Hiring, Firing & Building a Better Subscription Website

To build a better subscription website, we’ve created a collection of our best resources on everything you need to know when it comes to how to leverage outside partners

Most publishers seeking to improve the performance of their subscription website and online marketing efforts use a patchwork of systems.

Marketing offers and performance for subscriptions, books, webinars, and e-learning programs are often tracked in different systems, and the process of organizing which offers are made when is done manually.

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Some publishers only get this more advanced functionality if they invest in a larger marketing automation system such as HubSpot, PardotMarketo, or Eloqua.

All of these systems allow you to create content, publish it, collect email addresses and send drip email campaigns to those who you’ve attracted and converted to your website. It’s a little more than a content management system, a little less than a full customer relationship manager, and lacks most of the other tools publishers require because they’re fit to the needs more of medium- to large-sized product-based businesses, rather than multiplatform publishers. And they do a good job for their target markets.

When it comes to subscription website publishers, they’re often met with limitations, as evaluating which of these tools will work best for you will depend on how well it interfaces with your Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and your fulfillment system, as well as initiation and integration cost considerations.

Other digital marketing systems offer just the event functionality – services like Eventbrite or Eventzilla. If all you do is sell events, this would be simple, but they’re often just one product among many for publishers.

To support webinar marketing, publishers may use services such as EverWebinar or JetWebinar. They’re solid event management systems, but still require integration.

The commonality between all of the above, and what we’ve found for many online marketing tools, is that they often do not talk to one another. There’s no general contractor, and no API that makes every single piece work together, specifically for magazine publishers. So most magazine publishers are choosing the best one and managing them all individually.

The future of content management systems will be integrated online marketing systems. One central portal with a central login – a general contractor.

If you are looking to hire a general contractor and create a more integrated subscription website, consider reading the below posts, which illustrates how to hire, who to hire, and what to expect:

Why Every Multiplatform Publisher Should Outsource Strategy, Technology, and Analytics

Why You Should Fire Your Digital Publishing Services

3 Traits a Magazine Consultant Should Have Before You Hire

10 Things a Magazine Publishing Consultant Should Do for You

What Every Multiplatform System Must Provide for Magazine Publishers

How to Build a Systems Team for Your Publishing Business

To support publishers’ subscription websites and digital marketing efforts, Mequoda developed Haven Nexus CXMS, a customer experience system which fully integrates with a number of subsystems that include a content management system, a customer relationship management system, a marketing automation system and other specialized modules that support the 10 niche media business models that are shared by our client organizations. Haven Nexus is fully compatible and integrated with state-of-the-art fulfillment systems including SFG, CDS Global and Palm Coast Data.

Schedule a 30-minute complimentary consult with Mequoda’s founder, chairman and CEO Don Nicholas to learn more about Haven Nexus.

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