Thursday 28th January: Why altruism is our big bet for virtual awards

January 28, 2021

Welcome to the Thursday Media Club 🔎 Today's newsletter has been brought to you by Peter.

You might have heard... we just released the shortlist for the 2021 Publisher Podcast Awards. As Chris writes over on the Media Voices site, things will be a little different this year. Like everyone else, we’ll be running the event remotely. And, like everyone else we've struggled to decide how best to monetise the event.

As good as our virtual awards ceremony will be we can’t replicate the buzz of last year's live event and we struggled to fix a ticket price. Our solution has been to trial a Pay What You Will ticketing option. Chris places our decision in the broader context of our belief that there isn't only one way to get people to pay for content.

As he explains, altruism is our big bet for the future of media - at least while we're all locked down. We’re hopeful the gamble pays off and, with your support, we're set up to make 2022’s Awards the biggest, most inclusive and best (publisher) podcast awards show on the planet.

Complex Networks used Google’s News Consumer Insights tools to figure out what was stopping people from hitting the checkout button on its e-commerce platform. Improvements to the user experience delivered a 300% increase in conversion rates. Changes included improvements to search, the addition of a 'Continue Shopping' button and a retargeting email for abandoned shopping carts.

The big lesson - Publishers that have online shops have to “act like an e-commerce player.”

Not content with making the youngster smarter, The Week Junior is looking to help our young folk look after their mental and physical health. The section launch is timed to coincide with charity Place2Be's annual Children’s Mental Health Week. Upcoming features will look at sleep, nutrition, happiness and homework.

Pulitzer prize winner Marty Baron is retiring after 45 years in journalism. He led the 'second-chance' transformation of the Washington Post from a regional paper to an international digital news brand. But he is possibly even better known for spearheading the Boston Globe's Spotlight investigation into attempts by the Catholic Church to cover-up sexual abuse. Well earned!

This week's podcast:

This week we hear from Yahoo Lifestyle Editor in Chief for Southeast Asia, Reta Lee. We talked about spinning up new content pillars and identifying trends, the opportunity for eCommerce in Asia and collaborating with teams in the US and UK.

Over 100 podcasts made the shortlist for the second annual Publisher Podcast Awards, with some of the biggest names in global publishing represented. Check out the full line-up across 18 categories including Best Coronavirus Podcast, Best Launch and Best Commercial Strategy. We're so excited 🎉🥳🤩