• 3 Publishers Share a Page From Their Experiential Marketing Playbooks

While magazines continue to scramble for new revenue streams, events are proving that they can tick off multiple boxes.

• Production: The Latest Trends Fuel the Shift Away From Print and Closer to An All-Digital World

A little over a year ago, I wrote an article here outlining the latest trends and advancements in our newspaper industry. At that time, I went into the assignment eyes wide open and full of enthusiasm,

• Events As A Revenue Source For Magazine Publishers

If you’re a magazine publisher chances are you are constantly coming up with creative ways to make additional revenue.

• Million Dollar Idea: Awards + Readers = Revenue!!

Every publisher wants to connect with their readers in a meaningful, impactful way. Tom Bengtson shares how his publication is doing just that AND making more revenue to boot.

• Who works best in a revenue development role? Here’s what these local news organizations have found

Folks, it happened: The key to sustainable local news has been discovered. And it involves making money.

• How publishers can turn Adblock users into paying subscribers

We’re living in challenging times for digital publishers. While the Facebook-Google duopoly continues to grab an ever-increasing share of digital advertising budgets, a growing segment of consumers are turning to adblockers to opt out of ads completely.

• Why Are Brand Marketers Investing in Magazines?

While print isn’t always the answer, retailers and consumer brands are finding new value in an old medium.

• Ad Sales: It’s Not Rocket Science!

What the heck do I mean? In ad sales, you have LOTS of continual pressure from the competition, your clients, your advertising director, and Publisher (Big P). Your days are filled with looming deadlines, renewal mandates, and irksome budget challenges.

• How Hearst’s product team helps build audience, revenues

“We don’t do anything without an audience opportunity and a revenue opportunity,” Robertson Barrett, President of Digital Media at Hearst Newspapers, told participants at WAN-IFRA’s recent Digital Media North America conference in New York City.

• The ‘Acceptable Ads’ guide for digital publishers

The Acceptable Ads program, launched by the developers of Adblock Plus: what is it and how can digital publishers benefit?

• 4 Ways to Restore Value in Publisher-Advertiser Relationships

The symbiotic relationship between advertisers and publishers dates back hundreds of years to the rise of print mass media, when branded advertisements emerged as a means of funding the handbills and newspapers that educated the general public, both in the U.S. and abroad.

• How publishers are building habit with short-run newsletters

The importance of newsletters in today’s media landscape comes as no surprise. French financial newspaper Les Echos found that readers who reached the website via email are more loyal than those who come via social media or search,

• How Publishers Are Using Data to Transform Their Marketing Operations

The rise of big data–and the ability to collect, analyze and use it–has transformed industries from finance and healthcare to retail and logistics, and publishing is no exception.

• How to Build Data Literacy in Your Media Organization

Media organizations are increasingly using analytics to drive editorial strategy, and most acknowledge the need for cross-departmental access to content performance and audience data.

• Newsonomics: The “daily” part of daily newspapers is on the way out — and sooner than you might think

Seven-day newspapers aren’t just talking about cutting out one or two days a week in print – they’re talking five or six. Is this the only way to accelerate the transition to digital or speeding their own decline?

• Million Dollar Idea: Niche Community Events!

Today we’re bringing back one of our all-time favorite Million Dollar Ideas from our Niche CEO Summits. (Niche Pro Tip – there’s another one coming up in November.)

• What American media can learn from Europe

While the US is home to Silicon Valley and a host of innovative startups, there’s one area that hasn’t caught up with Europe. American news media lacks strong, resilient technology to support the switch to subscriptions.

• Why a Mentor is as Important as Investor for Startup

Hundreds of young people are entering the startup ecosystem. It’s a flood of such companies and activity.  The whole country is coming up with new ideas for products and service.

• Email Reputations Matter

Everyone cares about their reputation to a certain degree. Emails have reputations too even though they aren’t people. Just check your spam folder. These emails have bad reputations for many reasons.

• 5 Strategies to Unlock More Digital Revenue

Every publisher knows that developing revenue from either the reader or advertiser side of the equation is critical for your growth as a niche publication.

• How a publisher used organic search to boost on-site recirculation by 300%

Staff reporter Hanna Horvath, of Policygenius, knew that her readers are typically people in their thirties and forties, going through major life changes like getting married, having kids, buying homes, and navigating the unfamiliar financial responsibilities that go with them.

