Facebook Created a New Platform for Independent Writers: Bulletin

A set of publishing and subscription tools to support creators.

If you’re an indie writer like me, you must be excited about this news, right?

Indie writers have been making a living by connecting directly with their readers, and this business opportunity reached the ears of Mark Zuckerberg.

The Facebook team had just created Bulletin, a publishing and subscription tool to support creators in the US. Yes, for now, just in the US. But the goal is to turn it global.

From a selected number of famous content creators like my favorite Malcolm Gladwell, Facebook want to support creators through writing and audio content, from Podcast to Audio Rooms, all in one platform.

The Bulletin will support content creation with digital tools for monetization and audience growth.

These are the four features and integrations included.

1. Robust Publishing Tools

Each writer will have their profile page, enabling them to create their own publications and long-form articles.

Each Bulletin writer will have its website under their own name and will be able to customize their publication’s name, logo, and color palette.

Writers can customize their articles with multi-media embeds and other styling options.

2. Sustainable Business Models

The Bulletin wants writers to develop their independent business models through the platform.

Writers will keep all of their subscription revenue for the length of this partnership. Subscription payments will be securely handled by Facebook Pay, allowing subscribers to pay with a credit card, debit card, or PayPal account, yet, in the future, when it will open to other indie writers, the business model can have some changes.

Writers will be able to include content, commenting, and Facebook groups accessible only by subscribers.

The Bulletin will have analytic tools to help writers understand their audience and grow their businesses.

3. Discovery and Distribution

Facebook wants to connect audiences with diverse voices and enable them to go deeper in matters they care about.

Bulletin content will be eligible for distribution in Facebook News and other discovery surfaces.

The Bulletin will include tools to distribute podcasts in addition to long-form writing.

The Bulletin will integrate with Facebook Pages to enable publishing across various multimedia formats.

4. Building Community

Bulletin writers will have the opportunity to build strong bonds with Facebook communities.

Indie writers can create Facebook groups, free or subscriber-only, to nurture a community of readers.

Indie writers will have the ability to leverage Facebook’s tools like Facebook Live or Live Audio Rooms to empower discussions with their communities.

The Bulletin will offer moderation tools for indie writers to manage their comment section.

Final Thoughts

A social platform with 2.85 billion monthly active users as of the first quarter of 2021 is launching a digital platform for indie writers.

We could be indifferent, but I find it difficult for those who write daily in digital format to be indifferent to such news.

Facebook had already promised it was working on a disruptive project, and here it is Bulletin.

This new platform, currently only available in the United States, will face Substack, ClubHouse, and Medium, all in the same game.

Indie writers will have their profile page, its website under their own name and will be able to customize their publication’s name, logo, and color palette.

Regarding subscription revenue, Malcolm Gladwell, Mitch Albom, Erin Andrews, and Tan France, resident writers, will keep all of their subscription revenue for the length of this partnership. However, we will see what kind of business model will be offered to writers who subscribe to the application in the future.

One of the exciting things Facebook will do is to include Facebook groups accessible only by subscribers. Right now, you have several indie writers with strong Facebook groups, yet having it integrated into the Bulletin will be easier for every writer to build their own community.

Another interesting tool to help writers is their analytics to help content creators understand their audience and grow their business. Unfortunately, there have been some critics about our inability to understand stats and analytics on this platform.

Facebook will integrate podcasts with Facebook Pages to boost content creation in different communities. A kind of ClubHouse style, where indie writers can create all sorts of communities to discuss various topics.

Recently I’ve written an article about my investment in Facebook Ads. Imagine having all the tools integrated into the same platform. Seems promising.

One of the good things about technology and competition is that the user always ends up the beneficiary.

We don’t know yet if Facebook will be successful in its attempt, but it for sure is a massive advantage with a vast audience.

We must seek all the good opportunities and platforms that value our voice, our message, and our contribution to the production of digital content for us, content creators.

Technological disruption is increasingly innovating and turning large platforms into communities and tokens; internet 3.0 is here. Decentralized platforms are already being created.

And we, indie writers, have to be on the lookout for news, be early adopters, and never, but never stop looking to the future with the same naive curiosity as a five-year-old child.

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