Week of 4/26 Reflection

Something I really drew out of this week’s readings was just how impactful our peers’ opinions are on our own decision-making.

As evident in the reading on Morning Brew’s ability to retain their readership, their referral program has proven to be wildly impactful on their growth in an engaged readership.

Throughout my marketing classes I’ve learned so much about the importance of word-of-mouth marketing, and it makes sense. When I get ads for things my social media feeds’ algorithms think I’d be interested in buying I am drawn toward them, but it takes the reassurance of a friend or family member’s opinion to draw me in to actually make the purchase. Similarly, whenever I see a friend wearing or using something I think I might like, I’m much more likely to be interested in purchasing the product because I trust their opinions on its various attributes.

These opinions can apply to almost anything: clothes, coffee orders, jewelry, experiences, streaming services and the list goes on.

Something I don’t speak with my peers about often though is how we consume our media. It’s pretty much assumed most of my friends keep up with the news on social media channels, and among my fellow journalism students we all consume news from similar national and local new sources.

But when it comes to magazines, blogs, podcasts and other more niche-interest media I don’t find myself speaking much about such platforms with my friends.

When I think about my own newsletter I am concerned with making sure its being brought up in relevant conversations, both online and in person.

When I consider incentivized programs aimed at building readership, such as Morning Brew’s referral program, I thought how I could build something similar. Unlike others in the class, I don’t have a hyper-niche group to focus my marketing towards as I’ve learned I need to cast a wider net in order to both maintain readership and continue to produce relevant content post-graduation.

I love the idea of being able to create some sort of group discount to the senior class of a sports team at a high school, or to a sorority or other female membership group on a college campus.

But I recognize this can only get me so far.

Another thing I really reaped from the Morning Brew article was the importance of having a more engaged readership rather than just high numbers on the email list.

While I don’t necessarily have as concrete ideas for how to keep readers engaged with my emails or my content from start to finish, this article truly helped me realize there is so much more to crafting my newsletter than just the content itself.