With Twitter losing popularity and its future uncertain, many writers seem to be wondering ‘Where should I go instead?’

For focus and connection with audience, a digital newsletter may be your best bet.

Very recently, the BBC published this video, Digital Newsletters Really Humanise You To Your Readers. It includes US and UK writers, who are using services like https://substack.com/ to connect with their readers, and serialize their writing. From the nitty gritty of the financials included here, this looks like it could be a lot more profitable than a traditional publishing deal – especially for certain genres.

But newsletters need not be generated purely from a profit motive… the most eminent and acclaimed writer George Saunders has one, where he focuses entirely on story. You can sample it here.

And there are some helpful publishing gurus who create newsletters on the ins and outs of the book world. Here’s an amazingly useful example from Sam Missingham, who also runs the Empowered Author group on Facebook. She includes Jane Friedman in her links, who produces two fine newsletters – one for individual creatives, and one more industry-focussed.

Incidentally, Sam’s newsletter contains lots of steers, if you’re confused about whether to stay on twitter or take flight.

Finally, just a personal experience. As an editor, I’ve created digital newsletters for several years and while they go in and out of fashion, they are a terrific way of learning more about your audience based on what they click and what they don’t click. And if you’re discerning in your content and frequency, then when you do send something useful, the return on engagement can be high.

A big welcome to those of you who’ve recently joined a writing course, and I hope you like this welcome post!