Why The Washington Post…Why Amazon might email a free, evening newsletter to you

Reading just enough is how we Millenials, the generation of productivity/laziness, remain in touch with the world. And, by emailing subscribers daily, free news digests written in a youthful voice, the Skimm and the Hustle have hooked more than 3.5 million of us.

In the morning, we ‘skimm’ quips on recent political events. Then, we wait five to ten minutes after noon to open our inboxes and ‘hustle’ through sarcastic updates on Silicon Valley.

The Skimm in the AM, the Hustle mid-day. So, who’s our evening newsletter?

Skimm 2.0?

Maybe a few young entrepreneurs will pull a Danielle and Carly, quit their jobs at leading networks and email us a news nightcap from their apartment. Or, perhaps Sam Parr and team will expand into this day part.

Given the time, money and grit required to develop a daily newsletter or to expand these existing companies, another entrepreneurial success story does not seem likely.

I forecast a scion entering the scene. The Washington Post.

Why and the Four P’s

Given Bezos’s expressed goal to transform the Post into a “media and technology company,” a business-to-consumer news update is not out of the question.

No further expertise needs to be bred. No capital needs to be raised. Barriers to enter this market are tenuous for anyone with the Post’s news tenure and Amazon’s cash.

The product will be an evening email containing video new digests. Video is the future of content marketing and below three to five news snippets, there will be product advertisements linking directly to Amazon’s marketplace.

How will this B2C product be profitable enough for The Washington Post, and Amazon, to consider?

Because Millenials love self-rewarding

At the end of the work day, we each have a way to signal to ourselves a job well done. Some grab exercise gear, others one to five cocktails — to each his or her own. And by doing this habitually, we train ourselves to return slightly motivated to work the next day. Our stationary bikes and mojitos will be there soon.

Placing in our inbox a means to self-rewarding in the guise of informing us is ingenious. As we walk out the office doors, we can educate ourselves on global warming and buy a bougie Canada Goose.

Let’s consider the final p’s, price and promotion. To attract ‘the cheapest generation,’ $0 is the probably the best admission price. Like its young rivals, The Washington Post will earn advertising revenue on top of incremental Amazon purchases.

Oh and promoting this digital product will be akin to breathing for this news-tech titan.

Google’s pilot program, Bulletin, might be a contender.

This app is a way for you to ‘be the voice of your community.’ Users publish coverage of local events, too small to be published in the county paper and too dense for a Facebook post.

This app, still in its infancy, could be a great way to learn about current happenings close by — a reference point as you are turning off your work computer.

However, despite the convenience, Bulletin requires nurturing from both sides. Content creation, without any immediate monetary gratification, from users and additional filter police and algorithms from Facebook.

Censorship will be an inevitable issue with Bulletin and sprout some thorns on this pretty rose bud.