A forum for the print and
digital publishing industries

• Twitter Opens Pre-Roll Video Ad Marketplace
  Twitter is bolstering its video ad capabilities with a new feature enabling marketers to easily place pre-roll ads in professionally-produced video content across its platform, the company announced Thursday.
• How to Sell Online Paid Content Successfully
  You are trying to sell Sponsored, Paid, Native, Special Promotion–it’s all the same thing.
• Imagine Announces Launch of New Technology Magazine, Gadget
  Fans of gadgets, innovations and ground breaking technology have been given an exciting new fix to feed all their tech needs, with the arrival of Gadget magazine – Imagine Publishing’s latest technology title.
• Punching Up: How Smaller Publishers can Compete with The Condés
  Great audience data is the key to the marketing kingdom. Big publishers have oceans of the stuff.
• Magzter Drops Price of Netflix-Like ‘All-You-Can-Read’ Magazine Service to $7.99 Per Month
  The digital newsstand service Magzter announced today that it is reducing the price of its all-you-can-read magazine service to $7.99.
• All UK Red-Top Tabloids Lost Sales by 10 Per Cent or More Year on Year Last Month Ahead of Star Price Cut
  Every UK national newspaper lost print sales in September with red-top tabloids falling the fastest.
• The Aftermath of a Post-Print World
  Speculation about print’s demise began more than a decade earlier, but in 2009, publications started to make news of their own when their printing presses fell silent.
• Publishers, Amazon Not to Blame for Author Poverty Wages
  After polling 1,674 Guild members, Mary Rasenberger, executive editor at the Authors Guild, created a splash a few weeks ago by claiming that most of its members’ annual earnings were below the federal poverty level of $11,670.
• Medium Opens up Publishing API, Adds WordPress Plugin, and Adds New Content Partners
  SAN FRANCISCO — Publishing site Medium has unveiled a slew of updates today for its iOS and Android app at an event focused on showcasing how to build a sustainable platform.

• AOP Census Reveals New Threats to Digital Publishing Industry
  The latest findings from the AOP’s seventh annual Content and Trends Census reveal ad blocking is seen as a threat to the publishing business model (65%) ­ the first time the danger has appeared since the census began in 2006 with one in five (19%) citing it as the most significant problem.
• Meredith Partners with Beekman 1802 to Launch New Magazine
  Meredith is rolling out another collaborative magazine effort.
• Ad Sales: Selling Print Ads in A Digital World
  Yes, online advertising is gaining traction every year, but that doesn’t mean print can’t still be a strong media channel for your advertising customers.
• Emap Brand to be Scrapped as all Its Titles Move Digital-Only
  Publisher Top Right to move business-to-business brands including Drapers, Retail Week and Nursing Times out of print over the next 12 to 18 months.
• Next Issue Media, The ‘Hulu For Magazines,’ Tries A New Name And A New Idea — Make Your Own Magazine
  Next Issue is a “Hulu for magazines” concept — a service, jointly owned by some of the world’s biggest publishers, that lets you read digital versions of magazines produced by some of the world’s biggest publishers.
• Press Release: Mary G. Berner to Leave MPA After Completing Three-Year Term
  At the one-year anniversary of the launch of the Magazine Media 360° brand audience report, MPA announces that Mary Berner will be leaving her position as CEO with the company.
• Daily News Chief: Paper will Continue in Print Seven Days a Week
  The Daily News has no plans to reduce the frequency of its print edition, according to a top executive at the tabloid.
• Time Inc and Warner Brothers Strike Deal to Create One-Off ‘Broadsheet’ to Promote The Intern
  Time Inc-owned fashion title Look has partnered with Warner Brothers Pictures UK for a one-off broadsheet paper to promote new comedy The Intern.
• Publishers tap Twitter for Snapchat growth
  For the handful of publishers that get top billing on Snapchat Discover, attracting new viewers has been pretty straightforward. Everyone else has had to work a bit harder.

