In the same week McClatchy delves eloquently into the unique characteristics of mobile-device news (user-experience), The New York Times announced its 30th newsletter channel – all in the pursuit of new revenue of course. Meanwhile, by launching its new mobile pay app, Mastercard becomes a micro-publisher in its own right, with geo-targeted content for individual subscribers, based on their location, and presumably, data.

The Times’ newsletters now collectively rank among the top five sources for referral traffic and have an average gross open rate of 50 percent, which outstrips the industry average for media and publishing by about 25 percent, according to a study by digital marketing technology company Silverpop.

Brand Marketers: personalized channels of narrowly focused content are a clear winner. By applying well-known marketing metrics like open-rates, publishers and marketers alike can package and deliver curated content (original and otherwise) to an audience that is all too happy to receive it. That is a story that will resonate with advertisers and subscribers alike.

Special thanks to Benjamin Mullin for his insightful Poytner article "Inside The New York Times' newsletter strategy."