The Midst started in 2019 as a personal blog, and it launched a Substack in January 2023. Shroeder is its only full-time staff member, but the publisher is supported by a team of six part-time staff and a roster of freelancers.
The site now captures around 50,000 unique visitors per month, but it aims to reach 100,000 by March and 150,000 by the end of the year. It has 2,500 free email subscribers, roughly one-half of whom pay either $5 per month or $50 per year for a paid version.
In addition to the display ads powered by She Media, The Midst also creates sponsored content, and the site will launch with four partners: Embr Wave, Attn: Grace, Alloy and Nouri. Schroeder wouldn’t share specifics but said the bootstrapped operation is debt-free and self-sustaining.
The Midst also plans to launch an application that connects women in perimenopause or menopause to healthcare providers, according to Schroeder.
Brand safety and tech optimization through She Media
The Midst is not alone in its opportunism to help advertisers reach women at the beginning of their journey with perimenopause and menopause. In the past two years, celebrities including Naomi Watts, London, Drew Barrymore, Gwyneth Paltrow, Serena Williams and Cameron Diaz have all either launched or financially backed businesses in the industry.
Working with Flow Collective also benefits The Midst, as She Media employs a team of around 40 sales and marketing staff that works with advertisers explicitly seeking to reach these demographics. She Media then takes a “far less than half” cut of the generated ad revenue, said Skey.
Through the partnership, The Midst can avoid the brand safety blocks some women’s health publishers navigate in the open programmatic exchange. Publishers can also net better CPMs (cost per thousand impressions) from these direct partnerships and can cover sensitive medical subjects with no fear of demonetization.
And She Media offers The Midst a sophisticated ad-tech stack—the same tech powering PMC’s premium publishers including Rolling Stone and The Hollywood Reporter, according to Skey.
“[Schroeder] is very strong and has the focus to do a really good job,” Skey said. “This is the right positioning at the right time.”
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