• The Podcast Opportunity for Publishers
  This emerging audio medium may be the next new frontier for the industry.
• Tips for Agencies Thinking of Selling
  Don’t Always Take the Highest Offer, and Don’t Make Big Changes in Year One
• Time Watching Videos Online Will Rise to an Hour a Day – Report
  More than half of viewing is done on mobile devices, says ZenithOptimedia, which also predicts a fall in television viewing next year.
• 12 Hard Truths About Mobile Media
  These are going to sting a little. You ready?
• Publishers Set Up Retail Operations to Diversify Revenue
  Given the challenges of digital media, commerce is a tempting way for publishers to create new revenue streams by extending their brands.
• Ad Sales: Get Organized to Sell!
  Here are 6 handy tips to keep you organized for your ad sales work week, armed with a carefully planned schedule to boost your sales.
• Right Here, Right Now
  With so much energy devoted to discovering the next best revenue generator in the newspaper business, it’s easy for publishers to lose sight of advertising strategies that are working for them right now.
• Mutually Assured Content
  In 2015, the illusion of audience ownership is becoming harder to sustain.
• Your Postal Rates Are Going Down…Eventually
  Exigency rate recovery limit increased, will continue until next spring.

Don’t Always Take the Highest Offer, and Don’t Make Big Changes in Year One

• 16 Super Revenue Ideas for Digital Niche Magazines
  16 smart revenue ideas from Niche Brain Trust to get you going. 
• One Year in, Slate Draws 9,000 Paying Subscribers
  For Slate, getting readers to pay for content was going back to the future.
• 3 Things You Need to Know About Pwc’s Magazine Media Outlook
  Digital growth coming, B2B magazines could strike it big in new markets.
• Meerkat, Periscope and the Video Streaming Opportunity for Publishers
  Periscope and Meerkat apps allow publishers to create intimate and exclusive experiences for their readers.
• Sales Champions – Newspaper Advertising Teams Find Success with Winning Revenue Strategies
  In the hard-hit market of newspaper publishing, it can be difficult to find successful revenue generating sales and advertising solutions.
• Mail on Sunday Overtakes Sun on Sunday
  DMGT-owned title rewarded with 3.5% circulation rise after strong promotions, as most middle-market and tabloid titles suffer sales declines
• Map of UK’s Local Newspapers and Websites Reveals London News Gap
  London is one of the least covered region in the UK by local newspapers according to new research by Press Gazette.
• Mobile Ads Boost Physical Store Visits by 80 Percent in First Day of Viewing
  A new report from San Francisco-based mobile intelligence firm NinthDecimal, released today, shows that mobile ads on smartphones and tablets are having a big effect — and its impact is growing.
• How to Look for Magazine Sales Leads in All the Right Places
  For sales reps it can be that parched time of the sales cycle when your publisher reminds you daily how thirsty they are for new leads AND quality leads.

16 smart revenue ideas from Niche Brain Trust to get you going. 

• What Makes A Good Digital Magazine
  Create something the reader can read: Publishers often skip this important step and create a digital replica, sending the message that they really don’t care if anyone reads the digital edition. 
• Why Publishers Struggle to Monetize their Paywall Data
  Publishers launch paywalls with the primary goal of getting more revenue from consumers.
• The Apple Watch Will Expose How Little Publishers Know About their Readers
  Apple’s new wearable may or may not be a big hit. But either way, it’s a harbinger of a new class of truly personal devices whose users will demand customized experiences.
• Secrets of Selling Social Media to Traditional Advertisers
  How do you overcome the closed minds of these advertisers?
• Adobe Issues Critical Update to Digital Editions App; Apple Said to Add Rewards to Apple Pay
  The update brings the app up to version 4.0.3 and also includes, the app description states, “enhanced support for EPUB3 features.”
• Global Newspaper Readership Falls More than 25% in Four Years
  The average amount of time spent reading newspapers fell more than 25% globally from 2010 to 2014 – but the popularity of newsprint has proved resilient in the UK with just a 3% decline over the same period.
• Ad Blocking Software Has Figured Out Native Content, Threatening the New Media Economy
  On the ad blocking front, the situation keeps getting worse. Until now, the media industry pretended to ignore the problem, perhaps waiting for a miracle cure.
• Magazine Publishers, Are You Ready to Sell Your Baby?
  What are 3 smart steps niche publishers should take before they begin the selling process?
• Budgets Don’t Lie: Content and Native are Becoming Industry Necessities
  For a while, content marketing and native advertising budgets were cobbled together from the leftovers  of more traditional digital allocations, the tactics seen more as auxiliary than central to campaigns.

