LetterWell was a small startup founded in 2019 to facilitate the buying and selling of ad space in newsletter emails. By 2022, users reported that the business quietly shut down.
About LetterWell
From its founding in 2019 to its closure in 2022, LetterWell attracted about 400 newsletters to its marketplace. The median audience size for newsletters on the platform hovered around 10,000 subscribers. Its secure, highly vetted marketplace connected advertisers with newsletter owners.
According to BetaList, LetterWell made "it incredibly easy to source the very best email newsletters from across the world, reaching targeted and niche audiences that are arguably more specific, engaging and dynamic than any other audience segmentation out there.”
However, LetterWell's 2022 closure left both advertisers and publishers scrambling for another solution.
Key features:
In its heyday, LetterWell promoted the following features for advertisers:
- •Newsletter marketplace
A directory where advertisers could find newsletters to sponsor, sorted by audience size, categories, and metrics. - •Native, programmatic newsletter ads
Automated ads, like Google AdSense or Facebook Ads, where advertisers could purchase a set number of views within a topical newsletter instead of sponsoring the entire newsletter.
Overall, reviews of the platform were mixed. Some recommended the service, while others alleged that LetterWell re-sold ad space from other platforms.
So, what happened?
Today, not much is known about the reasoning behind the shutdown. But it appears that the startup experienced some setbacks starting in late 2021.
Shortly after launching a beta for native newsletter ads, the team suddenly decided to pull the plug on the feature.
A few months later, Twitter users noticed that LetterWell permanently shuttered the rest of its services, including its website.
Letterwell alternatives
So what does this mean for advertisers and publishers on LetterWell? If you used them, you'll need to find another platform. Luckily, there are a lot of great options on the market for both advertisers and publishers.
- •For advertisers:
Give Paved a try. We've been called "the coolest and easiest-to-use platform for content promotion.” Paved offers the user-friendly ad-buying experience of tools like LetterWell, but with powerful programmatic ads, a bigger, better newsletter marketplace, and precision audience targeting. - •For publishers:
We recommend joining a marketplace like Paved or a similar newsletter marketplace where you can find sponsors. Then, build a strong profile and media kit to attract advertisers.
How to switch from LetterWell
Switching from LetterWell to Paved is easy.
If you’re ready to advertise in the web’s best newsletters, you can find and reach your target audience in a few simple steps:
- Sign up for a free Paved Advertiser account, or log in to your account.
- Go to the menu on the top-right corner of the page and navigate to Account Settings > Audience Targeting to enter your target audience.
- Next, Paved automatically generates smart recommendations for you:
- Select the newsletters and sponsorship placements you'd like, and book everything at once.
Voila! You've booked your newsletter campaigns.
Try it out for yourself!
If you're not advertising with Paved yet, sign up to get access to the Paved Marketplace, the Ad Network, automatic performance tracking on every campaign you run, and more.
