Subtext

09/09/2026

We're proud to share that Subtext has been named a Finalist for Best Subscription Platform at this year's Digiday Technology Awards.

This one means a lot because it reflects work that isn't ours alone. It's the direct result of partnering with newsrooms, media companies, and audience teams who trust us with their subscriber relationships every day, and a team here that shows up for those partners in the details that don't always get seen.

Winners are announced September 22. Whatever happens, we're grateful to be in this category with the work our clients have put into building real audience connections.

09/08/2026

Jon Wertheim is one of the most trusted voices in tennis, and now he's texting his U.S. Open analysis straight to fans' phones.

Sports Illustrated launched a free text channel called Courtside with Jon Wertheim. Subscribers get his real match takes and behind-the-scenes stories during the tournament, and can text him back directly. No app, no feed to scroll through, just insight landing where people already are.

It's free to join for the rest of the Open.

Subscribe here:

Join Courtside with Jon Wertheim for exclusive U.S. Open insight, behind-the-scenes stories, match analysis and direct access throughout the tournament, delivered straight to your phone. Privacy Policy |

08/06/2026

Big news: Subtext has been named Overall Conversational Marketing Company of the Year in the 2026 MarTech Breakthrough Awards! 🏆

In a market where search, social, and email keep getting harder to break through, this award recognizes what we've believed from day one: the most valuable audience relationships are the ones you actually own.

Today, that means helping our clients across media, sports, and entertainment reach more than 40 million subscribers with 10 billion texts a year, all built on permission, trust, and real conversation.

Thank you to MarTech Breakthrough for the recognition, and to every client who's building their audience relationships with us. This is a shared win.

Read the full announcement:

06/24/2026

Vogue launched a shopping text channel, giving subscribers a direct way to get curated editor favorites, exclusive shopping access, best finds of the week, and a closer look at what Vogue editors are adding to their own wish lists.

We love seeing clients use text this way because it turns audience engagement into something more personal, useful, and intentional.

For fashion and lifestyle audiences especially, direct communication can feel less like another feed to scroll and more like a trusted recommendation from someone who knows what you care about.

Check it out here:

Every week, we’ll share curated editor favorites, exclusive shopping access, and more—directly to your phone.

06/09/2026

Text is too visible to guess what works.

In a channel where every message lands directly on someone’s phone, small choices matter: the opening line, the CTA, the tone, the structure.

That’s why we’re introducing A/B Testing in Subtext.

Built directly into the Broadcast Composer, A/B Testing helps teams:

• Create two versions of a message
• Test them with a small portion of their audience
• Compare performance side by side
• Send the winning version to the rest of the audience

No external tools. No manual audience setup. No guessing at scale.

For publishers, that might mean testing two breaking news headlines.

For commerce teams, it might mean comparing urgency-driven copy against a value-led product recommendation.

For marketers, it might mean learning which message actually drives action from a high-intent segment.

The goal is simple: help teams move from “what should we send?” to “we know what performs.”

Read more about A/B Testing in Subtext here: https://hubs.li/Q04khVTx0

05/27/2026

Google just changed Search forever.

AI-generated answers are increasingly replacing links, and Gmail is moving toward AI-powered inbox summaries and conversations. For publishers, creators, and brands, the message is clear:

If you don’t own your audience relationship, you don’t own your future.

The next era of media will belong to organizations that stop renting attention and start building direct relationships.

Subtext CEO Mike Donoghue breaks down what this shift means for publishers and why owned audience channels matter more than ever.

Google’s AI-powered Search and Gmail updates are changing how audiences discover content. Here’s why publishers and creators must build direct, owned audience relationships to survive the AI era.

05/19/2026

Planning a trip to the Jersey Shore this summer?

The Philadelphia Inquirer’s new Shore Line text chat is built for exactly the kinds of questions people already have: Where should we eat? What should we do? What’s actually worth checking out?

Subscribers get local recommendations, things to do, tips, etiquette debates, and dispatches from reporter Amy S. Rosenberg, all delivered directly to their phones.

That’s what makes this kind of channel work so well. It’s timely, useful, personal, and built around a clear reason to opt in.

For audiences, it’s a fun way to stay connected to the Shore.

For publishers, it’s a smart example of turning trusted local knowledge into a direct relationship.

Join Shore Line here:

The Inquirer's latest SMS project is part text-message newsletter and part group chat

05/05/2026

When your subscriber base grows, sending messages is not the hard part anymore. Organizing the audience behind those messages is.

That’s why we launched Audience Groups — a new way to create saved, reusable audience segments in Subtext so teams can stop rebuilding the same filters for every campaign.

With Audience Groups, teams can:

✔️ define an audience once
✔️ save it
✔️ reuse it across campaigns

That means more consistent segmentation, less manual work, and more relevant messaging as programs scale.

Built with flexible conditions like tags, location, join date, and reply-based engagement, Audience Groups help teams organize audiences more strategically and activate them more effectively.

Read more about Audience Groups and how they work:

Create reusable audience segments with Audience Groups. Improve segmentation, personalize messaging, and drive revenue and retention with consistent targeting.

04/21/2026

We just launched Audience Imports at Subtext.

It’s a new self-serve feature that lets teams upload existing subscriber lists directly into Subtext and start messaging faster.

Because for most organizations, the hard part is not building an audience from scratch. It is activating the audience they already have.

That audience is already sitting somewhere — in newsletters, CRMs, spreadsheets, event registrations, and community platforms. Until now, getting those people into a messaging platform often meant filing a request and waiting. Audience Imports changes that.

Now teams can import subscribers themselves, map fields, tag audiences for segmentation, and start messaging right away — all from the campaign dashboard.

This is the first of several major releases we have coming in the months ahead as we keep building toward a bigger goal: giving organizations more control over how they bring in, organize, and activate their audience data.

If you already have an audience, getting them onto SMS should take minutes. Not support tickets.

Read the details:

Import your audience into SMS in minutes. Upload subscriber lists, activate your audience, and start messaging—no support required.

03/25/2026

We analyzed 10 billion text messages across 28 million subscribers.

Here’s what we found:
SMS isn’t just being opened—it’s driving action.

• 98% open rates
• 95% read within 3 minutes
• 20%+ CTR in 5 of 8 industries
• Engagement rates approaching 60% in Events

As AI reshapes search, inboxes, and social distribution, it's becoming clear that owned audience channels matter more than ever.

SMS continues to deliver direct, measurable engagement—without algorithms in the middle. We put the full findings (and industry breakdowns) into our 2026 SMS Benchmark Report.

Read it here: https://hubs.li/Q047JrMV0