• Facebook advertisers continue to shift ad spending to Instagram Stories

Feeds are still the dominant ad placement within Facebook. But ad buyers say they’re seeing more of a shift to Stories, in particular, Instagram Stories, over the last year.

• How Leaders Can Handle Change Management with Their Teams

Change does not want to happen. The status quo is tenacious. Change management is hard.
Heck, Newton’s first law is the Law of Inertia. Things will stay as they are, unless a force pushes or pulls on them.

• Why Active Interest Media Salvaged 14 Titles From the F+W Bankruptcy

Family Tree, which was also acquired by AIM during the auction, was resold to Yankee Publishing.

• Digital Publishing: To Stop Misinformation From Spreading, Journalists Shouldn’t Fall Down the Social Media Rabbit Hole

By this point, the phrase “fake news” has become as ubiquitous in newsrooms as “election night pizza.”

• 10 Easy Ways to Monetize Niche Magazine Content!

Looking for ways to monetize your content? Think outside the “repurpose box” with these top 10 ideas pulled from the Niche Stash o’ Awesome!

• “Faster bandwidth can unlock new ways to tell stories”: Publishers get ready for the 5G era

Opensignal, a mobile analytics company, recently released its analysis of 5G performance in eight countries. According to the report, “5G boosts the maximum real-world download speed by up to 2.7 times 4G users’ top speeds.”

• Rather than viral hits, Insider has shifted its video strategy to focus on shows

In 2017, Business Insider’s top executives used their pitch at the NewFronts to talk about its short-form video know-how, which could create lines around the block for everything from rainbow bagels to oversized blocks of gooey cheese.

• 8 Ways to Increase Digital Ad Revenue by 50% or More

I recently received a fantastic email from a single title B2B publication that I work with: “As of today, we are on track for $452,380 in digital revenue alone. This is a 66% increase over last year’s digital revenues of $271,798!”

• How Yankee Magazine Turned Loyalty Into Brand Equity

A Q&A with Kate Hathaway Weeks on the steps she took to turn the regional magazine into a national media company.

 

• Best Practices For Businesses Using Facebook

When it comes to supporting content, Facebook is the do-it-all platform. From pictures to videos to external links— you can count on Facebook. Before going through some techniques to make your Facebook page stand out, let’s go over some basic terminology of the platform that I’ll use in describing the best practices.

• 9 Ways to Avoid the Summer Media Sales Slump

It can be tempting to give in to the summer ad sales slump. It happens with a lot of companies because advertisers go dark as they’re out on vacation or busy with their kids.

• Readers seeking “more reputable” news sources: How news rating tools can help publishers

The past few years have seen the launch of several news rating services that measure the trustworthiness of news organizations. They have grown amidst increasing concerns over fake news negatively affecting trust levels in news media.

• Amazon Prime Day shows how important commerce revenue is getting for publishers

As Prime Day continues to expand — the shopping extravaganza will last 48 hours this year, up from 36 hours last year and 30 hours the year before that — publishers continue to devote more energy to it.

• Targeting Millennials Requires Good Content Marketing

Millennials are forcing marketers to rethink the way they promote products and services. Content marketing speaks to them the best.

• It’s Not Print That’s Broken, It’s Frequencies

While we celebrated our nation’s 243rd year of independence last week, many also mourned the death of a nearly 70-year-old American institution—Mad magazine.

• Seeking Customer Reviews? Here’s How to Get Them the Right Way

On average, people read ten online reviews before trusting a business. What if you don’t have ten reviews or those ten reviews aren’t the best? How can you get more?

• Million Dollar Idea: 3 Strategies for More Revenue

Today we’ve got another Million Dollar Idea for you from our most recent CEO Summit in Denver. Kevin VanGundy shared his tips for focusing your revenue growth strategy no matter the size of your publication.

• Why publishers should optimize for loyalty: Loyal readers consume 5x more content, and stay subscribers

How often do you hear the line “I’m your regular/loyal reader”, after meeting someone and saying that you work for a certain newspaper? Probably a lot, right?

• ‘Newsletters as puzzle pieces’: How The Economist uses email to reduce subscriber churn

When it comes to content, The Economist takes the view that value trumps volume, a view that extends to its email newsletters.  That’s why it has honed design and content changes to its two flagship newsletters so they act as standalone editorial products that suit the readers’ needs, rather than launching additional email newsletters.

• What Publishers Can Learn from Influencer Marketing

Many legacy publishers are struggling for the same reasons that traditional, non-digitally native retailers did when DTC brands like Bonobos, Casper, and Warby Parker emerged.

