Thursday 10th February: Why the Mayo Game is bad for business

February 10, 2022

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How much mayonnaise can you put on a sandwich before someone complains? It's quite a bit more than you'd think - people will put up with a lot before actually taking a sandwich back.

Brian Morrissey uses the Mayo Game as a way to illustrate how the incentives of publishing are similar. Most visitors to sites have come through indirect channels, often with little understanding of where they are going. Might as well play the Mayo Game, which is how we end up with autoplay videos, content recommendation boxes, ad after ad layered on top of each other, and other issues that layer up.

It's a short term approach, but unfortunately one that ad models incentivise. Publishers focus on yield per page, so white space becomes potential margin. But it's possible to play the Mayo Game with subscription efforts too, as Morrissey warns. Some valuable lessons in here for all types of publishers.

We've been listening to podcasts pretty much solidly since Christmas, and are delighted to finally be able to reveal the shortlist for 2022's Publisher Podcast Awards. Over 120 podcasts have made the list, and it really does reflect the best of the best in the industry (if you're looking for a new must-listen!) We're also excited to announce that we're planning an in-person event on April 27th, with tickets being released next week.

We've talked a lot about eCommerce and the publishers who are making the most of the huge shift to buying things online. Our friend Damian Radcliffe has just released a new (free) report with What's New in Publishing, looking at the publishers leading the way with eCommerce, and the trends driving these changes. For any publishers considering eCommerce as part of their revenue mix, this is a must-read.

The BBC's live reporting pages collectively saw more than one billion visits during the pandemic. As a result, they're launching a new 'live' team with 31 journalists and 'significant investment' as they look to expand live coverage beyond the pandemic. I'm curious about this one as I was one of the billion people glued to BBC Live during Covid announcements. But I'm avoiding it all like the plague now. *Cough*.

This week's podcast:

In this episode we hear from Sophia Waterfield, editor and founder of Paranting Magazine. It’s a magazine for parents that don’t have time for some of the aspirational BS that a lot of lifestyle magazines cover. We spoke about the name, funding a start-up with the aim of actually paying freelancers – oh, and accents.

Simon Owens, Damian Radcliffe and Ed Madison, have put together a 10-week live interactive online course for people looking to develop, launch, and build a self-sustaining content business. I'm on the panel for the first session on the trends shaping the content business, but don't let that put you off...