A forum for the print and
digital publishing industries

• Successful business models for magazine media

As well as having the necessary business acumen, publishers and editors must be passionate about their titles. Mary Hogarth explores key strategies for a sustainable magazine.

• The New Native Advertising Narrative

Native has been a standard practice in digital advertising ever since it eclipsed the awkward banner ad, after readers migrated from desktop to mobile in the early 2010s.

• How publishers use influencers to grow commerce businesses

Publishers seeking to grow commerce revenue are increasingly looking to influencers, not just as sources of marketing and distribution, but as creative partners as well.

• The Top 12 Media Tech Stories We Published in 2018

From examining the tools needed to capitalize on the subscription boon to exploring how publishers might adapt to voice-driven web experiences, we covered digital media technology from a lot of angles in 2018. Below is a rundown of the top technology posts we published in 2018 from the standpoint of what saw the most audience engagement and what stories best tell how technology shaped the media business this year. Enjoy.

• With new ownership, Fortune seeks to diversify revenues

In 2019, as Fortune looks to diversify its revenue, it will cast its lines for many different kinds of fish.
Armed with new funds promised by Thai businessman Chatchaval Jiaravanon, who recently acquired Fortune from Meredith for $150 million, the business publication will be developing several paid products at both consumer and professional price points, Fortune CEO and president Alan Murray said.

• Publishers have finally fallen out of love with platforms, but it has been a hard lesson to learn

In a year dominated by headline-grabbing failures from Facebook, many news and magazine brands have learned the hard way that third-party platforms ultimately only have their own interests at heart.

• Content amplification: A guide for publishers

Every day, when I log into Twitter, open up LinkedIn, read my email, browse Trending or HN or Pocket, I’m in a perpetual statement of harsh, unrelenting judgement.

• Condé Nast Is “Paradise Publishing” Lost

Press accounts estimate that Condé Nast lost $120 million in 2017 (the company’s fiscal 2018 will end on January 31) with losses in print advertising and circulation revenues insufficiently offset by digital or such multimedia ventures as CNX, Spire and Condé Nast Entertainment. All sought to monetize the often award-winning journalism in Architectural Digest, Bon Appétit, GQ, Glamour, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair and Vogue.

• Quartz shrinks UK commercial team, citing revenue ‘slow-down’ due to Brexit

In the past year, Brexit and GDPR have stirred up unusually choppy water for publishers in the U.K. Now, their currents are claiming some casualties.

• The Top 12 Media Tech Stories We Published in 2018

From examining the tools needed to capitalize on the subscription boon to exploring how publishers might adapt to voice-driven web experiences, we covered digital media technology from a lot of angles in 2018. Below is a rundown of the top technology posts we published in 2018 from the standpoint of what saw the most audience engagement and what stories best tell how technology shaped the media business this year. Enjoy.

• With new ownership, Fortune seeks to diversify revenues

In 2019, as Fortune looks to diversify its revenue, it will cast its lines for many different kinds of fish.
Armed with new funds promised by Thai businessman Chatchaval Jiaravanon, who recently acquired Fortune from Meredith for $150 million, the business publication will be developing several paid products at both consumer and professional price points, Fortune CEO and president Alan Murray said.

• Publishers have finally fallen out of love with platforms, but it has been a hard lesson to learn

In a year dominated by headline-grabbing failures from Facebook, many news and magazine brands have learned the hard way that third-party platforms ultimately only have their own interests at heart.

• Publishers rediscover their oldest revenue line in subscriptions, memberships and donations

As dreams of Facebook-fuelled riches turned to nightmares, the publishing industry went back to its roots this year, asking digital audiences to pay for the content they’ve become used to getting for free.

• Get Organized for 2019 Selling Now!

According to Hubspot, only one-third of a salesperson’s day is actually spent selling. Why? It’s probably about not being as organized as a salesperson needs to be. Organization definitely is the mundane part of the job compared to the adrenaline of selling. But it is SO important for your long-term success.

• Salon tacks back to subscriptions in an effort to revive revenue

More than a decade ago, Salon bet that readers would be willing to pay for an ad-free, subscription version of its site. Today, with its chip stack diminished, Salon is making a similar wager.

