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Everyone said email was dead.
Social media was the future. Algorithms ruled everything. TikTok was eating the world.
Here's what actually happened.
1. Newsletters are exploding
Beehiiv saw 700% more newsletters last year. They're now sending over 1 billion emails monthly include this which you’re reading.
Substack hit $45 million in revenue. Up from $30 million two years ago. Their writers made $450 million total.
And here's the thing – newsletter submissions jumped 514% since 2019.
2. Traditional media is collapsing
17,000+ media jobs cut this year alone. That's up 18% from last year.
Newspapers lost 75% of their workforce since 2005. We're talking 270,000 jobs gone.
39 states now have fewer than 1,000 journalists total. Think about that.
Today’s newsletter is sponsored by Mintlify
AI Agents Are Reading Your Docs. Are You Ready?
Last month, 48% of visitors to documentation sites across Mintlify were AI agents, not humans.
Claude Code, Cursor, and other coding agents are becoming the actual customers reading your docs. And they read everything.
This changes what good documentation means. Humans skim and forgive gaps. Agents methodically check every endpoint, read every guide, and compare you against alternatives with zero fatigue.
Your docs aren't just helping users anymore. They're your product's first interview with the machines deciding whether to recommend you.
That means: clear schema markup so agents can parse your content, real benchmarks instead of marketing fluff, open endpoints agents can actually test, and honest comparisons that emphasize strengths without hype.
Mintlify powers documentation for over 20,000 companies, reaching 100M+ people every year. We just raised a $45M Series B led by @a16z and @SalesforceVC to build the knowledge layer for the agent era.
3. The performance gap is insane
Email open rates: 42%
Social media click rates: 1.4%
Email delivers $36 back for every dollar spent. You know what social delivers.
Get this – email is 40x better at getting new customers than Facebook or Twitter.
4. The business model flipped
77% of newsletters now do sponsorships instead of subscriptions. Only 2% charge readers.
91% of new newsletters are completely free. The paywall dream? It was always a dream.
My take:
This is the biggest shift in media in 20 years.
Traditional outlets are bleeding money and people. Individual creators with 5,000 email subscribers are building real businesses.
Why? Ownership beats algorithms.
Instagram can change the rules tomorrow. LinkedIn can tank your reach overnight. But email? That's yours.
Smart entrepreneurs get this. They're not chasing followers. They're building lists.
Because when you own the channel, you own the relationship.
Talk soon,
Stephen
P.S. If you're not building an email list, you're leaving money on the table. It's the one marketing channel that actually compounds.
