Tag: advertising

Multiplatform publishing expands for Condé Nast; Slate lays off editors and writers; Vox Media names first COO
We begin this multiplatform publishing news by looking at an acquisition for Condé Nast, which involves a social data and marketing platform named CitizenNet. WWD reports, “The deal is meant to deepen Condé’s data-science talent and expertise, in order to enrich

Subscription publishers WSJ try ad-free digital; Huffington Post tries story format; NYT shares subscription lessons
A lot can be learned by trying new initiatives, especially when they are undertaken with some foresight. We’re watching as subscription publishers report on their initiatives, and attempt new ones.

We begin today with The New York Times, which is sharing information

Facebook’s mobile ad network reaches the top; Organic SEO news looks at 2016 data; The future of voice search
For the first time, Facebook’s mobile ad network has topped Google. MediaPost is reporting on this story, saying “Facebook’s mobile ad network emerged as the top-performing advertising network during the second part of 2016, giving marketers running campaigns

Thanks to fake news, there’s a surge of interest in “real news” sites, which could turn the news industry around
We’ve written a bit about fake news lately. How Google is banning it, how Facebook is blocking it, and how it’s being blamed for the results of our presidential election. But one thing I find interesting

Portals are seen most often because not only are they a profitable model on their own, they’re also intended to build and feed an audience for affiliated premium subscription websites. They are specifically designed for SEO, email marketing, list building, lead generation and building engagement and loyalty. It’s a Mequoda best practice to build a portal for every subscription website we create.

Publishers are seeing mixed results from Google AMP pages, but it just got even more important for news publications
According to Rank Ranger, who has been tracking the presence of Google AMP pages in mobile search results, only a quarter of pages that ranked in Google’s Top Pages were AMP pages at this time last year. It

Creating a magazine layout that includes interactivity is one more key toward selling more digital magazine subscriptions
It’s true that users prefer familiarity in digital magazines. As soon as you begin creating digital magazine apps that require an instruction manual to learn, many users tend to get frustrated. That’s why we think when designing a reflowed

TripAdvisor offers subscriptions; Facebook attempting to appeal to subscription website publishers; Apple looks at original content
Subscription website services develop out of necessity and a desire to develop new revenue streams. In today’s digital world, the opportunity to make more from these streams continue to grow as devices and accessibility grow as well.

First, we’re seeing TripAdvisor

How to make highly converting Floaters, pop-ups and mobile interstitial ads SEO-friendly
As you probably know, earlier this month, Google told publishers everywhere that they would begin penalizing them for pop-ups and Floaters which interfere with content on mobile pages. They’ve also told us not to show OFIEs to mobile users, the little order flows that

Google’s Bad Ads report shows action taken in 2016 to remove and ban deceptive advertising tactics
Finally, Google has decided to start cracking down on misleading and bad ads that look like news articles, or system errors that deceive users. When you think about it, these advertisers are paying for clickbait which probably has a high

New changes are coming globally for subscription websites using ad blockers
Ad blocking has become a big topic for subscription websites building audiences, as well as other digital media brands.

As this topic continues to be popular, we’re seeing new changes coming forth.

To start, Forbes is reporting on a decision made in the European Union regarding ad

Star magazine shows us how NOT to publish sponsored content in a print magazine (or anywhere)
Although it might seem like we ignore the trends of print magazines unless they’ve fallen off the map and decided to go digital, we’re still paying attention. One recently interesting bit of news about Star magazine and a complaint from

Magazine events bring in user and sponsor revenue, and many publishers have made a profitable business model out of them.

When we talk about multiplatform publishing, it’s easy to jump right into the obvious choices: the ones with words, like books and portals and ebooks. But some of the biggest publishers I know have incorporated live

Multiplatform publishers Meredith Corp. and Time Inc. talk merger; Variety launches content studio
We’re seeing movement with some major multiplatform publishers recently.

We begin by looking at a possible merger between Meredith Corp. and Time Inc.. MediaPost is reporting on this story. “After dating a few years ago, then taking some time off and seeing other companies, publishers

Whatever your specialty, there are membership website ideas you can profit from

Membership websites are defined by the fact that users access the content on-demand, when they have a question they need answered or a learning tool they need to access. A membership subscription website archetype provides paid members with a library of information on a specific topic of

Subscription publishers are now looking at app buttons, branded podcasting, and intrusive marketing workarounds 
Subscription publishers have a lot of options when it comes to how they market their content online. We already know that content marketing provides high-quality content with value, so that’s already part of the process. But options for delivering and marketing that

Will you prioritize upgrading the tools that will save you time, money, and your future?

