Recapping Communiqué’s meteoric rise in 2022

Here are Communiqué’s 2022 higlights.

Hello there! Our newsletter has grown a lot in the last year, so let’s look at what 2022 has been like.

This year, we grew from less than a thousand subscribers to over 36,000, thanks to LinkedIn and Substack’s recommendation feature. We gained over 1,000 new subscribers from recommendations, with more than half coming from Casey Newton’s Platformer (I can’t thank Casey enough).

We published 18 long-form essays that were read over 190,000 times, with an average of over 10,600 views per essay. While those may not be world-beating figures, they are encouraging. They prove the value of our work, and I hope Communiqué can have ten times more impact in the coming year.

✋🏾 The five most-read essays

Here are the five most popular newsletter editions according to page views.

5: How two women built one of Africa’s biggest podcasts

This is a story of the making of Africa’s biggest podcast and an analysis of the strategy behind its growth. The essay details how Jola Ayeye and Feyikemi FK Abudu set “I Said What I Said” up for success.

Communiqué 21: How two women built one of Africa’s biggest podcasts

4: The creator lifecycle

This essay looks at the four phases (or stages) of a professional creator’s journey, from inception to legacy. It helps us understand what anyone building for the creator economy needs to consider in the long term.

Communiqué 35: The creator lifecycle

3: Cocomelon meets Omo Berry

This essay explores the opportunities in creating content for the next generation of African kids. It tells the story of Limitless Studio, creators of Omo Berry, and juxtaposes it with the success of Cocomelon and Moonbug Entertainment.

Communiqué 37: Cocomelon meets Omo Berry

2: An African $500-million media exit

This essay attempts to answer the question, “What does an African digital media company need to do to be worth $500 million?” It turns out that leads to a pretty interesting thought experiment.

Communiqué 36: An African $500-million media exit

1: Fincra’s media recipe is a centuries-old classic

Our most-read essay in 2022 chronicles the history of content marketing and dives deep into Fincra’s vision to build a new media strategy. It explores why a fintech company needs an editor-in-chief and what makes it possible to switch from journalism to content marketing.

Communiqué 34: Fincra’s media recipe is a centuries-old classic

⭐ My personal top five

Not all Communiqué essays are created equal. Some take more time and work than others. I have a list of favourites, and here it is in numerical order:

1. The product-thinking journalist

2. An African $500-million media exit

3. Journalism in the creator economy

4. The scandal shaking Africa’s tech ecosystem

5. How two women built one of Africa’s biggest podcasts

📖 Top five things I enjoyed reading this year

I read a lot of great articles and books this year, but here are my five favourites in numerical order:

1. The Benin Bronzes and the Road to Restitution - Josh Spero and Aanu Adeoye (FT)

2. Nigeria’s Second Independence: Why the Giant of Africa Needs to Start Over - Uzodinma Iweala (Foreign Policy)

3. Meta Meets Microsoft - Ben Thompson (Stratechery)

4. Ability to See Expertise is a Milestone Worth Aiming For – Cedric Chin (Commoncog)

5. Hollywood’s Video Game Blind Spot – Matthew Ball?) (MatthewBall.vc)

That’s it from me for 2022. I hope you found our work valuable this year. Here’s to an even greater 2023. In the meantime, we can connect on Twitter if you'd like to talk or learn more about Communiqué’s future.