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‘Be Tech-Led, Not Led by Tech’; A Blueprint for Publishers to Follow in 2023

by BIMSMedia

In an article on Digital Content Next, Juan Señor, an award-winning journalist and president of the Innovation Media Consulting Group, laid out—in a new report—“five recommendations for publishers as they look ahead to the uncertainties of the New Year.”

At BIMS 2023, Craig Fuller, CEO of FreightWaves, will deliver a keynote titled, “How FreightWaves Created a One-Two Punch With Marketing Services and Subscription Data.” One of the five recommendations that Señor lists urges publishers to keep focusing on subscriptions. Lerner saw right away that this means much more than just the revenue from that. Data will be key in this new order.

Another recommendation concerns diversification, and that means riding the return of events. “We feel that events have really segmented into two categories: trade shows and niche boutique events,” said John Lerner, CEO of Breaking Media, and a BIMS 2023 co-presenter for B2B Digital Advertising Surge—Will It Continue?

“Each market will support 1-2 large trade shows, but I have heard many marketers are still evaluating ROI beyond the #1 show in their market. The highly focused boutique events offer an opportunity for more networking, and we feel these fit well with highly targeted digital media.”

Here are the five recommendations with some AM&P Network-ification.

Keep your foot on the subscription gas. “People know they have to pay for news,” Señor says, “so be the one that they pay for.” In studying their audience’s behavior, The Atlantic’s data science team observed that “lighter” topics tend to appear earlier in a person’s path to becoming a subscriber, and that “weightier” topics tend to be “the reads immediately before a person makes a decision” to subscribe. “We don’t lean toward one of these over the other,” they said. “Rather, it’s the overall composition of topics a reader spends time with that matters most in driving return visits and subscriptions.”

Continue to explore opportunities for revenue diversification. Gamification is surging again, the Innovation Report says, as publishers seek to draw in new subscribers, generate fresh revenue streams and increase the “stickiness” of their relationships with audiences. “There are huge benefits for publishers in diversifying revenue streams and exploring alternative avenues,” said Elizabeth Deeming, Future Plc’s SVP of group, and Lerner’s co-presenter. “At Future, we created a Future Wheel—the wheel is made up of our different monetization streams—from print, advertising, video production, to e-commerce.”

Unlock the power—and results—of product thinking. “Product thinking begins with realizing that every way people experience the news is a possible product or feature,” the report observes. “Publishers must now become product companies and not just news media publishers,” Señor adds.

Even ideas that don’t take off can provide meaningful steps in the product development process. Amazon’s history is littered with failures. “These days, you have to rely on people in your teams to be smarter than you,” Anita Zielina, a media innovator and former BIMS keynote said. “And that’s a tough thing. And embracing failure is easier said than done. We like to win and are not so excited about failure. But the culture of failure empowers your team to experiment. If you don’t, you’re not going to have creativity in the room. Experimentation includes failure, and organizations need to live with that. There is no digital product development that doesn’t have unexpected turbulences. But it also allows for agility.”

Be tech-led, not led by tech. “First-party data gives us the chance to have a direct relationship, control the pricing, content and dialogue with our readers without intermediaries,” the report states. “This is a massive shift and one we must prepare for.” At BIMS, there will be a whole track devoted to tech, including the session, Time Is Short: What’s Your First-Party Data Strategy? In their Email Engagement Report – Q2 2022, Omeda wrote: “Email continues to be a force, and with a few tricks to test out and some diligence, you can optimize performance over time. Plus, when your audience strategy is built on a foundation of first-party data, you’ll be well-prepared for future changes.”

Invest in content, especially visual media. “The Metaverse, Web 3, none of this stuff will make the difference,” Señor said. “What will make the difference is investment in journalism.” And a huge part of that journalism is visual.

For his 2022 Neal Award-winning story, Industry Dive’s Ben Fidler found a powerful video of his subject, Sek Kathiresan, winning the Curt Stern award—an honor given to pioneering human geneticists by the American Society of Human Genetics. In his acceptance speech, Kathiresan recalled the journey that took him from a small town in India to an awards stage in San Diego. While the story’s personal photos added context, the video added so much more.