“You live and die by your ability to prioritize. You must focus on the most important, mission-critical tasks each day and night, and then share, delegate, delay or skip the rest.” Those are the wise words of Jessica Jackley, co-founder of

Digital magazine engagement should be top priority for publishers in 2017
If there’s one area of publishing that has not stood still, it’s digital magazine publishing. In 2015 it was more important than ever for publishers to understand the five digital magazine archetypes and get app magazines at least one step up from a replica. And in

Multiplatform publishers should explore new ancillary business models in 2017

In stock investing, most long-term investors agree that you need a diversified portfolio to succeed. If one sector takes a hit for a couple years, the other sectors will keep you afloat. Over the last decade, I know more than a few publishers who would have

A Global Digital Commercial Team is launched by Hearst; Multiplatform publishers Discovery Communications and Active Interest Media names high-rank employees
As a new year gets underway, some multiplatform publishers are tackling major initiatives early on.

We’re seeing this play out at a number of publishing brands, including Hearst, Discovery Communications, and Active Interest Media.

The first story is

How to transform the way you attract, capture, engage, and monetize new visitors with a customer experience management system
Recall the first best friend you made. Maybe it was on the bus, or at an arcade, or maybe you bumped into one another at the roller skating rink.

You were instant friends. Maybe you figured that out

The most important SEO tip of the month is suppressing floaters and OFIEs for mobile phone users
By now most of you know that Google has decreed popups and interstitial ads, which include Mequoda Best Practice floaters, to be outlawed on mobile phones as of tomorrow, January 10, 2017.

Google objects to the way these ads interfere with

Multiplatform publishing involves a wide range of strategies, and unfortunately, some of those can be hacked
We’ve seen some interesting and unfortunate develops in the digital realm recently, including hacking and fake news.

We begin by looking at some recent data from eMarketer on the use of video in content marketing efforts. “According to the survey, a

Our most-read subscription website publishing posts of last year show an interest in building profitable subscription websites and improving the usability and site speed of existing websites.
In 2016, toward the end of the year it was made abundantly clear to publishers they would need to focus on more simple site design with faster loading times.

As the mobile publishing revolution has matured, I’ve been blogging about a lot of large, fancy digital magazines. Publications like New York, Forbes and The Atlantic have become leaders in what I consider the second phase of mobile publishing development – the technology is dependable, early jumpers are releasing their all-new versions upgraded from their 2010 efforts, and standards for what consumers are willing to pay for are establishing themselves.

Native advertising becomes a focus for the Guardian
According to Digiday, the Guardian says that customers were beginning to become their competitors, and that is the reason why they have started an in-house native advertising agency called “Hosted by the Guardian.” And by customers, they don’t mean subscribers. They’re talking about the advertising agencies that they once

Our top-read multiplatform publishing posts of last year show an interest in native advertising and publishing expansion

This year has been a huge time of change in publishing, and we’re excited to see that much of that change comes in the form of multiplatform publishing. Even the most hesitant publishers have started to adopt new subscription

When we talk about multiplatform publishing, some publishers think we’re talking about the difference between laptops, desktops and tablets. But those are simply the devices we deliver content through.

We’re talking about content repurposing, on many platforms.

Repurposing content is a core tenet of the Mequoda Method, but we can’t take credit for inventing the tactic. Rather, any publishers worth their salt – whether print or digital – have always run some variation on this theme. Why? Because it rewards your best work, saves you from excess work, gives you a ton of versatility, and will make you money while you sleep.

When a print magazine closes, a world of opportunity opens for its portal
A few weeks ago Conde Nast announced that they’d be closing the print arm of Self magazine. And after their single-copy sales dropped from 148,055 to 44,000 over the last two years, who can blame them? If you think about all the strings that

One really profitable revenue stream is a good thing. Two really great revenue streams is even better. Multiplatform publishers for the win!

Most niche publishers we know have books as part of their brand wheel. That’s because when you’re in a niche like ceramics, knitting, or even boating, it seems like the next logical step beyond

This content is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:
Password:

By all means, launch many content business models and diversify your publishing portfolio. But start with your magazine experience through your magazine subscription website.
We’re in a recession. Maybe you’re feeling pretty good right now personally, but publishers are in a recession. Big time. Last year was a recession especially for newspapers, according to Pew Research Center’s

How to promote content on three tricky social platforms that publishers want to love

Every once in awhile one of our clients asks us how they can leverage platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, or Pinterest as a content marketing platform. All three are completely viable social platforms for a social media strategy, and none of them I

How to make money with video on your own subscription website and beyond
Many multiplatform publishers have turned to e-learning platforms to make money with video and help subscribers either increase their skills or improve their lives. Publishers, along with many other organizations, such as universities and corporations, have found that text-heavy explanations of complex subject matter can

How will Google alter their algorithm to combat fake news in the future, and how will it affect the rest of us? 
I’m going to assume that you’re not one of those news sites that published fake news to garner clicks and ad revenue during the election.

