![Inkcap Journal founder Sophie Yeo|](https://pressgazette.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/08/headshot-scaled-e1659532919929.jpg)
Long-form nature publication Inkcap Journal sprouted in response to a lack of opportunities for nuanced environmental feature writing in the UK compared to the US, according to its founder.
Sophie Yeo, a freelance journalist and former Carbon Brief climate policy analyst, set up Inkcap Journal initially as a free email newsletter in May 2020, later expanding to add paid subscriptions and a website.
Yeo (pictured) told Press Gazette she wanted to create a space for in-depth features and a âround-up of nature news in Britain because I thought there was a lack of thatâ in the current media landscape.
The newsletter now has more than 6,000 total subscribers including 800 paying members, and Yeo claimed to boast a 70% open rate.
Non-paying subscribers have access to Inkcap Journalâs features and have them delivered to their inbox, while paying members receive the Future of Media Award-shortlisted weekly digest that rounds up local and national ecological news.
âThere isnât really any other service that provides a round-up in the same way, with a focus on local news and science and reports⊠so Iâd say we offer something that people canât really find elsewhere and people are interested in that,â Yeo said.
She added the round-up is âdoing the work of reading [all the news coverage] so that other people donât have toâ, providing âone single reference that brings it all togetherâ.
The inception of Inkcap Journal also stemmed from what Yeo saw as a lack of opportunities for ânuanced feature type writingâ about nature and conservation in the UK.Â
âI used to work in America where there were lots of opportunities to write in-depth pieces about nature and conservation,â she said. âAnd then when I moved back to the UK, I found there werenât too many.
âI wanted to create a space where that was possible. And I think thatâs always been my overarching aim, to provide a space for really long form and good quality content on nature. So I think when I look forward, thatâs always my goal.â
Yeo attributes the growth of Inkcap Journal to both her existing following from work as a climate journalist, and the fact that its features were âtapping into the different interests of lots of peopleâ.
She said having a âdiversity of features brings more people to the site rather than doing the same thing with the digest week in, week outâ and by increasing site traffic, Inkcap Journal then spread through âword of mouthâ and ârecommendationsâ.
When asked what had made her most proud so far, Yeo highlighted âinventive piecesâ and an âinspiredâ audience.
âWe did a feature on the way forests have changed in Britain over the last 6,000 years recently which used a combination of illustration and interactive features and audio. That did really well because it offered something that people had not seen before.â
![](https://pressgazette.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/08/inkcap-logo-600x167.jpg)
Inkcap Journal logo
Yeo added that being able to âpush the boundariesâ as a small publication is important for reader engagement and interaction, and âgetting peopleâs attentionâ.
Inkcap Journalâs email newsletter has an open rate of 70%, which Yeo attributes to features like this and an engaged audience, adding: âItâs quite small but itâs dedicated and enthusiastic. I just really like the fact that so many readers get in touch and say, âI really value what youâre doing and I donât get this anywhere else.ââ
Inkcap Journal is almost entirely funded by its member subscriptions, and has a ÂŁ10,000 grant from the Pebble Trust to cover its Scottish coverage.
In order to continue growth, Yeo wants to look at trial memberships to entice a wider audience, partnerships, and institutional subscription packages, an idea which she said a few people had expressed interest in.
âIf some big charity wanted to sign up for their members at reduced rates I think that could work but these things will take a bit of effort to set up,â she said.
Inkcap Journalâs weekly digest is shortlisted in the newsletter category of Press Gazetteâs inaugural Future of Media Awards.
Yeo said the nomination was âhelpfulâ as it gave the brand âexternal validation that itâs something thatâs worth readingâ.
She added: âItâs quite a small publication that doesnât really have lots of funding. So just to be up against big media publications is really an honour to have it recognised in that way.â
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