Reducing the risks of launching a subscription strategy (spoiler - it's more of a risk not to launch one) from The Audiencers PLUS Being intentional about choosing platforms for distribution

Over the past decade, one of the major trends in media has been the shift by many shops from advertising-supported models to much more and many audience-revenue models. You can see this not only amongst publishers but also the D2C model of video streaming - the plusification of content offerings, think Apple+, Disney+, Discover+, etc. However, that doesn't mean that a subscription strategy is without its risks and challenges. The Audiencers, a new site from Poool the French membership and subscription suite, highlights a few - including a loss of SEO, a loss of advertising and a loss of audience so you have fewer people to convert to paying subscribers. Despite these risks, they make the case that there is a greater risk in doing nothing.

I have seen a fair number of media shops engage in what I call a 'spray and pray' distribution strategy where they flood every possible channel with similar content with very little thought. INMA has an example from Brazil's largest financial newspaper in how they are using a much more intentional strategy in distributing its content to reach new audiences.

Plus, why you should craft SEO-friendly URLs. I'll give you one reason. For all of the hand-wringing about Twitter, look at your analytics and compare the amount of traffic you get from search compared to Twitter. Also, research from the Reuter Institute about hybrid working.

How can you launch a subscription strategy without putting your traffic, SEO, advertising revenue and your reader's view at risk?

Here is some good advice on how to mitigate the risks of launching a subscription strategy. The advice is really good overall product strategy advice, in which you minimise the risks of a change in your product or approach while testing different options to achieve the best result. (Note, they eat their own dogwood and are asking you to sign up before you can read the entire article. Smart.)

Carriera decided to target a younger audience by creating content for multiple platforms, using podcasts and LinkedIn. This digital transformation has dramatically increased pageviews and subscriptions.

A brilliant overview of how Carreira, the largest financial and economics newspaper in Brazil, has been using clear strategy to reach new audiences, including younger audiences by creating content for specific third-party platforms. An intentional content and distribution strategy is critical to engaging with audiences where they are and then converting them to paying subscribers. It's important to remember that awareness is only the top of the conversion funnel.

Following best practices for creating URLs will help improve search performance For most publishers, the web address for a piece of content is probably pretty low on the agenda when it comes to planning, creating and distributing their work. But without SEO-friendly URLs, you will struggle to achieve the search results that will help your …

For audience editors or product managers, we know that despite the energy around social media, search has been a much bigger and more reliable source of traffic. That also means that it has become more competitive. Digital editors will need to use all of the tools of SEO to make sure that their content tops results, and here is another one - the humble URL.

This report looks at how newsrooms are approaching questions around working patterns, talent retention and recruitment, and diversity.

There are so many industries where a five-day work week in the office will not be standard again in the near term and possibly forever.

Industry News: Google's testing a new way to monetise, TikTok's Rise and Twitter Drama Today

Google Quietly Tests New Way For Publishers To Monetize Web Sites - 11/25/2022

At the Media and Entertainment Leaders Summit earlier this month, Maria Rua Aguete, Senior Director at Omdia, revealed that TikTok will command 37% of online video advertising revenues by 2027. This market share would represent more than both Meta and YouTube combined. The research company forecasts online video advertising revenues will reach $331B by 2027. Aguete also said Netflix will generate $7.4B in ad revenues in 2027, equating to 2% in the online video advertising market.

Jio, Rolling Stones India, and Creativeland Asia are coming together to launch a rival 'Platform' to Instagram Reels

Launching in India, and considering the role of Jio in how Indians access the internet, this will be one to watch.

In conversations about climate change, climate skeptics frequently raise the point that the temperature has always fluctuated and has been on the rise for millennia. In fact, this is true. But the average temperature of the Earth has never risen so drastically or as quickly as it has during the last 100 years.

One for data journalists and designers amongst us.

Mediagazer presents the day's must-read media news on a single page.

The social media sites that journalists use most frequently for their jobs differ from those that the public turns to for news.  

Journalists use Twitter and the public uses other platforms.