• 3 Smart Ways Publishers Can Better Capitalize on Data

Most publishers are putting a greater emphasis on gathering and analyzing audience data so they can serve well-qualified leads to advertisers. For example, Conde Nast is enabling advertisers to market against audience content engagement analytics, incorporate their own first-party data, and build lookalike audiences through Conde Nast’s Spire data management platform.

• Finding Growth in Niches: 2018 Book Biz Mergers and Acquisitions

In a year of mostly niche acquisitions in publishing, the biggest deal involved yet another example of consolidation in the printing industry: Quad/Graphics’s all-stock offer to buy LSC Communications. The purchase, valued at $1.4 billion, will unite the country’s two largest book printers and is expected to close in mid-2019.

• Why online retail has to drop its addiction tactics

I stopped wearing my Apple Watch a few months back. The notifications had become overwhelming, and I just needed a break from the constant pull for my attention.

• Magazines Power Shop for E-Commerce Revenue This Holiday Season

Last year’s predictable flow of holiday gift guides and affiliate links from major media brands has become a downright tsunami of deal brokering in the weeks before and after Black Friday.

• 6 Tools for Reader Connection (and Revenue)

Niche magazine publishers have a built-in advantage over publishers of mass-appeal magazines: Their readers aren’t just mildly interested in the content they offer. They’re passionate!

• Google and publishers edge closer to reaching common ground for GDPR standards

Google and publishers have made progress on discussions around some of the blockages to the adoption of the Interactive Advertising Bureau Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation framework, sources close to the situation have claimed.

• Publishing industry trends that will shape our future, from FIPP Insider London

From titles changing hands at accelerating speed as media companies race to consolidate and capture larger audiences within their focus markets, innovating to adapt to the demands of new platforms and diving into AI – these were some of the major publishing industry trends identified by James Hewes, president and CEO of FIPP at the FIPP Insider event in London yesterday.

• Why publishers shouldn’t skimp on market research

A good idea for a magazine cannot make a successful transition from concept to publication without in-depth research. Mary Hogarth reveals the value of investing in market research.

• How Publishers Are Venturing into Subscription Video on Demand (AKA OTT)

Over the past decade, video has become a standard component of the content mix for media brands. Most publishers have ramped up their video-making and monetization capabilities, increasing quality and volume of in-house video production and hosting them on their own sites and distributing on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and many more.

• Publishers muscle in on ad agency turf: Condé Nast unveils its Creative Studio Network

Mired in losses (Condé Nast Publications lost $120 million in 2017 whilst Condé Nast International lost $50 million in its last reported figures for 2016), Condé Nast has experienced another ‘annus horribilis‘ with the announcement of the departure of its CEO Bob Sauerberg.

• 6 Phrases that Sum Up 2018 in Publishing

What a crazy, up-and-down year this has been in publishing!

• Tighter Budgets and Relegated Roles Can’t Hold Down Smart Editors

NEW YORK – The Grand Ballroom of The Yale Club in Manhattan was packed with some of magazine media’s brightest minds on Thursday to celebrate Folio:’s list of the top 100 innovators, entrepreneurial thinkers, and industry-disruptors from over the past year.

• Digital-native publishers settle in to face legacy constraints, with a side of reader revenue

“It was around this time last year that things were starting to look a little dicey for the media industry’s once breathlessly-hyped digital unicorns,” Joe Pompeo wrote for Vanity Fair this week.

• Viral publisher First Media joins Snapchat with repurposed Facebook video

First Media — the millennial women-focused publisher behind brands like Blossom, So Yummy and Blusher — has finally made the leap to Snapchat. But its strategy is unlike that of Snapchat Discover publishers of years past.

• MediaPitch: Naytev Is Helping Publishers Automate & Optimize Social Content

Consumers today have more choice in how, where, and when they access content than ever before.

• The battle for ad revenues: Could a publishers’ combine take on the duopoly?

Digital media firms are struggling, many have missed their revenue targets, reduced their workforces and have been trying to generate revenue from e-commerce.

