#125 — How to stand out
Since many of us have internet and news fatigue this week, this issue is a little shorter than usual. There's some great reads in here though, we hope you find them interesting!
💯 Top picks
[Thread] Lessons from subscribing to 50+ newsletters
This Twitter use signed up for more than 50 newsletters for a side-project and documented some useful findings about how stand out, how to set expectations, and how to make it more personal.
💸 Business models
How eCommerce, memberships and donations are helping diversify revenues
"Given the challenge of current advertising markets, it’s no surprise that many publishers are looking to increase their revenue from subscriptions. However, this isn’t the only way they can generate more reader revenue."
How a Los Angeles punk fanzine discovered its greatest asset: its readers
Whilst many niche publishers often only survive for a limited timespan, Razorcake has managed to ride out twenty years through a unique program that puts its readership at the heart of its content and distribution.
✍️ Modern journalism
For the first time, The New York Times’ digital subscriptions generate more revenue than print
And its total count of subscriptions passed 7 million for the first time last month.
3 publishers that saw business impact with Digital News Innovation projects
Twipe share three examples of news innovation projects that have had a positive impact: Gamification brings in 10x growth, personalisation reduces churn by 49% and adding more value to paid plans brings in 40% more subscribers!
💻 Technology
Do subscription popups really work?
"For how annoying they are and how much they go against UX best practices, it seems like you can’t go to a website these days without getting served an unapologetic pop-up."
Navigating COVID-19 and ad tech: 7 tactics for publishers
In response to an initial coronavirus news bump, many publishers witnessed record traffic to their sites, and growth in subscribers. At the same time, they had to contend with a slump in advertising revenues.
🤷 WTF?
To mend a broken internet, create online parks
"We need public spaces, built in the spirit of Walt Whitman, that allow us to gather, communicate, and share in something bigger than ourselves."
