Facebook is launching its own newsletter platform, called
Bulletin. CEO of the company, Mark Zuckerberg, made the announcement in an
Audio Room on Facebook.
Bulletin will be a platform for writers and podcasters,
where they can publish content and form a community of subscribers.
The company revealed what the platform will be offering and that
it is currently experimenting with tools and features to add to it, in
collaboration with a small number of selected writers.
Facebook explained that through Bulletin, the company wants
to support creators and unify its “existing tools with something that could
more directly support great writing and audio content — from podcasts to Live
Audio Rooms — all in one place.”
The company also clarified that it will be giving “complete editorial independence” to anyone wanting to partner with it. Creators will have the rights to their content and subscribers list. The policy of the platform will, nevertheless, follow Facebook’s existing infrastructure. For instance, readers will be required to use Facebook Pay for any transactions.
Bulletin will be a separate site, but its content will
appear in Facebook’s News Feed, and will be part of the News sections for
distribution.
Bulletin is also welcoming podcasters to join its platform. The
site will offer tools for distribution of podcasts, as well as special audio features.
Of course, existing tools like Live and Audio Rooms, and moderation tools will
remain accessible to creators to connect with their audience and manage
engagement.
Bulletin’s branding will be focused on the writers mainly,
as it aims to offer individual profiles that appear more like personalized
websites for blogging. Creators will have the freedom to create their own space
by choosing their title page, logo, color palette, multimedia embeds and
stylization.
Moreover, Facebook will not keep its commission at launch
and will allow creators to choose their own prices. Creators will be allowed to
keep all the revenue from their subscribers and will own the rights to their
subscribers list and content.
