We are in a women’s media crisis. In the past decade, beloved publications like Rookie, The Hairpin, Bitch, The Frisky, XOJane, Lucky, Bust, and HelloGiggles have shuttered or all but disappeared.?But at Diem, we’ve long believed women should be the ones telling their own stories. It’s the foundation of our app, which sees tens of thousands of conversations every month about everything from salary negotiations to s*x advice to the pain of period sh*ts (yes, really). If there’s one thing we know, it’s that women contain multitudes, and deserve more options beyond the scraps left behind by majority-male execs. So we’re throwing our hat into the ring.
It’s been a long-term dream of mine to?create a community-powered media outlet for Diem. An editorial site where the content calendar is influenced by actual community questions,?where the community can influence the “front page” and a place where women's stories don't get lost because of big companies who shrink budgets and underserve their readers.
We've tested this community-powered content approach in a small way over the last few years with our weekly newsletter, The Things We Don't Talk About. All 100+ essays we've written have been in response to questions posted by Diemers in our app. And... this community-powered strategy works, we have over 50% open rates, hyper-engaged readers, and a stable roster of amazing writers who volunteer their talents at no charge.
But!
We can do so much more and that starts with proper funding. So today we're giving our editorial arm a shot at a big upgrade and introducing... Hearsay! Diem's new editorial hub. This will house The Things We Don't Talk About and The Briefing, plus make space for ideas like a bigger newsletter, original app content, even a zine. But first, we need your help.
While The Briefing will always be free so you never miss out on the best of Diem, starting today we’ll be paywalling all but one issue a month of The Things We Don’t Talk About. By contributing just $5 a month—or $50 a year—that money goes directly to our editorial efforts, and earns you a voice at the ground floor of a brand new women’s media venture. If you’ve got more to spend, you can also become a Founding Member of Hearsay for $100 (or however much you like!) a year.
If we meet our goals, this year we plan to:
1. Hire an advice columnist.?
2. Start a podcast.?
3. Build an editorial site within the app.?
4. Make a zine.
5. Create whatever you, as a Hearsay contributor, votes on creating!
If you're excited by this idea or just want to support what we're building at Diem head on over here and choose your subscription:
https://lnkd.in/gkey8vF6
#media #community