Hubspot-owned brand publication, The Hustle, is launching a YouTube channel to act as a video version of the company’s daily newsletter covering technology and business news.
Per a job posting for an editorial manager to run the product, the idea is to “adapt” Hustle’s stories into entertaining and informative videos – the posting also says that the pivot to video is a “leading priority for the business.”
Hubspot purchased the Hustle in early 2021. The Hustle’s daily newsletter now has over 2 million subscribers, while the wider Hubspot media offering includes its paid-for subscription product, Trends and a podcast network, as well as its signature written content, which it says attracts over 15 million monthly readers.
Toolkits insight: It’s notable to see brand publishers moving swiftly into video, in response to what they perceive as growing audience demand and a potential gap in the market when it comes to certain types of business-focused video content. When Hubspot purchased the Hustle, the goal was to create a media offering that could lower customer acquisition costs by offering valuable educational and entertaining content that would pull customers to the company. “Next-gen software companies will have a media company embedded inside,” said Hubspot’s Dharmesh Shah at the time. It’s so far laid low since the acquisition happened, but its launch of a YouTube channel feels akin to what Salesforce has been creating with Salesforce+ – a streaming platform to tell stories about entrepreneurs and business owners.
In other brand publishing news this week:
New guidelines for inclusive stories
The Associated Press Stylebook has a new set of guidelines for how to write more inclusive pieces that all brand publishers should make note of. The new guidelines include:
- Using them, they and their pronouns accurately to describe those who use those pronouns to describe themselves.
- Capitalizing the word “Deaf” when referring to the Deaf community, for example.
- Specific advice and recommendations on referring to critical race theory.
- New ideas and ways to recognize and overcome unconscious biases and using more thoughtful and precise language.
Brand publishers, like anyone in the business of creating content, must make an effort to write inclusively, and diversify sources when reporting and writing pieces.
In favor of editorial independence
Brands that are serious about their editorial and publishing operations often benefit from adopting the habits and approaches of journalists and journalism organizations, including operational processes, audience development strategies and storytelling methods.
But one journalism concept that’s rarely discussed in the context of brand publishing – and one that’s often crucial for the development of engaging, high-quality content – is the “church-state divide.”
In layperson’s terms, the “separation of church and state” has become journalistic shorthand for the idea that the business side and the content side of a publishing organization operate separately and autonomously from one another, and – crucially – that the business side will not attempt to influence or otherwise interfere with the methods and output of editors and journalists. Here’s why brand publishers should create similar separations.