A forum for the print and
digital publishing industries

• Backlink to the Future: How to Move Your Marketing Strategy Forward

Anyone who’s ever created content marketing collateral knows to include internal and external links. This digital marketing best practice is in place because it lifts your content in search engine rankings. If you’re looking to improve your link-building strategy, take a look at how to create backlinks to your site, examples of a backlink, and more from Mirabel’s Marketing Manager.

• How Publishers Can Use Blockchain Technology

A lack of clarity around how blockchain technology can be deployed in publishing has stopped most publishers from experimenting with it. The majority of the publishers in a recent survey said that blockchain has the potential to transform news media but less than 10% have incorporated it into their strategy. Blockchain was developed as the infrastructure to support cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, but it is now being used in many other applications, from music royalties to voter registration.

• ‘Exclusive is illusive’: U.K. Publishers Launch Plan to Mitigate Loss of Traffic When Sources Aren’t Properly Cited

In the absence of links to original sources, the significant impact on publishers’ traffic, and the associated revenues, are irrefutable. That’s the view of publishers in the U.K. who have come together via trade body the Association of Online Publishers (AOP) to back a standardized way to cite sources. The protocol revolves around an email process whereby those publishers who have registered for it are able to contact other publishers who have not cited exclusive content they’ve produced so that it can be updated.

• Talk of the Town: How to Use Events As a Supplemental Revenue Source

If you’re a magazine publisher, chances are you are constantly coming up with creative ways to make additional revenue. Chances are you have considered hosting an event. Hosting events is a way to supplement magazine advertising revenue. Additionally, events can increase your brand awareness and gain customer responses on how to improve your product. Events are costly but can reap huge benefits for both your magazine and your advertisers.

• How to Use Instagram for Business — A Beginner’s Guide to Instagram

While lead generation is more likely to be a marketing objective for B2B companies versus B2C, nearly any company focused on selling high-value products and services will likely become familiar with lead-based marketing practices, tools, and customer relationship management (CRM) systems. In fact, companies that employ lead generation marketing strategies are also very likely to prioritize leads and assign them to sales teams for follow-ups (which are also important steps throughout the customer acquisition journey).

• “Potentially industry-changing technology”: Why Publishers Should Start Experimenting With Blockchain

Blockchain allows users to record information that is next to impossible to hack, cheat, or alter. Publishing digital content using the technology will help publishers enforce more accountability as they will be transparently traceable to the original source. “With more transparency comes a greater sense of control and security — both directly applicable in combating copyright and IP infringement,” the authors write.

• “The beginning of a trend”: Performance Metrics Begin Creeping Into Different Parts of Publishers’ Ad Deals

The media buying world’s obsession with performance marketing keeps growing, and it is starting to creep into publisher deals that were once focused on the upper half of the funnel.  As 2021 has worn on, more advertisers are asking that ad deals typically measured using upper-funnel metrics such as brand awareness or social lift — branded content campaigns, for example, or event sponsorships — be measured using lower-funnel metrics like sales, or deliver guaranteed numbers of sales leads.

• 6 Ways to Perfect Your Territory And Account Management Strategy

The territory fight: It’s the bane of every publisher and sales manager’s existence. All managers in the publishing industry have to deal with it, but there aren’t many who like to, and for good reason! The best sales reps are notoriously competitive, testing even the best manager’s patience, which is why having good account management rules is important.

• How to Choose the Best Sales Lead Management Software

While lead generation is more likely to be a marketing objective for B2B companies versus B2C, nearly any company focused on selling high-value products and services will likely become familiar with lead-based marketing practices, tools, and customer relationship management (CRM) systems. In fact, companies that employ lead generation marketing strategies are also very likely to prioritize leads and assign them to sales teams for follow-ups (which are also important steps throughout the customer acquisition journey).

• Publishers: How to Monetize Communities

Publishers have sat at the center of communities of interest for as long as there has been a publishing industry. Print publications drew like-minded readers to their mastheads and now digital publishers gather their most loyal fans together behind paywalls. But how else can publishers monetize communities that grow up around their content?

• Why Apple’s ATT is Casting a Long Shadow Over Online Advertising’s Latest Quarter

Apple’s crackdown on in-app tracking so far has come into force more gradually than expected thanks to a protracted rollout. This has tended to obscure the impact of the new restrictions. But after a first full quarter, it has become clearer that it will rattle, squeeze and throttle the flow of ad dollars online. The long shadow Apple cast over the current earnings season for the largest online advertising businesses puts this impact into sharp focus.

• Everything You Need to Know to Start a Magazine Podcast in 2022

The technologically advanced, data-driven society we live in needed a face-lift when it came to presenting content in a user-friendly, accessible way. It’s time to stop thinking about digital editions as a sidekick. They’re the superheroes we deserve, and they can help your audience connect with your content moving forward. Here’s a closer look at why now is the time to

shift to digital.

• Where is the Marketing CRM Headed in 2022?

