Axios says it will launch AxiosHQ, which lets companies write internal memos styled like Axios newsletters, next month, starting at $10K a year

Wall Street Journal 2021-01-15 Benjamin Mullin

Context & Ripple Effects

This is the commercialization step of a plan Axios previewed in December, when it announced Axios HQ as its first SaaS product with real-time feedback and a 'Smart Brevity' score for internal communications. What changed today is pricing and traction: a $10,000-per-year entry point and Delta Air Lines and AT&T named as early customers.

The move lands the same week Forbes unveiled its own paid-newsletter service, part of a broader moment where publishers are selling their formats rather than just their content. The bet ultimately paid off structurally — Axios HQ was spun off as a standalone software business and later raised a $20M Series A at a $100M valuation.

First-order effects

Axios adds a recurring-revenue software line on top of its advertising business, with Delta Air Lines and AT&T paying at least $10K a year each to license the Axios memo format internally.

Second-order effects

Forbes' newsletter service, launched days later, signals rival publishers watching the same playbook — packaging editorial voice and workflow into products companies and journalists pay for directly.

Third-order effects

If the pattern holds, newsroom style becomes licensable IP: Axios HQ's 2022 spinoff and subsequent $20M raise at a $100M valuation show a publisher detaching its software arm from the newsroom entirely, a template other media companies can copy.

The trend: News organizations are converting their editorial formats into licensed software products, turning house style from a differentiator into a revenue line.

