Tuesday 25th July: The audience metrics you should be prioritising

July 25, 2023

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Audience data experts give advice on what metrics, behaviours to prioritise

During the recent INMA Subscription Growth Master Class, The New York Times’ vice president of data and insights, a marketing professor, and a best-selling author shared insights into important metrics around engagement and research into the psychology of “streaks.”

www.inma.org/blogs/conference/post.cfm/audience-data-experts-give-advice-on-what-metrics-behaviours-to-prioritise

We’ve been a bit spoiled for choice on INMA content to include in the newsletter this week after what looks like a very insightful Subscriptions Growth Masterclass last week (this on Gannett, The Guardian and Aftenposten’s subscriber engagement tactics is also worth a read).

If you’re interested in audience behaviour and metrics at all, there are some valuable pieces of research teased out here. I found the last point about an alternative metric to subscriber renewal rates notable as a number of publishing leaders (including Nick Thompson) have said subscriber revenue is the focus rather than the raw numbers:

“Look at your churn rate, the number of new subscriptions, and forecast what your [monthly recurring revenue] will be at 12, 24, and 36 months from now,” Robert Skrob said. “When publications do this, it completely changes their subscription growth in a good way because now they understand where the churn is happening — and where they can focus to have the biggest impact.”

Innovation in practice: 5 ideas in action at successful media companies around the world

To survive, nevermind flourish, in this environment, strategic innovation — rather than innovation for the sake of it — is more important than ever.

whatsnewinpublishing.com/innovation-in-practice-5-ideas-in-action-at-successful-media-companies-around-the-world

In this extract from Damian Radcliffe’s new report for Di5rupt and What’s New in Publishing, he explores nine principles of content innovation. This piece is packed with examples from a wide range of publishing companies, although I remain sceptical that ‘flash briefings’ will take off any time soon.

How Vice Media went bankrupt

New documents reveal a yearslong slide into increasing financial desperation

www.adweek.com/media/vice-media-bankrupt

Mark Stenberg outlines how the company came to find itself $834 million in debt, and it’s not pretty. “By the end, Vice was just pouring water into a leaky bucket, and there was no tape in sight,” media analyst and Workweek founder Adam Ryan told him. “You can buy time with capital, but those last 18 months seem like throwing money in the toilet.”

Navigating news and advertising in the new media landscape – overview of recent research

This research roundup series delves into the complex world of news and ads, exploring the hurdles and opportunities in media ecosystem.

thefix.media/2023/7/20/navigating-news-and-advertising-in-the-new-media-landscape-overview-of-recent-research

It’s a tough task to keep on top of all the latest research, which is why I’ve been enjoying this research roundup series from The Fix. The latest roundup looks at the relationship between attention on articles and surrounding ads, the impact of fact check labels on ads, critical perspectives on local journalism, and the influence of ads on subscriptions.

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Finding the opportunity in AI depends on publishers building partnerships

AI will be the most ruthless disruptor publishers have faced. Explosive public adoption means inaction is simply not an option.

voices.media/finding-the-opportunity-in-ai-depends-on-publishers-building-partnerships

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