Marketing CRMs track digital interactions on websites and social media, send automated emails based on sales readiness, and so much more. They’re undoubtedly a necessity of every business to nurture leads, retain clients, and everything in-between. Moving beyond utilizing the basics of the software, what’s in store for the marketing CRM in 2022?

• Will Facebook’s Plans for the Metaverse Impact Publishers?

Facebook is changing its name to Meta and with it, the future focus of the company. Meta’s long-term mission will be to bring the metaverse to life and help people connect, find communities and grow businesses. The change moves the company beyond its social media roots, but will its planned move to the metaverse affect publishers?

• Publishers Are No Longer Choosing Between Data Utility and Privacy to Increase Their Bottom Line

Publishers need to build relationships with their audiences that they can then connect to advertisers. Companies must also simultaneously architect internal systems around data custodianship to protect consumer data. In fact, consumer privacy and business outcomes are closely correlated in a complementary way. The companies that champion consumer privacy and work to create a sustainable omnichannel ecosystem that drives better results for every constituent will be the winners, now and in the future.

• Let’s Get Digital! Why Now is the Best Time to Embrace the Shift!

The technologically advanced, data-driven society we live in needed a face-lift when it came to presenting content in a user-friendly, accessible way. It’s time to stop thinking about digital editions as a sidekick. They’re the superheroes we deserve, and they can help your audience connect with your content moving forward. Here’s a closer look at why now is the time to shift to digital.

• How to Choose the Best Sales Lead Management Software

When it comes to organic or paid content marketing, it’s about figuring out how to use data to enhance and optimize your digital strategy. Utilizing this data has never been easier, thanks to the king of search engine analytics: Google Analytics. Understanding Google Analytics helps you produce content that your target audience wants to see. The platform provides actionable insights, like click-through and bounce rates, time spent on page, and more.

• Ad Economy Rose 10.2% In September, Expansion Continues to Decelerate

U.S. ad spending rose 10.2% in September vs. the same month a year ago, according to a MediaPost analysis of an updated composite of actual ad spending from the major agency holding companies. The composite, an updated version of the U.S. Ad Market Tracker launched in partnership with Standard Media Index in 2015, represents a more comprehensive pool of data contributed by all of the holding companies and was necessary to provide a more accurate view of the marketplace.

• What Do We Mean by Innovation? And Why Is Implementing It So Darned Hard for News Organizations?

The pace of change in our industry means that even the biggest, most successful, companies need to continually innovate, refresh and reinvent what they do and how they do it. Those who don’t risk being left behind, overtaken by digital upstarts, or blown away by more established players with deeper pockets and a longer transformational runway. I asked 10 experts — leading media practitioners, researchers and scholars around the world — for their insights around what constitutes innovation, the barriers to implementing it, and how to overcome these roadblocks.

• What’s Your Mix of Six? Alternative Revenue Streams in Digital Publishing

Nowadays, no single revenue stream is enough to sustain, let alone grow, a digital publication. Instead, online publishers are relying on a combination of revenue streams to ensure they can bring in sufficient capital. And according to former head of Hearst magazines, David Carey, there just may be a magic number: “You need five or six revenue streams to make the business really successful.” While there are numerous potential revenue sources, most companies will find success by creating their own “mix of six” streams that are suited for their individual publications.

• Why Google Analytics Is Best For Data-Driven Content Marketing

When it comes to organic or paid content marketing, it’s about figuring out how to use data to enhance and optimize your digital strategy. Utilizing this data has never been easier, thanks to the king of search engine analytics: Google Analytics. Understanding Google Analytics helps you produce content that your target audience wants to see. The platform provides actionable insights, like click-through and bounce rates, time spent on page, and more.

• Dynamic Paywalls: The Latest Must-Have Tool For Publishers?

Over the past several years, subscription management and dynamic paywall providers have joined the ranks of must-have digital tools for media companies … Unlike a typical paywall that allows non-paying readers to access a set number of articles before walling off content for the rest of the month, a dynamic paywall is designed to help publishers monetize content through a number of methods. The methods used can range from audience segmentation to machine learning to depending on the paywall option you choose.

• System1 Plans to Roll Out Privacy Subscription Product as It Prepares to Go Public

The idea that companies can follow consumers around the internet based on data that someone else provides doesn’t seem like the best customer experience, according to Michael Blend, co-founder and chief executive officer of System1, a first-party data company. In fact, nearly all of its ad business is based on performance. “Google and Apple are making positive changes for the longevity of digital advertising and people, and the advertising ecosystem just needs to catch up with them,” he said.

• So Happy Together: The Must-Have Integrations Your CRM Needs

Publishing is an industry with a lot of moving parts. You have issues to create, articles to write, and above all, deadlines to meet. Not to mention, you have to keep readers engaged with your content. On top of this, if you’re looking to make a profit, you likely have to manage print and ad sales. One of the easiest ways to streamline these everyday tasks is by implementing a customer relationship management (CRM) software. If you’re in the publishing industry and looking to optimize your processes and boost profitability, read on. Here are the key qualities to seek in a publishing CRM.

