Journalists are the New Marketers

Lenny Rachitsky isn't a household name, yet his newsletter has somehow hit one million subscribers, with a significant number paying two hundred dollars a year for the privilege. A friend forwarded one of his dispatches, and I assumed it would be the usual “five tips to boost productivity” fare. But it read more like first-rate reportage than content marketing, and I found myself devouring every word as if it held the answers to an unspoken question: Why are so many people—and their wallets—drawn to a single writer in an impossibly crowded digital landscape?

You might say it’s a sign of the times. Today, marketing screams for attention across social feeds, spammy emails, and endless clickbait. But in a world where “democratized equals commoditized,” continuing to push more blog listicles and carousel posts into the vast echo chamber feels like an exercise in futility.

On the other hand, Rachitsky’s success is just one data point in a snowballing cohort of independent journalists—names like Casey Newton, who spun his Platformer newsletter into a thriving business, and Bari Weiss, whose Free Press soared past 130,000 paying subscribers. They don’t rely on big data pipelines or marketing hacks. Instead, they treat content like a craft, masterfully weaving research and nuanced storytelling in a direct connection with readers. Substack alone counts over two million paid subscriptions, and top earners on that platform rake in six and seven figures annually, all by delivering something rare in marketing today: honesty and depth.

It’s not just individuals who’ve noticed. Brands from Coca-Cola to American Express have quietly remodeled their content strategies to look more like newsrooms, trusting that if they act like editors instead of advertisers, they’ll nurture communities instead of ephemeral impressions.

The data is on their side. While brand emails average an open rate of around twenty percent, many of these journalist-style newsletters see engagement of forty percent or more—unimaginable stats if you’re just promoting the latest formulaic blog article.

Consumer trust has also shifted. People now assume most corporate messaging is filtered through legal teams and brand guidelines, so they're gravitating toward writers and organizations that offer a clearer window into reality. That’s exactly what these independent voices do. Rather than funnel readers into a marketing pipeline, they build loyalty through journalistic reporting and unique perspective, tapping a readiness to pay for stories worth reading.

Of course, authentic journalism doesn’t mean ignoring the numbers. These creators watch open rates, subscriber feedback, and topic performance like hawks. The difference is they interpret the data with a reporter’s curiosity—asking, “What story isn’t being told?” instead of “Which keywords might get a quick spike in traffic?”

Ironically, privacy regulations and tougher spam filters are favoring such practices. While most marketing email never reaches the inbox, the only guaranteed connection is one where readers genuinely opt in. That’s the essence of a newsletter audience. Devoted fans who actually want to consume content, on their terms.

For brands hoping to replicate this success, the mandate is clear:

Investigate before you create.

Research deeply.

Talk to real people.

Verify your facts.

And challenge the obvious.

When you bring journalistic integrity to the table, something remarkable happens. You stop trying to fool spam filters or chase the latest hashtag, and start cultivating an audience that is not just reachable but loyal.

Red Bull has built an entire media house generating documentaries that viewers willingly seek out. Coca-Cola devotes substantial resources to editorial-style content that feels more like a magazine than a product push. American Express, through its Business Class content, dispenses genuine insights instead of promotional fluff. In each case, the brand is functioning like a small press: investigating, writing, and publishing stories that matter to their audience.

It’s hard to dismiss the idea that journalists really are the new marketers. Whether you’re a household brand or a solo founder forging your own path, the only way to stand out in a flood of automated noise is to earn your audience’s trust, not simply capture clicks. That trust is what drives readers to pay money, open newsletters every week, and talk about your content at dinner tables.

Lenny Rachitsky may not be the conventional face of marketing, but his story is a blueprint: embrace rigorous inquiry, drop the spin, and craft a narrative that people can’t wait to see in their inboxes. If you do that—whether you’re one person or a mega brand—your readers will become not just customers, but believers.