Create something the reader can read: Publishers often skip this important step and create a digital replica, sending the message that they really don’t care if anyone reads the digital edition. 

• Slow Load Times are Killing Publishers in Mobile
  Publishers are more at home tweaking headlines and ledes than the backend performance of their webpages. But the rise of mobile is forcing them to shuffle their priorities.
• Digital Publishing: Generation Right Now
  What can newsrooms do to capture this huge pool of news consumers?
• The Financial Times bets on new ad format
  Brands pay for time, not pageviews or clicks.
• Children rediscover joy of reading courtesy of digital revolution
  Amidst much fretting over the impact of digital technology on the lives of young children one positive side effect may be an increase in literacy, according to the National Literacy Trust.
• Digital breakthrough: Times advertisers agree to pay same rate for tablet edition as print
  The agreement, reached with a number of key ad agencies, is being seen by insiders as a major breakthrough in terms of making money from digital journalism.
• How digital publishers measure their influence
  In the old days, press mentions and scoops were the currency of publishers.
• ABC: Daily traffic grows for Metro, other nationals struggle
  The commuter title reports an 8.7 per cent growth in daily average web readers, while the Daily Star lost a quarter of its total monthly browsers.
• Ad Sales Pros, Are You Ready to Propose?
  5 Quick Tips to Get a “YES!”
• Email marketing technology is ridiculously complicated
  The plumbing required to make sure your customers get that coupon or white paper to their inbox on time is only growing in complexity.

Publishers are more at home tweaking headlines and ledes than the backend performance of their webpages. But the rise of mobile is forcing them to shuffle their priorities.

• Rethinking the Role of Programmatic in Your Ad Revenue Strategy
  How publishers can develop and execute a yield optimization strategy?
• The Next Generation of Subscription Programs
  In order to gain more readers, newspapers are focusing on the community behind the paywall.
• Digital Editions: Are They About to Catch Fire?
  Subscription numbers have slowed to a crawl, tablet sales are sputtering. Digital editions have fallen far short of the hype they whipped up back in 2010 when the first iPad shipped.
• Paid Content: How do You Know Your Ad Customer Wants it?
  The ad game has shifted and salespeople are not just selling advertising anymore!
• Future Publishing Reports First US Profit in Seven Years
  If you listen to media commentators, Facebook’s move to publish articles directly on its platform is a fateful choice.
• Publishers Shrug Off Concerns, Eager to Publish on Facebook
  T3, Gizmodo and Total Film publisher also reports 50% of its revenues now come from digital and diversified businesses.
• What’s Happened to Print Publishing?
  It goes without saying that media consumption habits have changed over the last five years. With the rise of social media, online publications and digital books, we can now enjoy a rich and ever-growing selection of traditional and new media content.
• How to Target Millennials in Print
  A case study: Lessons from Time Out NY’s recent rebranding.
• 4 Ways Publishers Should Boost their Programmatic CPM
  The premise that the rise of automated buying and selling through programmatic technology would have a negative impact on a publisher’s ability to increase – or even maintain – their CPM rates is continuing to erode.

How publishers can develop and execute a yield optimization strategy?