• Deeper Intelligence: How an Analytical CRM Can Benefit Your Business

When it comes to managing relationships with your business’s prospects and existing customers, a customer relationship management software, or CRM, is a must-have. In this day and age, it’s no secret that data is the key to meeting your company’s goals efficiently and effectively. CRMs are at the heart of every growing business. In fact, CRM software is the biggest software market in the world, and the growth isn’t slowing down anytime soon.

• Where Publishers Stand In Their Pursuit of Third-Party Cookie Alternatives

When Google announced third-party cookie deprecation on Chrome, the programmatic ecosystem went into a frenzy. Addressability, targeting, measurement and attribution all faced significant new obstacles and, most importantly, billions of dollars in revenue hung in the balance. Publishers had to reprioritize their roadmaps to accelerate alternative revenue streams while finding new ways to engage with their users directly… The delay won’t immediately solve these challenges, but it does provide some breathing room.

• How Publishers Can Engage and Convert Casual Readers: Key Insights From INMA Report

The demand for trustworthy information during the pandemic drove record subscriptions growth for many publishers. 128 news publishers across the world gained an average of 58% new subscribers in a year, according to Piano data. The market is far from saturated though. 100M people worldwide are potential targets for English-language news subscriptions, according to research from The New York Times.

• Here Are 8 Key Qualities to Seek in a Publishing CRM

Publishing is an industry with a lot of moving parts. You have issues to create, articles to write, and above all, deadlines to meet. Not to mention, you have to keep readers engaged with your content. On top of this, if you’re looking to make a profit, you likely have to manage print and ad sales. One of the easiest ways to streamline these everyday tasks is by implementing a customer relationship management (CRM) software. If you’re in the publishing industry and looking to optimize your processes and boost profitability, read on. Here are the key qualities to seek in a publishing CRM.

• What Is Clean Your List From Mirabel Technologies?

Email marketing is vital to every digital marketing strategy, but the key to its success is verifying your email lists. To improve email deliverability, stack ROI, and actually reach your audience, you need to invest in an email verification tool. Clean Your List is a new affordable email verification software from Mirabel Technologies. Used as a standalone platform, Clean Your List is the latest addition to the suite of affordable SaaS products.

• MUM’s the Word: Google Search to Get 1,000 Times More Powerful

This week at Search On 2021, Google showed how Search will soon be able to not only better understand aspects of a topic the user is searching for, but also surface more insights and inspiration. The company showcased how they are using AI and new technologies to make information more helpful than ever before, while giving users new ways to search and explore in more natural and intuitive ways.

• Google Pushes FLoC Testing To Q1 2022

Testing of FLEDGE — the company’s remarketing solution designed to eliminate third-parties tracking of user behavior, along with the measurement of digital ads — is delayed until Q1 2022. As Google moves the industry toward the phasing out of third-party cookies, it needs to introduce APIs enabling options that depend on them, but without enabling cross-site tracking.

• How Publishers Can Take Full Advantage of Their CRM

According to one report, 43% of CRM users use less than half of the features that their CRM offers …  and I’d say that number is conservative. And no matter if that comes down to difficulty in understanding the system or ignorance as to all its capabilities, it’s an issue worth addressing if only because there’s so much potential on the other side.

• Why Social Media Marketing Is Important For Any Business

Social media has become a vital part of our everyday life with roughly 50% of the world’s population (over three billion individuals) using it… Regardless of your industry, social media is one of the most efficient and effective ways to elevate your brand’s marketing strategy. The benefits of social media marketing for business are limitless. From broadening target audiences to increasing awareness and boosting sales, we’re diving into the top reasons to invest in a social media marketing strategy.

• What Publishers Need to Know About the Latest Changes in Google Search

Journalists have known for a while the importance of using tools like Google Trends to help target our copy and spot opportunities to drive additional audience. But the pandemic, along with those Google updates, has really accelerated the focus on news SEO as an essential discipline. In short, if you are in the news publishing ‘game’ and you are not investing in news SEO, then your growth is likely to be severely stunted going forward.

• “You don’t want to put things that are commodity content behind a paywall”: How Publishers Are Growing Subscribers Via Free Content

Soft paywalls allow readers to experience the quality of your content and may over time inspire them to sign up for a paid subscription. Research done by American Press Institute’s Media Insights Project found that 47% of new subscribers signup after running out of free articles on a site they like and respect.

• 6 Ways to Perfect Your Territory and Account Management Strategy

The challenge is that if your rules are too strict, you won’t get the level of competition necessary to maximize your sales revenue, and if your rules are too relaxed, it turns into a free-for-all where sales reps are often pitted against each other. Then, frequent disputes arise, which wear thin on managers and impact your sales team’s morale. As any publisher knows, it’s not a small issue. In this blog, I’m going to share my two cents on account management based on my 25 years of publishing experience.