A lot of writers have decided that email newsletters are a great way to independently monetize their work. Even though email has been criticized over the years, it is still a great way for a writer to distribute subscription content to loyal readers. While some platforms have gained popularity because, like Notd, they only take 10% of subscription revenue, they force writers and publishers to charge a price so high that it limits the number of people who will subscribe. When readers can get magazines with many writers for a few dollars per month, it's difficult to justify paying $5 or $10 per month for the work of just one writer. Because Notd uses Transact for payments, writers can charge any price, whether 10 cents or $10 per month. And lower subscription rates will definitely attract more subscribers, allowing writers to make it up on volume.

The flexible pricing options of Notd is not the only advantage for newsletter writers. In addition to email delivery, newsletters can be viewed on notd.io and the Notd app on iOS and Android devices. This medium may be preferable for many readers, as it lets them see what's new from all of their subscriptions without checking their email. It also provides more flexibility for writers, as it allows them to take advantage of several of Notd's features. Nobody wants emails with 5 MB attachments, but including sharp photos inn a newsletter is not a problem on Notd.io. One common characteristic of newsletters is that the writers often go into detail, and that kind of depth could greatly benefit from Notd's annotation, where “hovernotes” can appear and expand on points in a post, when readers hover over text. This isn't possible in email. The web and app versions of Notd posts also allow writers to invite others to debate them thru notes.

You can see how this works by creating a free notd account (click on "Sign-up or Login" in the upper right corner), and subscribing to this stream for free.