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- Tuesday 23rd August: The ‘secret’ to NYT’s subscription growth: Quality content
Tuesday 23rd August: The ‘secret’ to NYT’s subscription growth: Quality content
Good morning! Today's newsletter is brought to you by Peter.
I feel like apologising every time we bring up the subscription success of the New York Times. Yes, they have more than 9 million paid subscribers and, yes, they're on track to reach 15 million over the next five years. But they're not exactly typical: copying the New York Times is not an option for most, if any, other publishers.
However, I have no qualms about sharing this piece about the NYT from Jack Marshall at Toolkits. It basically puts the publishers' resources and tech infrastructure to one side and highlights instead the role quality content has played in its world-beating subscription strategy.
In an recent interview with Ben Thomson at Stratechery, NYT president and CEO Meredith Kopit Levien said its success was down to publishing the best content possible. Bundling, games and dynamic paywalls play a part for the Times, but a focus on publishing the best content possible for your audience is a strategy any publisher can replicate.
Buckle up, after months of ad-market bounce back the recession is coming. The $850 billion global advertising market will be lucky to escape a “car crash” next year as the cost of living crisis forces households to cut back on spending. The consumer pull back could see companies consider cutting marketing budgets as an easy cost-cutting strategy.
Speaking of advertising, Mr Brian Morrissey has hit the nail on the head again in his newsletter. This time he's pointing out the media truism that, the longer you go in your career, the more you’re in sales. After a lifetime 'back of house' Brian shares the lessons he's learned selling since going solo 18 months ago.
Press Gazette has a piece on Chris Phin's departure from DC Thomson and it's strange to see a friend's redundancy reported in the trade press. I'm sure the Scottish publisher's strategy for taking its podcasts to the next level has been carefully thought through, and we'll be watching developments eagerly. But, as big fans of Mr Phin, we can't help thinking they are missing a trick in not keeping him on the team.
(Use the code FOMC-MEDIA-50-MV for 50% off tickets!)
Podcast throwback:
Today's advertising sales' stories got me thinking again about whether advertising is actually worth all the effort. Digital ads have never really delivered on their full potential and its a crowded ecosystem with so many steps between creators and consumers. But then, I listened again to this conversation with Raoul Monks and Fergus Gregory, and yes it is.