• 3 Things You Should Know About Time Inc.’S Q1 Financials
  Revenue, cash flow continues to tumble.
• The 2015 Publishing Executive Buyer’s Guide
  The Publishing Executive Buyer’s Guide is intended to be a reference for publishers on the significant and emerging technology that is reshaping the future of the media industry.
• Yahoo Fails to Impress with Digital Magazines
  A year ago, Yahoo, struggling to turn its ad business around, kicked off a string of digital “magazines” run by big-name print journalists like David Pogue and Joe Zee.
• A Fifth of Time Inc.’S Ad Revenue Now Comes from Digital
  Time Inc., the nation’s largest magazine publisher, now generates 20% of its ad revenue through digital sales.
• As Content and Technology Converge, Publishers Feel the Squeeze
  Is there a difference between a content company and a technology company?
• Facebook Named World’s Fastest-Growing Media Owner
  The rising sales of smartphones and tablets has propelled Facebook to become the fastest growing media owner in the world.
• How to Sell Ads for a New Niche Magazine
  Savvy niche publishers know that when they launch a new publication, they must have a core of ready-to-commit advertisers who will sign on in the concept stage, at least to cover most of the production costs.
• Most Tabloids See Double-Digit Circulation Drops in Month Leading up to Election
  All national newspapers saw their circulation figures drop year-on-year in April, with The Times and Sunday Times performing best.
• Amazon Doubling Down on their Advertising Network
  Amazon has been slowly growing their internal advertising network, which allows companies to showcase their products and services on Kindle e-readers and tablets.

Revenue, cash flow continues to tumble.

• 5 Lessons from The Atlantic’s Redesign
  The Atlantic unveiled a redesign on Tuesday.
• Harvard Business Review: A Magazine that Readers Care About
  Focusing on areas such as leadership, finance, marketing and the art of managing people, among many other business-related topics, Harvard Business Review (HBR) is a magazine dedicated to improving all facets of management in today’s fast-paced world.
• Content Marketing Institute Founder Joe Pulizzi On “Activating Content” to Grow Audience
  Publishers are skilled at creating valuable content for their audiences, but they often fail to take that content one step further to truly engage readers on social media.
• Canada’s Opt-In Rules Could Change Marketing as We Know it
  The Canadian government has thrown another challenge into the mix: Canada’s Anti-Spam Law, or CASL, presumed to be the strictest marketing regulation in North America.
• 5 Challenges the Apple Watch Poses for Publishers
  The Apple Watch’s official release day is Friday, and strategy leads from digital media companies the world over are bracing themselves for the awkward question: “What’s our wearables strategy?”
• Business Insider can be Profitable, if it wants to be
  There is a tendency in the New York media space that is less common in the tech industry of guessing the relative profitability of digital news companies.
• Mail, Guardian and Mirror Sites’ Traffic Slips as Telegraph and Indy Make Gains
  Mail Online loses more than 5% of its daily unique browsers in latest ABC figures to fall back below 14 million.
• Google’s Latest Ad Price Declines are Because of YouTube, Not Mobile
  Despite Price Issue, Company’s Ad Revenue Grew 11% to $15.5 Billion. Another quarter in which Google has increased its advertising revenue despite making less money per ad.
• Why Fashion Publishers are Taking Over Coachella
  Branded festival events are a major draw for stylish millennials.

The Atlantic unveiled a redesign on Tuesday.

• ASME Revises Editorial Guidelines
  Moves clear the way for cover ads, editorial input in ad creative.
• Publishers Take Ad-Targeting Cues for Facebook Posts
  Facebook has been enlarging its role in the publishing ecosystem, from trying to handle publishers’ ad targeting to its controversial pitch to getting them to post their articles directly to the social network.
• Demystifying Programmatic Video Advertising
  Programmatic is arguably one of the biggest developments in the digital advertising space.
• A Radical Idea for Audience Development: Integrate your database
  VP Eric Rutter recently spoke at the Niche Media Conference about 9 radical ideas for audience development.
• Production: The Power of Print Still Prevails
  It’s less exciting than a hot new app and won’t be a topic for your next newspaper revolutionizing webinar, but newsprint continues to be one of the top three expenses for most newspaper companies, and it’s worth another look.
• USPS Adjusts Periodicals, Sets May 31 for all Rates
  The Postal Service announced on April 16th, in response to concerns raised by the Alliance, it has reduced the large price increases it had  previously proposed for light weight, low advertising magazines, primarily published and mailed by nonprofits.
• Digital Marketing and Death of a B2B Salesman
  Digital marketers are claiming the customer relationship, including the sales conversion, and that will cost an estimated one million B2B sales jobs.
• Data-Driven Marketing is All the Rage
  But are clients ready to act?
• Marketing Trends: How to Think Differently and Predict the Future
  Why marketers should care about trends?

Moves clear the way for cover ads, editorial input in ad creative.