How to Measure Your Newsletter Performance after Apple Allows iOS Users to Opt-out of Open Tracking

June 16, 2021

In iOS 15, Apple will allow users to opt out of being tracked for what newsletters they open. That is one of the main metrics that newsletter publishers use to monitor success. The Fix presents some other ways that publishers might measure success, including for those important advertisers.

We have a raft of good product-focused stories today including how legacy publishers are rolling out digital products for kids. It feels very much like strategies from the past to build a habit in younger audiences like kids sections in newspapers or educational editions.

Also, The Week has redesigned its website. It has rolled out lazy loading to speed the load of its site, and it also has changed this up to take advantage of opportunities in native advertising.

Plus, how to use first-party data to maintain and build those key relationships with audiences. Fox Corp. creates a fund for NFTs and blockchain. A VC gets into publishing, and lessons from a project to build an automated factchecking tool.

How to Measure Newsletter Performance After Apple Tightens Privacy

Apple’s updates endanger the industry’s key metric, but it’s a minor hiccup In the booming newsletter business, there are few metrics as important for publishers and advertisers as open rate. Last week, Apple announced its new iOS version will make this cornerstone metric virtually irrelevant. The company introduced a privacy feature that would prevent senders from knowing …

As Apple moves to allow users to make their newsletter opens private, some ideas about how to monitor your newsletter performance in the future.

Legacy Publishers Growing Products for Children

Some publishers have started to bypass inherited brand affinity altogether by creating publications for younger generations.

"(T)he (America's Test Kitchen) 18-person team charged with developing products for children got to thinking on how it could do more to reach this demographic. The team came up with a podcast, called Mystery Recipe (now on its third season) that earns some sponsorship revenue from ad placements."

The Week Redesigns Site to Capture More Native Ad Revenue

The Week redesigned its U.S. website to reflect a shift in its business and provide more space for native ads, such as sponsored ads.

The Week rolled out lazy loading to improve the speed of page load and to open up more opportunities for native advertising (due to a decline in display ads).

VC Gets Into Publishing

Today, venture firm Andreessen Horowitz is officially launching its media property, called Future. I’m on vacation today but couldn’t resist covering this fascinating new project. The publication will initially focus on topics related to areas that the firm invests in but will expand over time using a mix of full-time staff, paid contributors and industry […]

This has been telegraphed for quite a while now. "The publication will initially focus on topics related to areas that the firm invests in but will expand over time using a mix of full-time staff, paid contributors and industry operators like founders, academics and entrepreneurs. ... they will focus on future-focused informational and editorial content, rather than day-to-day tech occurrences. "

First-Party Data Seen as Relationships with Audiences

First-party data is publishing’s ace in the hole. When third-party cookies finally go away in 2022, marketers will be looking longingly at the audience data collected directly by publishers to help them define and target their messaging. Context Unless you’re a data guy or girl, the conversation around data can seem a little… I was …

"First-party data lets you draw a direct line between your readers and your content, and no one, not Facebook, Google or Apple, can come between you. Every interaction – from subscription forms to behavioural data gathered through apps and websites – deepens your ability to understand your audience."

Automated Fact-Checking: Mistakes but Incredible Promise

The project brought the world one step closer to live automated fact-checking, but it still has a ways to go

Bill Adair, who is the person behind PolitiFact, walks us through the development of Squash, an automated fact-checking platform. He is honest what works and what doesn't, but it's an excellent overview of how to develop such a system.

Australia: Launch Partners for Apple Podcast Subscriptions

Listeners to Apple Podcasts can discover thousands of subscriptions and channels featuring brand new shows that span many genres and formats.

Fox Corp. Launches NFT and Blockchain Fund

Fox Corp. is joining the list of investors and businesses pumping big money into nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, a type of digital file that can be bought and sold around creative works like pictures, music and videos.