But if you were, you probably made a heck of

Publishers are flocking to vertical video content and ads now that “it’s hip to be vertical.”
In the not too distant past, vertical video was only for Facetime and school plays you forgot to flip your phone sideways for. But with the advent of video streaming on social networks, and apps like Snapchat, vertical video is

Sponsored email newsletters and podcasting provide additional advertising and affiliate revenue opportunities
Email newsletters have been in vogue for at least a decade (even while consumers kept denying it but continued to spend money through email efforts). However, podcasting had a little phase a few years ago before going quiet, and now it’s back with equal

How to boost ad sales by building more benefit into your ad packages, rather than inflating single-platform circulation numbers

Maybe you’ve never lied on a resume, but according to CareerBuilder, 56% of hiring managers have caught applicants in lies. Maybe you’ve never cheated on a test, but according to U.S. News and World Report, 80% of “high-achieving” high

How to start a magazine and publish it profitably, without requiring a large team to start.
In her book How Not to Start a Magazine, B. Ann Bell says the number one way new magazines fail is through poor budget planning. Poor planning for printing, postage, and marketing are among the top expenses in her book, originally published

If you’re thinking of launching a subscription website, don’t skimp on preliminary research.
So you’ve decided to start a subscription website. We get requests weekly from entrepreneurs, veterans and newbies, who see subscription websites as the gold they want to begin mining. And while we love the enthusiasm, you need to approach subscription website publishing with

Publishers require a marketing automation system that works in tandem with a highly efficient content management system

In the last decade, marketing automation has become a hot topic for niche publishers. The term really refers to any software platform designed to automate repetitive marketing tasks to increase efficiency and reduce labor. Although this sounds simple enough,

When print declines, Consumer Reports gets a web 2.0 makeover (wait, what .0 are we on now?)
When we heard Consumer Reports was undergoing a makeover it was music to our ears. Not because they have a particularly ugly publication or website, but because their reason, according to USAToday, is “an effort to to broaden digital

Can metered paywalls be the solution to voluntary whitelisting of adblockers?
As they say, if you’re not paying for a product, then you’re the product. And in publishing, when you’re giving away content on your site for free, users don’t seem to understand that you need ads to keep the free content flowing. Adblockers are obviously

A basic overview of how a single magazine can turn into a multiplatform magazine through revenue and content model planning
Over the last few weeks we’ve gone over our a collection of content business models used by publishers and we’ve used Green Gardens Network as an example to make our points. If you’re new to Mequoda, please

Spending on print ads to decline 8.7%, and the majors in newspaper publishing are planning for the future
A decade or two ago in newspaper publishing, it wasn’t easy to get ad space in The Wall Street Journal. There was limited space and they were almost always sold out. However, over the last decade, magazines and

Coming up with the right content business model(s) can be the biggest stumbling block for those looking to grow a publishing business.
Choosing your content focus is a business-critical decision, as the focus you choose pretty much dictates your chances of success with multiplatform publishing. However, more serious than the focus on content, is the business

Instant Articles are being used by major publishers and Facebook is taking note

Facebook has become the bane of every brand and publisher’s audience development strategy, as they increasingly limit visibility on posts that aren’t boosted though their ads platform.

However, one thing we can all be happy about is how they’re improving those ads. Although Facebook’s

When becoming content partners with brands, magazines must put an emphasis on delivering more than basic metrics
There’s no doubt that brands are becoming hip to content, and while their first instinct was to hire content marketing companies to create brand stories, they’ve certainly evolved to see publishers as the experts of content. Thankfully, publishers noticed

Meredith is busy leveraging a multiplatform strategy of turning popular apps and TV shows into niche print magazines—and having huge success.
Meredith’s chief brand officer, Kim Martin, recently told FolioMag.com that they serve 72 percent millennial women and are actively adjusting their multiplatform strategy.

To better serve millennials, they recently launched More.com,  which she describes as “a website

Monitoring the latest digital ad trends finds an effort for more transparency, an elephant in the room, and a major player making a major move
Digital ad trends are as volatile as any in the industry, with highs and lows aplenty. Ad blocking, viewability, tech concerns, juggernauts like Google and Facebook, programmatic, native … the list