Welcome to The Publisher Newsletter, by Media Voices. We’re heading to Newsrewired in London on Nov 27th - it’s got a fab lineup which you can check out here. Afterwards, we’re hosting Pod in a Pub, a live podcast with drinks and festive nibbles at the White Swan in Aldgate. Numbers are strictly limited so if you want to join us, grab a ticket!

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Total Politics’ recipe for product success: teamwork, responsiveness, quality

Total Politics Group is a – surprise! – politics-oriented specialist publisher. With brands including The House, Politics Home, The Parliament, and more under its belt, it has long been a fixture of the UK media landscape. But as Ludovica D’Angelo, its Director of Publishing Operations, explains, its approach to product development is extremely modern.

One of the sad truths of publishing over the past few decades is that media bosses ignored the need for revenue diversification. Advertising was good enough on its own – until it wasn’t. Events and awards were fine on their own – until they weren’t. 

That’s been the case until relatively recently, when the media omnicrisis demanded that publications found new revenue models, and quickly.

Behind any new monetisation strategy lies a great product. A fresh newsletter can open up new reader revenue opportunities; new websites create the chance for new ad and sponsorship, and so on. But, as anyone who’s ever worked in a media business knows, it’s far easier said than done to launch a new product. Multiple stakeholders need to weigh in, the purse strings need to be coaxed open, and ultimately, it takes a product manager to get that all across the line.

So the role of product manager has never been as important as it is today. For Ludovica D’Angelo, Director of Publishing Operations for the Total Politics Group, it is a role that encompasses trialling new ideas, smashing silo walls, and plenty more besides.

Teamwork makes the dream work

From her many years of experience in developing and managing editorial products and projects, D’Angelo has identified silos between departments as one of the biggest challenges faced by publishers. She believes she was brought into Total Politics in part as a result of her reputation for breaking silos and fostering collaboration at previous publications. Contrary to popular belief, it’s an ongoing process as staff turnover means that the pernicious silos can reestablish themselves over time.

She notes on this week’s episode of The Publisher Podcast that it is vital to have one or two people – or a small team – with oversight of the product development cycle as a whole: “The role of leadership is to let individuals and single teams understand what the vision is, and reminding them often, because nowadays every team is spread thin. Companies are lean. So you have people really focusing on what they're doing, with the risk of losing that perspective.

“So it's important for managers and for the leaders of a company to all constantly remind them of what the vision is, but also to empower people and let them understand that they are part [of the team].”

Total Politics’ product development process empowers employees across departments, allowing the brand to innovate while preserving that all-important cohesive brand identity. That collaborative framework not only enhances product quality but also boosts team morale, as employees feel more connected to the company’s overarching mission and vision. 

But, as always, it’s far easier said than done.

Quick off the mark

Total Politics, under D’Angelo, has crafted a product development strategy that is responsive to the needs of its audiences of civil servants and politicians. Recognising that political shifts around election seasons create distinct engagement opportunities, Total Politics created new products designed to meet those needs. As it turns out, at least some politicians want to stay abreast of things!

One example of this in practice involved developing short-term, election-specific newsletters that target prospective parliamentary candidates, offering relevant and timely insights. These focused, responsive products achieved high engagement rates, with open rates exceeding 33%, indicating strong reader demand for tailored political content. 

D’Angelo says that, although the team could not provide accurate revenue forecasts for those newsletters, there was a lot of prep that went into an otherwise speedy launch. “We can't give [senior stakeholders] an immediate return of investment for a newsletter that doesn't exist. But if we explain exactly why we're doing it, then [we can trial it]. 

“We have had really good feedback and good returns. And sometimes you need to start small; one test and then see how it goes, and go on a bigger scale if the concept works.”

Additionally, Total Politics identified an untapped audience in parliamentary staffers and developed a newsletter specifically for them, aiming to build long-term engagement with a very specialised segment within their audience.

Unique selling points

D’Angelo’s first role in media was at a luxury food and drink magazine in Italy. For print products, there is a very clear idea of what ‘quality’ looks like, from beautiful photography to paper stock. You know the quality – that ineffable feel of luxury – just from touching a magazine.

With digital platforms now a dominant channel, Total Politics has prioritised a consistent user experience across its platforms, maintaining visual and functional cohesion across its digital products. This enhances brand familiarity among its very targeted audience – but more importantly provides a ‘North Star’ around which the team can concentrate on providing quality products in new environments.

D’Angelo explains: “We do have competitors, but we are definitely extremely specialised. So our unique selling points are pretty unique. For example, a period of the year that is extremely important for us is the party conference. We arrange loads of fringes, a party… [but] we always need to keep an eye on what others are doing. 

“So it's a constant conversation with clients, for example, to see what the needs are. And we've been trialling different formats. This year, for the first time, with the Port of Dover we've done Dover Soul – a soul concert.” If you can ignore the pun, that’s the sort of experimentation around product development that drives a brand forward.

There’s plenty more in the full episode about how Total Politics Group is constantly pushing itself, whether that be to evolve the brand, to reach new audience segments, and to find new revenue opportunities. But the biggest takeawayis that there is a virtuous circle to D’Angelo’s product strategy that benefits the entire brand. 

By concentrating on maintaining the quality of product from inception to execution, the brand’s reputation remains strong – which in turn allows them to experiment with new product launches.

Studies have found that few publishers convert more than 10% of their audience to paying subscribers. But mitigating churn and fostering retention is challenging in today’s landscape. So what are media and publishing companies to do?

Find out what the leading causes of subscriber churn are, why first-party data is the key to growth and profitability, and what strategies you can employ to retain subscribers and reduce churn in BlueConic’s free resource, A Publisher’s Guide to Mitigating Churn and Increasing Subscriber Retention.

More good reads from the week: