BoiseDev’s winning secret to selling newsletter ads: Only local news, only local ads

As we touched on in our last spotlight, more LIONs are adding newsletters into their product strategy as a way to connect directly with their audiences. Newsletters can be a valuable tool for growing and retaining audiences, leading indirectly to revenue through donations or memberships, but many LIONs are also directly monetizing newsletters through advertising and sponsorships. In this spotlight, we’ll take a look at how BoiseDev has built out its successful newsletter advertising program.

Husband and wife team Don Day and Kara Jackson co-founded BoiseDev in 2016 to provide community-focused and locally-owned journalism in Idaho’s capital, powered by reader revenue (through memberships) and digital advertising. Since launch, BoiseDev has been built on what Don describes as a “reader first” approach, listening to their audience and iterating based on identified needs.

In 2018, BoiseDev launched a premium newsletter for members that proved extremely popular, yielding a stunning 70 percent open rate by 2020. They launched a public newsletter the next year, BoiseDev A.M., to serve a general, non-member audience in the greater Boise area. That newsletter now boasts a 50 percent open rate and, according to Don, is “the most-consumed single media product in [the Boise] market – ahead of any individual TV newscast, printed newspaper or radio newscast.” Faithful to their “reader-first” mindset,  BoiseDev listened to their readers when they showed that newsletters are the best way to reach them, launching a special Saturday newsletter and a weekly “BoiseDev Eats” newsletter vertical focused on food and restaurant news.

BoiseDev’s successful advertising program is driven by high-quality and engaging products responsive to audience needs. But let’s get into the nuts and bolts. Each newsletter has five ad positions (here’s a sample newsletter from July 10, 2024, to visualize that), typically sold in weeklong bundles. Relationships with local marketing agencies form the backbone of BoiseDev’s ad program. The main title sponsor slot is sold to a single agency, which rotates that slot through its client roster. These agency relationships make filling ad slots extremely efficient, though Don notes that BoiseDev fills some slots through direct inquiries from interested businesses. Accordingly, Don spends little time cold-calling potential clients.

BoiseDev’s advertising rates are based on a proprietary CPM (cost per thousand impressions), and these rates have increased as its inventory has tightened in response to high demand. Don reports out metrics to advertisers on a monthly basis, and notes that client retention is strong. Of particular note, BoiseDev only accepts local advertising:

“We do not accept any programmatic or non-local advertising here. While we are probably leaving easy dollars on the table, we have calculated that this costs us in brand reputation and reputation with advertisers. We emphasize that we only run local news – and only run local ads. This messaging has won us more business than the programmatic dimes we’d get and sets us apart.”

Newsletter products now account for 60 percent of BoiseDev’s ad sales revenue, with the rest coming from website placements. This strategy is working well enough to help power year-over-year growth in staff, audience, and revenue, yielding enough revenue to profitably support eight staff. 

Interested in driving revenue through your own newsletters? Don’s message is simple: “Get after it. These ad units are sticky, high-visibility products that have strong click rates.”

The Takeaways:

1. Let your audience guide you: build products around what your audience tells you they want and need (both directly and through their habits), as BoiseDev has done with its multiple newsletter products.
2. Start selling. You might try Don’s approach of building relationships with local marketing agencies, if they exist in your area. Otherwise, reach out to local organizations to build relationships and drive sales. 

Here are other resources LION members have found useful if you’re looking to bolster your newsletter advertising:

• Digital Revenue Playbook for Local News, Newsletter Advertising: Good Money in the Middle of Your Funnel: for tips on pricing and selling newsletter ads
• Inbox Collective: LION’s go-to recommendation for newsletter strategy and best practices