Media Library (2)

Joint Industry Statement on the Draft European Cybersecurity Certification Scheme for Cloud Services (EUCS)

by Policy

SIIA and 13 associations represent both cloud customers and cloud vendors operating across the European Digital Single Market that have already made substantial investment contributions across numerous industries to build a thriving digital ecosystem in Europe. Our members include numerous organizations of all sizes that rely on first-class digital technologies to deliver their services and products in the EU and beyond. Our members seek to build a competitive, innovative and resilient digital economy while upholding shared values and interests of data privacy, effective cybersecurity protection, and supporting open markets.

We believe that an inclusive and non-discriminatory EUCS – supporting the use of the most innovative and trusted cloud services from around the world – will help our members and their customers prosper at home and abroad, thus contributing to Europe’s digital ambitions and strengthening its resilience. Regrettably, the draft EUCS includes several “immunity requirements” 1 that raise questions on compliance with the WTO’s General Agreement on Trade in Services and the EU’s Government Procurement Agreement commitments

Read the full statement here.

Q&A - AM&P Network

‘Mission to Change the Blueprint for Media’; BIMS Speaker Sherman Steers Workweek’s Amazing Growth

by BIMSMedia

In this fourth installment of the B2B Media Agenda: A Q&A Series Previewing the BIMS 2023 Conference, keynote speaker Becca Sherman, co-founder and COO, Workweek, tells us how her company can change the entire dynamic of our industry. While their use of the word Creators sounds a bit more science fiction than content centric, there’s nothing fictional about their spectacular one-year growth.

The prestigious Business Information & Media Summit (BIMS) will take place Feb. 23-24 in Orlando, the first in-person BIMS since 2019. Accordingly, the team at the AM&P Network see an opportunity to help drive the media conversation and feature the voices of leading thought leaders speaking at the event with these speaker Q&As.

Here, Tony Silber interviews Sherman, whose talk at BIMS is titled, Here’s a Content-Centric Digital Native Who Wants to Remake B2B.

Tony Silber: Tell us about Workweek’s rapid growth and what’s driving it.
Becca Sherman: Workweek launched on Nov. 10, 2021, with 4 Creators on our team. The ecosystem had 11,000 subscribers, 9,000 Twitter followers, 0 podcasts, and $0 revenue. As of Nov. 10, 2022, we have 18 Creators on our team, and our ecosystem has grown to include more than 360k newsletter subscribers, 1M Twitter followers (plus 650k on LinkedIn and 120k on TikTok), 10+ podcasts with 2 shows in the Top 25 of marketing podcasts on iTunes—and multiple Creator brands are on track to drive north of $1M in revenue annually. We 100% attribute this rapid growth to the team we’ve assembled—we’re a team of Creators and operators who are all aligned on a clear set of core values and our mission to change the blueprint for media, all of which you can see here.

Tony: Has your content-creator-centric compensation concept worked as you expected?
Becca: Yes, we believe our Creator-first model is both the key to our growth and the future of media. Each Creator is building a brand with an audience of fans who feel personally connected to and deeply trusting of them, which in turn enables rapid organic growth, lower-than-average CACs, higher-than-average CPMs—and, ultimately, a very high RPU and LTV. Several of our current Creators’ brands are on track to drive $1M in revenue annually within the next year, and we believe those same Creators will be on track to earn more than $1M+ in personal income annually in the near future.

Tony: What attracts these “creators” to Workweek?
Becca: Creators come to Workweek because they have ambitions of building large, impactful media businesses. We have a team of strategic and technical operators who collaborate with each Creator to build their brand in a way that enables them to focus on exactly what they’re passionate about, then let the rest fall off their plate—all while receiving the support they need to thrive both at work and outside of it. Resources include but are not limited to executive-level strategic planning, world-class marketing, events and education teams, enterprise-level tech stack, access to angel invest via Workweek Capital, operational support (i.e. audio production, newsletter publication, etc.), and more.

