The Digital Weekly reaches a small but exceptionally engaged audience of founders, investors, executives, engineers, product managers, journalists, academics, and curious generalists. If your product or service is genuinely built for these readers, we want to hear from you.
We hold advertising to a high editorial bar — not because we’re precious, but because our audience is. Our readers can tell the difference between thoughtful sponsorship and intrusive ad pollution. The publications they trust are the ones that protect them from the second category. We try to be one of those publications.
Audience snapshot
Our audience composition is verified through registered-user data, newsletter survey results, and third-party analytics:
| Dimension | Distribution |
|---|---|
| Geography | 62% US · 18% Western Europe · 12% Asia-Pacific · 8% rest of world |
| Age | 28–55 (median 38) |
| Profession | Founders & executives 34% · Engineers & PMs 28% · Investors & analysts 16% · Other knowledge work 22% |
| Education | Undergraduate degree 84% · Graduate degree 41% |
| Income | Median $135k+ in the US sample |
| Newsletter engagement | Open rate above industry median for premium business publications |
Detailed traffic, engagement, and demographic data — including device breakdown, referrer analysis, and engagement-by-section — is available in our media kit. Email advertising@thedigitalweekly.com for the current quarter’s kit.
What we offer
Newsletter sponsorships
The Weekly Brief is our flagship newsletter, delivered every Sunday morning to subscribers across 40+ countries. We sell one primary sponsor per issue.
Sponsorships include:
- Above-the-fold sponsor block: clearly labelled Presented by [Brand] with logo, 80-word body, and a tracked CTA link
- “About the sponsor” footer: one-paragraph brand description at the end of the newsletter
- Performance reporting: opens, clicks, geographic distribution, and unsubscribe rate from your placement
- Logo placement on a sponsor archive page (forthcoming)
Sponsors do not see editorial content prior to publication. Sponsor copy is reviewed by our editorial team for accuracy and brand safety. We reserve the right to decline placements that conflict with editorial coverage in the same issue.
Display advertising
Tasteful, brand-safe display ads positioned within article pages and category archives. We work with reputable programmatic networks and direct-sold advertisers. Standard placements include:
- Article leaderboard (top of article page)
- In-article banner (between paragraphs, after the third heading)
- Sidebar unit on archive pages
- Footer billboard (above the page footer)
What we don’t run:
- Pop-ups, interstitials, modal overlays
- Auto-play video with sound
- Adversarial formats (sticky takeovers, scroll hijacking)
- Ads pretending to be editorial (“recommended for you” chumboxes)
- Mobile-only intrusive units (full-screen ads, retargeting that follows users around)
Sponsored content
We accept a small volume of sponsored articles from brands whose offerings genuinely relate to our editorial coverage. Sponsored content is:
- Clearly labelled Sponsored at the top of the page, in the URL, and in social shares
- Produced separately from editorial — our reporters do not write sponsored content
- Held to factual-accuracy standards (we won’t publish provably false claims under our domain)
- Not promoted through editorial channels (newsletter, featured-story slots, editorial social posts)
We do not write advertorial that pretends to be editorial. Our readers see through it and our credibility suffers. If your goal is to be confused with editorial coverage, this is not the publication for you.
Custom programs
For larger partners, we develop bespoke editorial-grade programs:
- Research reports: annual or quarterly reports produced collaboratively, branded as a co-publication
- Event sponsorships: editorial-led events with sponsor visibility and audience access
- Multi-issue newsletter series: themed editorial series with consistent sponsorship across the run
- Webinar / virtual panel programs combining editorial moderation and sponsor reach
Custom programs start at six figures and are produced collaboratively with our editorial team. The editorial standard is the same as for non-sponsored content — sponsored relationships create transparency obligations, not lower bars.
Industries we do not accept
Our advertising acceptance policy excludes:
- Tobacco and tobacco-derivative products
- Gambling services (sports betting platforms, online casinos, lottery)
- Payday lending, high-interest installment loans, predatory credit products
- Weapons, ammunition, weapons accessories
- Dietary supplements making medical claims without FDA approval
- “Get rich quick” / pyramid scheme-style financial products
- Cryptocurrency promotion targeting retail investors with unrealistic return claims
- Hate-group content or material targeting protected classes
This list is non-exhaustive. We reserve the right to decline any advertising that conflicts with our editorial values or audience trust. Decisions are made by editorial leadership, not by the business team.
The editorial-business wall
Advertising relationships do not affect editorial coverage. Our reporters cover competing brands, including critically. Our editors do not check coverage against the ad pipeline. We have, on multiple occasions, published reporting that resulted in losing advertising relationships; that’s the cost of editorial independence and we consider it the cost of being worth reading.
Specifically:
- Sponsors do not see editorial content prior to publication.
- Sponsors do not get veto over coverage of competitors.
- Sponsors do not get to influence which stories run.
- Editorial staff are not aware of which brands are in the advertising pipeline.
- We do not provide “ad-adjacency” guarantees (positioning sponsor ads next to favorable coverage).
For the full policy, see our Editorial Guidelines.
Brand safety on our side
We also take brand safety seriously for advertisers. Our editorial standards mean ads appear adjacent to original, fact-checked journalism — not user-generated content, programmatic-generated junk, or AI summarisation. Advertisers consistently report higher engagement rates on our properties than on programmatic-aggregator placements.
Pricing and availability
Rate cards are issued quarterly. Newsletter sponsorships book 4–8 weeks in advance for popular issues; display inventory is available on a rolling basis. Custom programs start with an exploratory call.
Email advertising@thedigitalweekly.com to request the current rate card and inventory availability. Include in your message:
- Your brand and a brief description of what you sell
- The campaign objective (awareness, lead generation, brand consideration, etc.)
- Budget range and timeline
- Any specific issue dates or product categories you’re targeting
We respond to advertising inquiries within two business days.
Application process
- Initial inquiry via email with the details above.
- Brand-fit review by our advertising team (24–48 hours).
- Discovery call to align on objective, format, and timing.
- Proposal with specific placement, dates, and pricing.
- Approval and contract signing.
- Creative submission (placement copy, logos, links) at least one week before run date.
- Editorial review of sponsor copy for accuracy and brand safety.
- Live on the scheduled date with performance reporting after.
Frequently asked questions
Will you write a positive review of my product if I advertise?
No. Editorial coverage is independent of advertising. Our reporters cover what they cover; advertising relationships do not buy editorial favors. If you want positive coverage, the path is to build a product worth covering positively and let our reporters find it.
Can I sponsor a specific article or section?
Sponsorships are at the newsletter or page-template level, not the individual-article level. Article-level sponsorship would create the appearance of editorial influence and we don’t offer it.
Do you support affiliate-link placements in editorial?
No. We don’t use affiliate links in editorial content. Reviews and recommendations are based on first-hand evaluation, not commission opportunity.
Can I get analytics on my placement?
Yes, every paid placement comes with performance reporting: impressions, clicks, CTR, and engagement. For newsletter sponsorships, we also provide opens and geographic distribution.
How do you ensure brand safety adjacent to my placement?
We don’t run user-generated content, AI-generated articles, or aggregated junk. Every article on the site is original editorial held to our published standards. That’s the brand-safety guarantee.