• Successful Memberships: What Publishers Can Learn from Others

For our industry to thrive, we need to diversify our revenue. We have to reduce our reliance on advertising and look for ways to generate reader revenue. And in 2018, there’s no better model than the membership program.

• Tighter Budgets and Relegated Roles Can’t Hold Down Smart Editors

A couple of months ago, out of the blue, I received a large FedEx carton filled with recent issues of W, the fashion and culture magazine owned by Condé Nast. They were accompanied by a handwritten note from Stefano Tonchi, the book’s celebrated editor-in-chief.

• Post-print, Nylon looks for its digital footing

In the year after Nylon Magazine shuttered print and laid off its 12-person print staff, the online-only magazine is trying to figure out new strategies for jump-starting audience growth and engagement online, from new tactics on who it features on its digital covers to relying more heavily on influencer marketing.

• 70% UK publishers look at video content as top priority for 2019

Videos have a compelling way of stimulating engagement, yielding results like click-throughs, shares, lead generation, and sales. Video content is among the more effective tactics for getting exposure to a brand, as well as generating revenue.

• How is Scan-Based Trading Working Out for You?

Scan-based trading (SBT)—wherein the wholesaler is paid only for copies that go through the register, and unsold inventory is not recorded as either sold or returned—has been implemented in an estimated 70% of U.S.

• 3 years to a million paying supporters: Guardian’s alternative model of growth without paywalls

With revenues from print circulation and advertising in steep decline, and the duopoly gobbling up most of what comes from digital advertising, news outlets are increasingly being forced to go behind a paywall to sustain themselves.

• Selling Native Advertising? Here’s What You Should Know

Recently, MediaRadar published a trend report about native advertising. Every day, we see custom content weaving its way into just about every form of consumable content. Native continues to be one of the most popular methods in which advertisers can engage with their audiences digitally.

• Facebook donates millions to fund 80 local newspaper jobs in the UK

As part of Facebook’s ongoing Journalism Project, which launched in 2017, the social network is donating £4.5 million ($6 million) to fund 80 local newspaper jobs in the U.K. over the next two years.

• Is it finally time for media companies to adopt a common publishing platform?

Media companies are each independently trying to solve the same technical problems, rather than focusing on competing with Facebook. Is the usual answer to “buy or build?” changing?

• Glamour to Cease Publishing Regular Print Mag in Condé Nast’s Latest Digital Shift

After nearly 80 years, the monthly print edition of Condé Nast’s Glamour women’s magazine is ending. Glamour’s last regularly published print edition, the January 2019 issue, is scheduled to hit newsstands next week, the company announced Tuesday.

• “Giant sneaking in the back door”: Publishers may have reasons to celebrate as Amazon challenges the duopoly

In September 2018, eMarketer reported that Amazon had become the third largest ad seller in the United States. The firm expects Amazon’s ad revenue to grow by more than 50% per year through at least 2020. The duopoly’s share is expected to reduce from 57.7% in 2018 to 55.9% in 2020, while Amazon’s is expected to increase from 4.1% to 7.0%.

• Every publisher is launching a subscription model. Is there a ceiling?

It seems like not a week goes by without another news organization announcing it’s launching either a subscription or membership platform.

• Mission NOT Impossible: 10 Tips for Ad Sales Prospecting

Prospecting is hard work. You can have the best product and be the best closer in the world, but if you don’t know how to prospect new business, you are not going to get anywhere. So where do we start? How can we be better at it?

• Turning Static Print Pages into SEO-Friendly Digital Content that Earns Subscribers

Content creation just isn’t as easy as it used to be. Back in the pre-digital era, print publication features served a handy dual-purpose. Explicitly, they were a platform for unique journalism. Implicitly, they were the primary value driver that converted and retained subscribers and newsstand buyers. The better a brand executed content’s explicit purpose, the more that content’s implicit purpose was realized. Poetry in motion.

• Quad/Graphics Acquires LSC Communications for $1.4 Billion

Two of the top magazine printers in the U.S. are set to merge next year, continuing in the years-long trend of consolidation within the printing industry.

