Audience Engagement Digital Publishing
3 mins read

The Must-Read Publishing Stories You May Have Missed Oct 11th 2019

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How Buzzfeed is solving native advertising’s scale problem, Tatler doubles digital revenues, and more…

Buzzfeed’s hybrid approach hits the mark

Native advertising was never going to be a magic bullet for publishers. Because each ad is custom created, it’s difficult to scale because any growth in the client base means hiring more creatives.

This dilemma has stalled the growth of many digital publishing giants. But Buzzfeed has taken steps towards solving native advertising’s scale problem, with hybrid deals combining native advertising and ecommerce.

This week, Simon Owens dives into Buzzfeed’s hybrid ad model, looking at how the publisher has been collaborating with clients to develop products for the millennial audience it knows so well, then marketing it through native ads.

Buzzfeed may have had its own revenue struggles over the past few years, but as they revealed recently, they will generate more than $100 million in revenue this year from lines of business that didn’t exist for the company in 2017. There’s some Thursday inspiration for you.

@WNIP

What’s new this week

A reinvigorated Tatler celebrates circulation success

British high society and culture magazine Tatler has undergone some dramatic changes over the past year, driven by changes in the leadership team. The changes have paid off, with an increase in the magazine’s circulation, and also online where digital revenues have almost doubled since 2017.

Publishers are using first-party data to drive engagement, conversions & better ad targeting
Anti-tracking measures adopted by popular browsers, coupled with increased scrutiny of privacy regulators, has forced many publishers to think about how to leverage their first-party data.
How publishers are growing their audience on TikTok, the app with over half a billion users
TikTok offers publishers the opportunity to reach and engage with younger audiences. However, since it’s fairly new, right now they are trying to find their groove by exploring different ideas.
Facebook is the #1 pathway to news, but social media is making the news experience worse
A majority of Americans say that the role social media companies play in delivering the news on their sites results in a worse mix of news.
How BuzzFeed is solving native advertising’s scale problem
Buzzfeed has been putting together hybrid deals that combine native advertising with ecommerce.
Launching a podcast? How to decide on a topic
Don’t just consider the obvious. Some of the best publisher podcasts have come about by the team looking at what audio can offer that print and online can’t.
Top 6 publisher subscription benchmarks, from Google News Initiative
Reliable benchmarks for growing digital subscriptions is critical, as publishers seek to map an optimal visitor journey towards purchasing a digital subscription.
Using data as content: The publishers’ “secret weapon” to break through the noise
It’s always been incredibly challenging to break through the noise, but we have a secret weapon we’ve been using: data.
Slow Journalism… the importance of explaining the news, not just breaking it
Can slow journalism successfully serve as an antidote for news fatigue, and produce an offer the readership is actually willing to pay for?
Closer and direct: What Italian media can teach us
Italian publishers are facing similar hurdles to their counterparts in the rest of Europe and the US, but there are key differences in how those challenges are tackled.
How Fast Company and Inc. became more than magazine titles
Diversification of the Fast Company and Inc. magazine brands into new revenue streams has helped deliver record results for the titles’ holding company.
What publishers can learn from adblockers
Almost half of all internet users are currently using ad blockers. What can publishers learn from this large population of readers that block ads?
Insights on “stories that power communities” from the Engaged Journalism Accelerator
Engaged journalism is about improving the product, as well as the relationship between the publisher and the reader.
A publication’s evolution into a fully-funded business: Insights from gal-dem
Gal-dem’s Head of Editorial Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff talks about the publication’s evolution into a fully-fledged and funded publishing business.