, some that are offbeat.

How is the newsletter put together every day?

We have got out three regional operations, and normally the button will be pressed late morning or lunchtime. They’re always working for the edition in our next time zone. The work day in Hong Kong starts earlier, and they will draft a pitch of 15 or so selections. Basically they’re trying to encapsulate the essence in a couple of sentences. We’re saying this is the story in the first sentence, and why it matters in the second sentence. We’re trying to give the readers a broader narrative that is conversational and providing the indication that if they want more, they can click.

Consultation with colleagues takes some time, and there are revisions. And then out it goes. Once the email is released, we will publish those selections on the site. And then do social media with Twitter where we have key selections.

Once a day, in London, we also do a video inspired by the selection, the world in 60 seconds, and that is released about lunchtime in London so it captures the early morning crowd in the United States.

Is the goal to drive more readers to the FT website?

There are multiple goals. You’re are absolutely right that a portion of readers will click through to underlying content. But we’ve taken the view that readers will like the email first, and this can be a one-stop daily read that will cover the waterfront of big issues.

So there is certainly a sense to encourage people to explore the broader context, and if they are not FT subscribers, to put the FT in front of them to see our deep coverage. We’re encouraging new subscribers and trying to get existing subscribers to read more. And there are options, such as advertising, to monetize what we produce.

FirstFT is also on the website. Is there a difference between those who read it online and those who read the email?

The only difference is the medium. Our sense is that people like it as an email, but people can take it either way. On the website, which we are modifying at the moment, you will see at least one edition a day, which is updated.

What email newsletters do you see as competitors?

There are a bunch of great emails out there. There seems to be a real explosion in the past year. New media and traditional media moving into email. The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and Quartz among the newer media. There are quite a lot more niche specialist publications that do well too.

What makes an email newsletter successful?

Several things. First and foremost, it’s that readers are time limited and they want a highly curated selection of views, comments and analysis, judgment from a trusted editorial brand, and they want it in a way that is convenient to them. To our readers, an email is a halfway house between the print and the latest in digital communication. In many ways, it’s a challenging medium, but still a very powerful one.

What’s important is that we’re not trying to pack very heavily digital things into email because the format doesn’t work. But a nice style with some photos and images is powerful and is a good compromise and is visually appealing to people.

Why is an email more appealing to some readers than a print newspaper?

We’re talking different sorts of readers. The FT, like the Wall Street Journal in Europe, has invested quite a lot in print. So they’re saying print is not finished.

But people want information at different times of the day and in different ways. If you like emails, it can be powerful – they are in your inbox and you can find and return to them easily. Looking at the way that media is going mobile, you’re crammed into a single story or image on a screen, and the flow is limited. It’s the same on Facebook and others, where there is a third-party algorithm that determines the content.

With the email, you have editorial judgment. The email recreates in semi-digital format the best of the serendipity of the old-style newspaper, with three or four or five pieces on each page that an editor has placed there. They may not have anything to do with each other, but they may catch your attention and stimulate your thoughts.

How does an email newsletter product make money?

The primary driver currently is around amortizing our existing investment in editorial, showcasing and encouraging greater reading of the articles that our journalists are producing. There is a whole engagement of readers and drawing in new readers.

But we’re experimenting with ways to monetize, and advertising is important and growing.