• Our three sales takeaways from the PPA Independent Publisher Conference

Following a quick walk along a sunny, if chilly Southbank, Flume arrived at the Hilton London Bankside Hotel to attend the 2018 Independent Publisher Conference.

• New York magazine to adopt paywall by end of November

New York magazine will adopt a paywall at the end of November, its parent company announced on Monday. New York Media, which publishes NYMag.com – the digital version of the bi-weekly print magazine – said readers will pay $5 a month for access to its site.

• Who Wants a A Bigger Slice of Revenue Pie?

Publishing is packed with growth opportunities — targeted channels, content marketing, lead generation, marketing services, live events and more. So how do you determine the right revenue strategies for your own unique niche brand?

• “Reward engagement and loyalty”: With $10 million raised, Scroll bets on upending the currency of publishing

When you visit Scroll for the first time, the message above is softly hammered in. Before you can reach the main content, you have to click or tap, one word at a time, to properly absorb the entire sentence before you are greeted with…

• How the Quad-LSC Megadeal Will Impact Publishers

Major U.S. publishers got a big surprise last week when they learned there might be only one printer able to produce their magazines and catalogs. With the blockbuster announcement that the country’s largest publication printer, Quad/Graphics, has a deal to acquire the number two printer, LSC Communications, publishers are going to encounter a less competitive market, and therefore, the likelihood of higher prices for magazine printing and shipping.

• Together we rise: Could content bundling be the next big thing for publishers?

People are increasingly willing to pay for the news they consume digitally, at least content produced by reputed publishers. As users sign up for these new services, publishers are seeing benefits in partnering with other companies to offer a wider range of content. The idea is to make their offer more enticing and boost subscriber growth, as well as establish new revenue streams.

• Time Magazine Editor in Chief Becomes CEO Under New Owners

Edward Felsenthal is keeping his title of editor in chief of Time and adding the title of chief executive officer as the magazine moves into the hands of billionaire Marc Benioff.

• How USA Today is using targeting technology beyond ads

News publishers have had an on-again, off-again relationship with personalization. But for USA Today Network, it is very much on, thanks in part to the targeting and taxonomy infrastructure it’s built to target ads.

• How Publishers Can Achieve an Ideal Revenue Mix

Single or even double income-stream publishing is increasingly a thing of the past. The search for sustainable revenues has taken many media organizations way beyond advertising or newsstand sales into a seemingly infinite array of money-making schemes.

• Event Management Tips for Success

Do you ever analyze your annual live event through a digital lens? You might be leaving some revenue on the table. There’s podcasts, webcasts, app contests, even online learning opportunities. We consulted digital sales expert and event veteran Ryan Dohrn to share some advice on event management and driving event digital revenue. Read on to learn more!.

• How a luxury publisher is bringing its formula from East to West

Since launching seven years ago, Buro24/7’s publishing proposition has focused on connecting the world’s most desirable brands with the most sought-after demographic – the affluent millennial – or as I like to call them, the ‘re-inventors of luxury’.

• How newsletter publishers re-engage lapsed subscribers

Publishers like newsletter subscribers because email is habit-forming, delivered directly to its audience and getting easier to monetize.But the things that make email an attractive channel to publishers also make it a difficult place to re-engage readers. The tricks that might pull straying readers back toward another digital property, such as targeting them with ads on social platforms, are either ineffective, inefficient or unavailable as options for wayward newsletter subscribers.

• Fast Company Puts Innovation Into Practice

Following a recent transition of leadership, with the appointments of Stephanie Mehta to editor-in-chief this past February and Amanda Smith to VP, publisher in April 2017, the focus of Fast Company is leaning towards innovation, both in the coverage of the topic and the implementation of inventive practices across its platforms.

• How independent publishers can thrive in future: 10 smart ideas

How can niche publishers grow their business in these turbulent times? Specialist publishers gathered at the PPA Independent Publisher Conference in London on 2 November, to hear from pioneering brands like The Lawyer, Rock Sound and The Drum about how to reinvent their business and develop new revenue streams.