How Poynter’s Al Tompkins thinks about his COVID-19 newsletter
Learn how this newsletter-maker decides what’s newsworthy, from stimulus money to bidets.
This post is the second in the Sign Me Up! series, a new project that talks directly with newsletter-makers about their newsletters, and these days, specifically COVID-19 newsletters. This interview has been lightly edited for brevity. You can read the first post, featuring John S. Adams and Montana Free Press, here.
Newsletter Wizards: Tell us a bit about yourself. How long have you been at Poynter Institute, and how long have you been writing the newsletter?
Tompkins: I have been at Poynter for 22 years. I wrote a daily newsletter with story ideas for journalists called “Al’s Morning Meeting” for 10 years. That started in April 2001. I heard from journalists around the world that it was a lifesaver for them. When COVID-19 became the story everybody covered every day, it seemed like a perfect time to bring back the idea with a special need to help journalists who cannot now go out and report their stories. It is especially difficult to be a journalist when you are not rubbing shoulders with the people you want to cover. So if I can plant seeds of stories, sometimes heavy-duty stories, emerging trends, or even just great ideas that journalists have come up with, then that is how I can contribute to what I think is vital work right now.
Newsletter Wizards: Tell us a bit about your newsletter. What is it about; who does it serve; and, why?
It is simply an email that I hope sparks story ideas for journalists. I usually include five or so ideas a day. We promise it will be your email inbox by 6 a.m. EDT Monday through Friday. We will do special editions on weekends if there is a big news event that we can help with. We hope the ideas help journalists regardless of media or market size. [Editor’s note: you can subscribe to Al’s newsletter here.]
Newsletter Wizards: What changes have you made to your newsletter in response to the pandemic, and why?
Tompkins: It is all COVID-19 all the time. It is ALL I focus on right now. I have no idea what will change when this is done, but I suspect we will keep going with stories of the repercussions of the pandemic for many, many months. How is stimulus money being spent; how is the recovery going; what new opportunities will grow from all this? For example, it turns out there has been an explosion in the sale of bidets worldwide. It is a direct response to people running out of toilet paper. Who knew?
Newsletter Wizards: What have you noticed about your audience response to these changes, if anything?
Tompkins: We are growing like crazy every day. In four weeks we have more than doubled our audience, and the growth rate is spreading rapidly. The open rate is sky-high.
Newsletter Wizards: What have you learned about newsletter strategy during the pandemic?
Tompkins: Be fast, be timely, be useful. Solve a problem the reader needs to be solved in a way only you can solve it. Use a first-person voice. Don’t waste the reader’s time. Don’t tell me what I already know. Surprise me every single day.
Boom! That’s all folks. Get ready for the next installment of our Sign Me Up! series on Tuesday.
