Audience development is about more than blindly pursuing eyeballs and clicks across as many platforms as possible. As more independent publishers move to generate revenue through subscription and membership programs, there’s been a renewed interest in cultivating the right type of audience—that is, a loyal audience that’s willing to pay for monthly subscriptions to their…
Readers don’t click onto hyperlocal news websites for commentary on international issues. Most don’t visit for the coverage of professional sports teams, either. According to a series of studies by the Media Insight Project, an initiative of the American Press Institute and the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, readers are motivated to subscribe…
The times they are a changin’. Less than two months after WP Engine announced that it had raised $250 million in funding, the omnipresent WordPress host is changing its plans and pricing structure. In an announcement sent to its digital partners on Monday, WP Engine debuted its WordPress Digital Experience Platform (DXP), along with new…
Membership programs have become a source of sustenance for independent local publishers struggling to make up for decreasing ad revenue. While there’s no firm count on exactly how many local publishers are selling memberships to readers, the number is clearly growing. Forward-thinking publishers are finding new ways to maximize revenue through their membership programs, as…
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In a multi-screen world, multiplatform publishing is necessary for news outlets to survive. Multiplatform publishing is the idea of posting content on multiple channels in order to reach the greatest number of people. The concept sounds simple, but it can get complicated quickly as different platforms require their own formatting requirements and protocols. Multiplatform publishing…
Conventional wisdom says quality content is the most important element to success in an online publication. The truth is that content is oftentimes secondary to reader engagement. Local publications can’t thrive without devoted audiences, which is why many of the savviest publishers are searching for new ways to improve reader engagement. Audience engagement is especially…
It all starts with a great idea. That’s the first step in launching a news website. But turning a great idea for a website into a viable business can get tricky. Launching a news website doesn’t have to be expensive, and would-be entrepreneurs don’t necessarily need to be technically savvy to pull it off. As…
As they look at declining ad rates, independent publishers are searching for new paths to financial sustainability. While there is no single solution that works for everyone, membership programs are growing in popularity among online news publishers. Premium memberships aren’t the same thing as subscriptions or paywalls. Paywalls block access to content for visitors who…
Facebook’s recent decision to prioritize family and friends over publishers in its News Feed is causing many news organizations to re-think their social media strategies. With an expected decrease in Facebook traffic comes a renewed interest in Twitter strategies for local news publishers. Although Twitter is a fraction of Facebook’s size—the network accounts for just…
Readers have been clamoring for quality journalism for years. What’s different now is that they’re finally willing to pay for it. The percentage of Americans paying for online news has surged from 9% to 16% in just the past year, according to the Reuters Institute Digital News Report. Donations to news organizations have tripled in…