Email’s Role in Modern Media Question Title * 1. Which best describes your role? Editorial Product Audience Development Advertising Sales Subscriptions Other (please specify) Question Title * 2. Which best describes your organization? Legacy media company Independent or digital-native media brand Newsletter-first business Creator-led media brand Other (please specify) Question Title * 3. Approximately how large is your primary email list? Under 10,000 10,000–49,999 50,000–249,999 250,000–999,999 1 Million+ Prefer not to say Question Title * 4. How important is email to your overall audience strategy today? Mission-Critical Very Important Somewhat Important Nice to Have Not Important N/A Mission-Critical Very Important Somewhat Important Nice to Have Not Important N/A Question Title * 5. Which best reflects how email functions for you today? Primary owned audience channel One of several key growth channels Mostly supports other channels (social, search, etc.) Question Title * 6. Compared to two years ago, how important is email to your business? Much More Important Slightly More Important About the Same Less Important N/A Much More Important Slightly More Important About the Same Less Important N/A Question Title * 7. When thinking about your company's email growth and traffic, over the past 12 months your: Increased Significantly Increased Modestly Stayed About the Same Declined Somewhat Declined Significantly Not Sure email list has... email list has... Increased Significantly email list has... Increased Modestly email list has... Stayed About the Same email list has... Declined Somewhat email list has... Declined Significantly email list has... Not Sure email audience engagement has... email audience engagement has... Increased Significantly email audience engagement has... Increased Modestly email audience engagement has... Stayed About the Same email audience engagement has... Declined Somewhat email audience engagement has... Declined Significantly email audience engagement has... Not Sure email monetization has... email monetization has... Increased Significantly email monetization has... Increased Modestly email monetization has... Stayed About the Same email monetization has... Declined Somewhat email monetization has... Declined Significantly email monetization has... Not Sure Question Title * 8. What are your primary drivers of email growth today?(Select up to 3) Direct signups on owned properties Social platforms Search Paid acquisition Cross-promotion / partnerships Events or offline We are struggling to grow Question Title * 9. How do you primarily judge the success of your email efforts?(Select up to 2) Audience growth Engagement (opens, clicks) Revenue Retention / loyalty Brand impact Question Title * 10. How does email contribute to revenue today?(Select all that apply) Subscriptions Sponsorships / advertising Affiliate Revenue Events or Products It Does Not Yet Generate Revenue Question Title * 11. What’s one thing about email that has become more important for your business over the past year — and why? Question Title * 12. Which email platform do you primarily use today? Mailchimp Beehiiv Salesforce Marketing Cloud HubSpot Klaviyo Constant Contact Other (please specify) Question Title * 13. Overall, how satisfied are you with your email platform? Very Satisfied Somewhat Satisfied Neutral Somewhat Dissatisfied Very Dissatisfied N/A Very Satisfied Somewhat Satisfied Neutral Somewhat Dissatisfied Very Dissatisfied N/A Question Title * 14. How would you describe the primary types of emails you send today?(Select all that apply) Links driving traffic back to our site Editorial newsletters meant to be read primarily in email Standalone newsletter products (e.g., daily or weekly franchises) Promotional or marketing emails Subscriber-only or paid newsletters Alerts / breaking news / utility emails Question Title * 15. Over the past 12 months, how has your email program shifted? More focused on driving site traffic More focused on engagement within the inbox More focused on monetization No major change Other (please specify) Question Title * 16. In the next year, how would you ideally describe the role of email within your business? A primary product we invest in One of several core growth channels Mostly a marketing or distribution tool Unsure Question Title * 17. What’s the biggest thing holding your email program back today?(Select up to 2) Technology or platform limitations Limited resources or staffing Monetization challenges Analytics or measurement gaps Audience growth constraints Internal alignment or buy-in Nothing—we’re executing well Question Title * 18. How do you currently work with creators?(select all that apply) Guest contributors or editors Revenue-sharing partnerships Community contributors We don’t currently work with creators Question Title * 19. Does your organization have a strategy for AI or LLMs? Yes, actively implemented Exploring or experimenting Not yet, but interested No plans Question Title * 20. What’s the biggest misconception media leaders still have about email today? Question Title * 21. What is currently working best in your email or newsletter strategy? Question Title * 22. If you’re open to a follow-up conversation about this topic, please share your name and email below. Done