Discussion

@stevekopack Steve Kopack on x
WSJ: Axios is going to sell a product that will “enable businesses to update their employees...in Axios's just-the-facts, bullet-point style” for at least *$10,000* a year https://www.wsj.com/...
@caseynewton Casey Newton on x
I'm giving up a lot of revenue by tweeting this, but you can create a bulleted list in Google Docs by hitting ⌘+Shift+8 https://twitter.com/...
@benmullin Ben Mullin on x
Remember that $10,000-a-year subscription @JimVandeHei talked about when he was launching @axios? The company is launching its first paid product next month, a communications tool, with prices starting at $10,000: https://www.wsj.com/...
@pressgazette @pressgazette on x
Axios to launch AxiosHQ, reports the WSJ. For $10,000 or more a year, businesses get a communications programme enabling them to provide updates to their employees in the Axios style https://www.wsj.com/...
@tziokasv Vassilis Tziokas on x
This is very interesting for the following reasons: 👉 tech innovation and business model diversification in journalism should always be encouraged 👉 I don't see how this product won't be easily copied by GPT-3 in the next year(s) https://twitter.com/...
@chrisharihar Chris Harihar on x
This seems really smart. And it's a B2B revenue source — more reliable, fewer customers required, etc. https://twitter.com/...
@taylorlorenz Taylor Lorenz on x
Corporate commutations is really tough especially at large companies. I think this is a great idea for a software product and can't wait to see how it turns out https://www.wsj.com/...
@sub8u Subrahmanyam Kvj on x
Step 1: Fire the people who can write sharp. Step 2: Take a subscription and hope a word processing application, a CMS and a clippy with tips improves how you write. Step 3: Realize it's not easy. Step 4: Sign up for Axios' human writer service. Step 5: 🤦‍♂️ https://www.wsj.com/.…
@ewerickson Erick Erickson on x
This feels like Axios jumping the shark, i.e. helping corporations generate more internal corporate spam. https://www.wsj.com/...
@shortformernie Ernie Smith on x
Hey internet, I ran a website which broke down numbers and data points into concise little pieces a full eight years before Axios even existed. Pay me $10,000. https://www.wsj.com/...
@binarybits Timothy B. Lee on x
If anyone needs me to convert their memos into one-sentence paragraphs with bullet points or bolded words in front of them I will happily provide this service for less than $10,000 per year. https://www.wsj.com/...
@mattdpearce Matt Pearce on x
and all this time I've been sending my powerful emails for free https://twitter.com/...
@mattyglesias Matthew Yglesias on x
Be smart: I will do this for $5k https://twitter.com/...
@moorehn Heidi N. Moore on x
Congratulations to Axios on inventing PowerPoint. https://twitter.com/...
@zackkopplin @zackkopplin on x
This will end with Axios turning into a military contractor. No joke. I'm calling it now https://twitter.com/...
@dellcam Dell Cameron on x
You just type an asterisk and then hit ‘space’ https://twitter.com/...
@abenedikt Allison Benedikt on x
Slate will do one better and sell @BenMathisLilley to any large company for $6k. https://www.wsj.com/...
@ourobororoboruo Frankie Huang on x
Lol isn't this kind of like a supermodel selling lingerie that promises to make the wearer look like a supermodel? https://twitter.com/...
@qhardy Quentin Hardy on x
$15,000 with emojis 😀 https://twitter.com/...
@stevesi Steven Sinofsky on x
Axios Wants to Help Companies Write Like Its Reporters—for $10,000 a Year, or More // all memos will be less than 1000 words and 4 minute reads https://www.wsj.com/...
@katie_roof @katie_roof on x
🤔 https://twitter.com/...
@bigblackjacobin Edward Ongweso Jr on x
Honestly? Good for Axios for convincing companies to just hand over money for this https://twitter.com/...
@carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on x
I want to laugh at the idea of charging companies $10K/year for email templates then remembered that a company that helps manage those legal disclosures in email signatures (Exclaimer) got $133M in funding. Businesses will pay big bucks to automate the most random things. https:/…
@ldrogen Leigh Drogen on x
Or......you could do it for free with GPT-3 https://twitter.com/...
@nickwingfield Nick Wingfield on x
Axios is finally launching a newsletter platform that @jtoonkel first wrote about back in 2019 in @theinformation https://www.theinformation.com/ ... https://www.wsj.com/...
@margarita Margarita Noriega on x
I think there's a very specific job for people who do this exact thing, can't remember https://www.wsj.com/...
@mccarthyryanj Ryan McCarthy on x
$10,000 a year for writing and editing tips from Axios editors, plus software. One client, AT&T is actually a media company, which in addition to owning CNN, employs many, many editors. https://www.wsj.com/...
@sarafischer Sara Fischer on x
Great piece from @BenMullin on AxiosHQ. This moment in time, when CEOs and brands are expected to fill a leadership void left by government, was made for AxiosHQ. https://twitter.com/...
@film_girl Christina Warren on x
This from @axios is brilliant. Productizing some of their own tools/style guides to sell to businesses who can find value, while also acting as ancillary revenue to support the core journalism https://www.wsj.com/...
@mradamtaylor Adam Taylor on x
“One member of that team used to help edit the presidential daily briefing for President Trump, Mr. Schwartz said.” https://www.wsj.com/...
@jz Jordan Zaslav on x
.@BenMullin shares exclusive new details about how Axios is helping companies like AT&T and Delta more effectively communicate with their employees https://www.wsj.com/...
@emilyinverso Emily Inverso on x
For anyone who ever thought “That meeting could have been an email” — AxiosHQ is for you. https://www.wsj.com/...
@ajs Alyson Shontell on x
I'm confused. Is Axios charging companies $10,000 to essentially have a CMS with a word count limit? https://www.wsj.com/...
@studyhallxyz Study Hall on x
we'll teach u to write like study hall for $1 https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@sarafischer Sara Fischer on x
NEW: Write less. Say more. AXIOS HQ. https://www.axios.com/hq https://twitter.com/...
@ahmed Ahmed Al Omran on x
Paying $10,000+ to use Axios's gimmicky writing style for your corp comms strikes me as an odd choice but what do i know 🤷🏻‍♂ ️ https://www.wsj.com/...
@alex @alex on x
this is good https://www.wsj.com/... happy that Axios is making the news/software hybrid work — here's hoping that they also drop a prosumer version
@danprimack Dan Primack on x
News startup Axios wants to help companies write like its reporters for an annual fee of $10,000 or more https://www.wsj.com/... via @WSJ
@martinsfp Martin Sfp Bryant on x
Interesting. Basically a version of Axios' CMS for internal comms at businesses. Although I wonder how much of Axios' unique value is really in the skill of writing ‘smart brevity’ rather than the software they use to publish it. https://twitter.com/...

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