• Not just one foundation, not just one newsroom: How the Colorado Media Project is trying to rebuild a local news ecosystem

This didn’t take a ton of capital. It just took a lot of willingness on the part of a lot of different folks to collectively figure out what we should do, where are the gaps, and how we can fill them.

• EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW TO START A MAGAZINE PODCAST

My grandparents love to reminisce about the days before the television where everyone would attentively gather around the stereo and listen to a show host entertain through storytelling.

• The Sales Ammo Your Customer is Giving You.

Sales. Selling. Not for everybody. Thick skin required. Every sales rep has their tricks – the little things they do that gives them an edge over others. But the big secret may actually be time, or more specifically, time to close. The faster you can get a yes, the higher your output, and the more money you make.

• How Magazine Publishers Are Cutting Print Costs to Improve Profits

When it comes to improving profits at print magazines, there’s a tendency to focus on new ways of driving revenue. But while keeping a close eye on expenses can also have a significant impact on the bottom line, today’s environment often calls for a balancing act.

• TV is still the most common way for Americans to get local news, but fewer people are watching

Local TV is trusted and is still the preferred method of getting news (thanks mostly to people 50 and up). But viewership for local TV news continues to decline, according to research released by Pew this week.

• WowYow, monetizing publisher videos using AI search

With its headquarters in California and sales office in New York, WowYow sits at the intersection of media, advertising and technology.

• Pico Aims to Help Publishers Shift to Reader Revenue

Media companies are increasingly turning to subscriptions and membership products to rely more on readers and less on advertising revenue.

• How publishers are turning brand extensions into a full-fledged revenue source

Licensing can be a source of substantial revenues for publishers. Several publishers have created a sustained revenue stream by entering into licensing relationships with manufacturers and retailers, and extending their brands across a variety of products.

• Developing a Successful Membership Program: Where to Start

Memberships are hot. And not just in publishing. According to an analysis of Google Trends data, memberships are 33% more popular today than they were just two years ago.

• CRASH COURSE ON CRM

Successful businesses know their customers. Customers’ tastes and preferences dictate the direction of the business in more ways than one. However, many businesses may unintentionally stray away from the requests of their customers simply because they have difficulty in organizing, analyzing and acting on the data customers provide.

• 5 Must-Send Emails for Niche Publishers

Email newsletters are one of the best tools you have at your disposal, but many publications just don’t recognize their potential. Newsletters are one of the top ways to keep your audience engaged with your brand. They drive attention to your website, your social pages, and your legacy platforms. In fact, newsletter readers spend 80% more time on your site.

• Congratulations to Slack, the now-public company that keeps thousands of newsrooms humming

Who said there’s no money in journalism? Sure, maybe the old ad model is decaying, and maybe hundreds of newspapers are on death watch — but the work-chat app Slack has been able to build a multi-billion-dollar business at least in some tiny part based on its remarkable uptake in newsrooms around the world.

• What Makes for a Successful Restaurateur

There’s an old Spanish saying – “the belly rules the mind” which is why you have so many business luncheons and corporate dinners! The restaurant business is all about making people happy.

 

• Benefits and challenges of different publishing business models

For publishers and newsrooms, figuring out how to stay trustworthy, respect your readers and preserve integrity, yet manage to earn enough money to keep the business afloat – remains a great challenge.

• Pay Attention, Publishers: Outsiders Are Redefining What a Magazine Can Be

Software mogul, golf equipment manufacturer, movie-streaming service, mattress maker, actress, social media behemoth: It seems everyone wants to get into the magazine-publishing business these days. Everyone, that is, except for “real” magazine-media publishers.

• Publishers Finally Find Their Voice in Podcasting

As adoption rates continue to increase, so do the number of effective strategies for audio platforms.

• Print + Digital = Highest ROI

I often encounter advertisers who think digital advertising is less expensive than print. Then I spend some time explaining how it’s not an “either-or” mindset.

• Cannes Briefing: The storylines that will dominate the conversation at Cannes this year

Welcome to the Digiday Cannes Briefing. Each morning this week, we will bring you the highlights, lowlights and oddities of the Cannes Lions. The Digiday version of the Cannes lion will make his own journey.

• Game industry TV ad spend craters in May

There was a huge decrease in gaming industry TV ad spend from April to May, down to an estimated $9.3 million from the previous $29.4 million. Nintendo led with 45.6% of spend, while previous chart-topper PlayStation had 26.8%.