Tuesday 11th April: NTM shares 5 epic fails and what they've learned

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NTM shares 5 epic fails and the lessons they taught

Peter spoke to NTM's Head of Editorial Development Jens Pettersson as part of our new AI report (out today!). Here, Petterson takes the unusual step of sharing the stuff that hasn't worked over the past few years.

"If we want to be this fast - and also successful - we need to allow ourselves to make mistakes," he says. "We need to be brave and be willing to test and try. We need to be a learning organisation and integrate this into our company culture. And we need to dare to do wrong."

From uncoordinated paywall setups to missing their target audiences, this is an insightful look at what the team have learned from various failures. I love reading pieces like this and wish more people were willing to be honest about what didn't work as well as the successes!

“Article gifting” proves surprisingly successful for Hearst Newspapers

In a survey of Hearst newspaper's subscribers, the ability to share articles with friends or family was the most requested feature benefit. Rather than allow recipients to read an article completely for free though, Hearst require an email address, which a massive 20% of gift recipients go on to provide. Gifting articles isn't new, but it's notable how much more willing people are to provide email addresses if it's coming from a friend or family member.

The balancing act of scaling your media business: simplify or complicate

Skift founder Rafat Ali is an essential media person to follow on whatever social platforms you're sticking with. He frequently shares his challenges, wins and wisdom from running a media business, and very occasionally writes them up in a longer post. Here, he gives some thoughts on the balancing act of scaling a media business; something that is both deceptively simple and complex at the same time.

Ranked: The best newsbrands at converting readers to paying subscribers

Would you have guessed that The Athletic has the highest number of website visitors who are digital subscribers (16%)?! There are also some solid insights after the rankings table about how much room there is for publishers to grow subscribers, and what sets apart those with higher conversion rates.

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Listen again: Skift CEO Rafat Ali on paid content and the perils of VC funding

We spoke to Rafat a couple of years ago about what connects the dots between paid content, travel, dining and wellness, his belief in trendlines not headlines, his long-term aspirations for Skift vs short-term VC plays, and why he wants to be useless to his business.