Craig Swerdloff

A successful entrepreneur for over twenty years, having founded seven companies and sold four of them. Still just getting started.

[Craig Swerdloff @swerd]

Last week, Digiday reported, "Email overtakes programmatic as most-used display ad channel."

https://t.co/Voqg70WZPo

💥 Programmatic advertising: ~$85B
✉️ Newsletter advertising: Maybe $3B

This is like David vs. Goliath (I started watching the House of David on Amazon Prime last night).

Programmatic is massive, but filled with noise, fraud, and brand safety issues.

Newsletter ads? They land in spaces people actually opted into.

No cookies. No chaos. Just attention.

And for the first time, marketers are shifting budget from the behemoth to the quaint.

This isn't just a trend. It's a recalibration of trust.

I wrote at length about it here: https://t.co/U9zO4kgyhS?

But the most exciting part was this: "Barely more than half of marketer pros (51%) told Digiday in Q1 2024 that they were using email newsletter sponsorships or ads. In Q1 2025, just shy of two-thirds of marketers (64%) said the same."

Bam! Boom! LFG!

How big do you think the newsletter advertising industry is today? Given the broader economic concerns, will it grow in 2025? I'd love to hear what you think of the Digiday research.

#newslettersponsorships #newsletter #adtech @wellput_io

How big is the newsletter advertising market in 2025?

[Craig Swerdloff @swerd]

Confessions of an Entrepreneur:
Nighttime Craig vs. Daytime Craig: Who Will be Victorious? https://t.co/caImjC11qT via @LinkedIn

[Craig Swerdloff @swerd]

@BenMullin Where's the final page of the memo?

[Craig Swerdloff @swerd]

Let’s get real about newsletter sponsorship click-through rates!

We see an average CTR of 0.2% (unique clicks ÷ total subscribers × 100).

Not total clicks. Not clicks ÷ opens.
Some folks inflate CTR with funny math.
It misleads sponsors. Nobody wins.

Be transparent. Be consistent.

Publishers and advertisers can do lots of things to increase sponsor click-through rates, including collaborating on creative.

What have you tried to increase CTR for your newsletter sponsors?
#emailmarketing #newsletters #CTR #sponsorships #digitalads

[Craig Swerdloff @swerd]

@performcb @wellput_io will be there as well. Let's meet if you're looking to scale newsletter sponsorships as a new growth channel!

[Craig Swerdloff @swerd]

@rrmdp @jobboardsrch It's the only à la carte sponsorship platform for newsletters. They select from relevant brands to fill sponsorship inventory whenever available. All of our campaigns are priced on a cost-per-click pricing model.
Want to see it?

[Craig Swerdloff @swerd]

@BijouConcierge @DiBrander @arunchandrac5 I'm the CEO at https://t.co/0D1oSMznSb. We help newsletters fully monetize their sponsorship inventory through the industry's only a la carte sponsorship platform. Want to see it?!

[Craig Swerdloff @swerd]

@LachCartwright @ravisomaiya @LachCartwright, congrats! I'm the CEO at https://t.co/0D1oSMznSb, a newsletter sponsorship platform for brands and publishers. If you're interested in newsletter sponsorships, let's connect!

[Craig Swerdloff @swerd]

@LeArielleSimone @Mikaaalove51 @LeArielleSimone, just signed up for the newsletter. I'm the CEO at https://t.co/0D1oSMznSb. How many subscribers does your newsletter have?

[Craig Swerdloff @swerd]

@BijouConcierge @DiBrander @arunchandrac5 @BijouConcierge, how many subscribers are on your newsletter?

[Craig Swerdloff @swerd]

@ShannonJean @ShannonJean, the newsletter looks like a great fit for many of our sponsors. Sign up here and I'll approve you: https://t.co/kg1qmKxdbr?

[Craig Swerdloff @swerd]

@jfberke @jfberke how did it perform?

[Craig Swerdloff @swerd]

@nathanbarry @kit @nathanbarry, integrated demand for sponsorships via Wellput.

[Craig Swerdloff @swerd]

@LucasTheWalter @businessbarista Lucas, which company?

[Craig Swerdloff @swerd]

@Kent_Wilson @businessbarista Kent, which company?

[Craig Swerdloff @swerd]

@TravisHoium @businessbarista Travi, reach out if you need help monetizing the newsletters. https://t.co/0D1oSMznSb

[Craig Swerdloff @swerd]

@VivanVatsa @businessbarista @iKyu_HQ Vivan, your newsletter looks great! How are you monetizing it? Check out https://t.co/0D1oSMznSb.

[Craig Swerdloff @swerd]

@ianmatthewroth @businessbarista Ian, how many subscribers? Let's talk about monetization.

[Craig Swerdloff @swerd]

When pricing newsletter sponsorships, consider:
1. Audience engagement with ads.
2. How valuable is your audience?
3. How hard will you work for it?
4. Are you willing to take risks?

Start with CPC or CPA to gain insights, then go after long-term partnerships with brands.