Author: Sara Guaglione

This week’s Media Briefing looks at publishers’ push to personalize newsletters as search traffic declines, and whether those efforts are actually paying off yet.

• Does personalization pay off?
• AI Overviews links take users to AI Mode, CNN to get an independent editorial board under new ownership, and more.

Does personalization pay off?

As search traffic erodes and AI answer engines siphon off queries, publishers are betting that personalized newsletters and sites can squeeze more value out of the readers they already have. But inside newsrooms, there’s little consensus on whether personalization is a meaningful differentiator, or just table stakes that don’t move the needle on revenue.

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As the creator economy has matured, it’s moved beyond one-off brand deals to pulling creators into the C-suite and onto advisory boards. Now, a new phase is underway: getting creators in at the ground floor as angel investors or with sweat equity. The people building the infrastructure around this revenue pathway expect it to grow fast in the coming months. 

Alix Earle becoming a strategic equity investor in soda brand Poppi in 2024 was just the start. 

“My really smart consumer founders were trying to get creators on cap tables a long time ago,” said Kate McAndrew, co-founder and general partner at Baukunst, a venture capital fund. “2017, 2018, all of a sudden, my B2B founders were coming to me and being like, ‘Is there any way that we could get creators to invest? How do you meet a creator?’” 

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