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Audience Development

Two tactics to convert print readers to digital

Spiny Trends / 2022-12-02

Rising print production and distribution costs are squeezing margins for many legacy print publications. Digital transition has long been seen as a lower-cost alternative for pressured publishers, but to make the switch work, they must create digital habi...

ArticleAudience Development

Focus on these five media strategies for 2023

Spiny Trends / 2022-11-30

With just a month to go until the end of 2022, now is a good time for publishers to consider the steps they should take heading into next year. To help counter an uncertain future, journalism professor Damian Radcliffe has listed the key media strategies ...

ArticleContent

What is a headless CMS?

Spiny Trends / 2022-11-25

With more and more digital channels and devices available to consumers, publishers have had to adapt their publishing processes to reach audiences where they spend their time. This has led to a rise in demand for headless content management systems (CMS) ...

ArticleUncategorized

Publishers should craft SEO-friendly URLs

Spiny Trends / 2022-11-23

For most publishers, the web address for a piece of content is probably pretty low on the agenda when it comes to planning, creating and distributing their work. But without SEO-friendly URLs, you will struggle to achieve the search results that will help...

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Best practices for publishing a successful newsletter

Spiny Trends / 2022-11-16

There has been a lot written about the recent resurgence of newsletters and the value they can deliver in increased engagement, reader loyalty and even monetization. But reports of increasing popularity don’t help publishers get to grips with the newslett...

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Micropayments might help publishers sell subscriptions

Spiny Trends / 2022-11-16

Probably the key success factor for any reader-revenue strategy is subscriber acquisition. Retention is important once you have the business, but signing new customers up has to be the starting point in any subscriptions business. Knowing the best people ...

ArticleAdvertising

Direct deals and onsite display grow video advertising revenue

Spiny Trends / 2022-11-13

Digital advertising revenues grew ‘exponentially’ in 2021. The IAB reported the global total for the year at $190 billion, a $50 billion increase. Growth projections for 2022 have been scaled back throughout the year as fears of a recession deepen, but am...

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How topical authority helps publishers win at search

Spiny Trends / 2022-11-09

SEO’s Holy Grail is to rank highly for every keyword related to your niche. While the reality of search makes achieving that ideal unlikely, establishing topical authority – becoming the go-to site in your subject area – can boost SERP...

ArticleAdvertising

How should publishers measure time spent?

Spiny Trends / 2022-11-04

Knowing how long your audience spends with your content is a key metric. Call it engagement, dwell time or time on page, but understanding just how much attention you are getting from your site visitors matters. It impacts everything, from content strateg...

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How publishers can use A/B testing effectively

Spiny Trends / 2022-11-02

A new report says A/B testing is one of the biggest drivers of incremental growth for publishers. Produced by online media-business magazine Digiday and pub-tech provider Piano, ‘The publisher’s guide to A/B testing’ presents an overview of the key aspect...

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AI tools that will save publishers time and money

Spiny Trends / 2022-10-27

There have been concerns that, under the pressure of the day-to-day challenges of revenue generation and content creation, smaller publishers are avoiding experimenting with AI for fear of wasting precious resources. But a recent article from The Fix has ...

ArticleUncategorized

Publishers cutting ad counts to protect reader data

Spiny Trends / 2022-10-26

In print, more advertisements generally mean more money. That legacy thinking has dominated digital publishing for a long time. But there are signs that publishers are cutting ad counts, rethinking their approach to optimal ad space in the age of first-pa...

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Switch from social to SEO strategy grew revenue for NYT

Spiny Trends / 2022-10-21

According to VP of newsroom strategy at the Athletic, Claudio Cabrera, SEO has not always been the most important part of The New York Times’ efforts to attract audiences and grow revenue. Speaking on a Spanish language webinar for INMA members, the forme...

ArticleContent

Publishers unmoved by the end of Facebook Instant Articles

Spiny Trends / 2022-10-19

Meta is turning off support for Instant Articles, introduced in 2015 to speed up user access to publisher content within the Facebook app. Although some publishers still generate income through the native format, most seem happy with the idea of directing...

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Google’s Helpful Content update is good news for quality publishers?

Spiny Trends / 2022-10-14

In August, Google introduced its ‘Helpful Content’ Search update. On releasing the update, the search giant said it recognized that people don’t find content useful if it seems like it was designed to attract clicks rather than inform readers; the aim of ...

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Top podcasting tips from leading publishers

Spiny Trends / 2022-10-12

The inaugural Publisher Podcast Summit in London this month featured podcasting tips from some of the UK’s leading publishers. Speakers offered advice on commercial strategy, podcast production, episode planning and equipment choices throughout the full d...

ArticleContent

Identifying your real SEO competitors

Spiny Trends / 2022-10-07

Effective SEO is all about getting as close to the top of the search engine results pages (SERPs) as possible. A key component of that optimization effort is researching the companies that compete with you, and a recent post from SEO experts MOZ points ou...

ArticleContent

How to recycle your evergreen content

Spiny Trends / 2022-10-04

There is sometimes a sense in publishing that content creation is a one-and-done deal; publish, share and move on. But creating engaging content requires significant investment. To maximize the return on that investment, publishers are developing strategi...

ArticleUncategorized

What is commerce media?

Spiny Trends / 2022-10-02

Both ecommerce and the associated media offerings around the retail sector have grown exponentially over the last two years. Now consulting firm McKinsey has said that the sector should be viewed as one, bringing brand advertisers, retailers and media com...

ArticleAudience Development

Is consulting revenue a possibility for publishers?

Spiny Trends / 2022-09-28

Iconic magazine brand Time is the latest in a line of publishing companies that are hoping to win over clients with their unique expertise. The business is looking to generate consulting revenue from companies that need help moving beyond carbon offsettin...

ArticleContent

TikTok search growing in key influencer verticals

Spiny Trends / 2022-09-23

TikTok’s internal search is never going to replace Google as the most effective way to find important information on the open web. But for niche influencer verticals like food, travel and gardening, where video content plays well, the social video platfor...

ArticleContent

Why publishers need a YouTube strategy

Spiny Trends / 2022-09-21

YouTube is the second most popular social network in the world. With almost 2.5 billion monthly active users, only Facebook has greater reach. And yet many publishers approach the video platform as an afterthought, giving it far less attention than sexier...

ArticleJobs

Eight lessons for publishing leaders

Spiny Trends / 2022-09-16

Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said a leader is best when people barely know they exist. That sentiment contrasts starkly with the attitude of some publishing leaders, accused of creating ‘toxic’ work environments in some media organizations. So what should ...

ArticleContent

What is the ideal article length?

Spiny Trends / 2022-09-14

How long, or short, should an article be? Purists would say it should be as long as it needs to be to tell the story properly. But the publishing reality is that resources are tight, formats are fixed and as wonderful as your prose might be, readers have ...

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Print price hikes force deeper focus on digital revenues

Spiny Trends / 2022-09-08

With international inflation rates reaching levels not seen since the 1980s, print production and distribution costs are pushing losses up for some legacy publishers. Digital transition is seen as a clear hope for beleaguered publishers; refocusing on dig...