Tony: What’s the philosophy behind why content creators are the highest-paid people in the company?
Becca: There is a Company-Creator Paradox that exists in media today. The most talented content creators are leaving traditional media businesses in droves to strike out on their own—building massive social media followings on their personal accounts, then publishing newsletters on Substack, podcasts on Spotify, courses on Maven, etc.—often because they feel undervalued. However, very few Creators are able to build sustainable, successful businesses on their own—and they’re experiencing massive amounts of burnout. At Workweek, we’re seeking to resolve this paradox by restructuring Creator compensation in a way that will incentivize Creators not only to stay at Workweek but build large media businesses with us for many years to come.

Tony: How many niches do you have, and where do you expect to be this time next year?
Becca: We currently have 18 Creators on our team who create content across 8 categories: Fintech, Marketing, Healthcare, Finance & VC, Media, Climate Tech, Franchising and People & Culture. By this time next year, we expect to double the number of Creators on our team and are seeking to expand into at least 3 to 5 new categories.

Tony: Thanks, Becca. Looking forward to seeing you at BIMS!

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Can Publisher Quizzes Educate, Engage, Draw Sponsors and Sell? All of the Above.

by Media

Over the years, I’ve praised OPIS (Oil Price Information Service) for a purposefully-hard quiz they did. The idea was that if you got any answers wrong—which was very likely—their webinar would provide the correct, “vital” information. The quiz email registered the most sign-ups for the webinar. Here are more successful uses of quizzes by media groups.

I’ve seen media entities celebrate their anniversaries and milestones in different ways, but the American Society of Mechanical Engineers came up with a new and fun way this month to strut their stuff: an ASME Milestones Quiz. So if I did not know who the first president of ASME was, or the first woman to head ASME (an impressive first for any major engineering society, I learned), I happily do now.

Think quizzes aren’t popular? Guess again. There has been quite the emphasis on games and quizzes in the last couple years, driven even more by our extended time at home. Media entities such as The Financial Times, New York Times, New Yorker, Morning Consult and Slate all now feature some gamification. Our Business Information & Media Summit (BIMS) Speaker Quiz that I posted a few weeks ago garnered one of our best open rates.

Here are five ways quizzes are working:

To educate and offer a sponsorship. Education Week posts a “Quiz Yourself: How Much Do You Know About Literacy?” They get a weekly sponsor—this time it’s Lexia Learning, but then adds that “Education Week has full editorial control of content.” After answering the seven questions, you get this: “Please complete the form below to see answers, explanations, and additional readings on this topic.” In the past, Education Week would regularly achieve nearly 90% quiz completions and around 60% of people who completed the quiz filling out the registration form.

To facilitate your advertisers and audience. “What hotel brand is the ideal recommendation for your client’s next trip?” begins a quiz on Questex’s Luxury Travel Advisor. “People WILL TRAVEL again, so now is the time to start thinking about the right hotel fit for your valued clients. Answer the questions to create the perfect customized ALG Vacations™ package.” After 7 questions—“What would your client download to watch while on vacation?” Sleepless in Seattle and Chef’s Table are choices—you get the answer. (Mine was Secrets Resorts and Spas.) In a previous quiz on this site, “Mexican Caribbean: What is Your Celebrity Travel Style?” they ask, “Did you ever wonder about your celebrity travel style? Take this quick quiz to find out…”

To bundle and feed competitive juices. Slate puts you against a Slate Plus member—complete with his or her photo—in their trivia quiz. “Want to be the featured contestant in the future? Join Slate Plus, then complete this form, and you could be selected to play a quiz on the record.” And after: “The Slatester and Slate Plus member leaderboards are only for Slate Plus subscribers. Join today to access and compare scores. You’ll also get unlimited reading on Slate and ad-free listening on all of our podcasts.”

To sell a webinar. A post by marketing expert Jeanne Jennings on LinkedIn led to this page: OI (Only Influencers) Masters of Email Metrics Quiz 2022 – 10 Questions, 10 Chances to Prove That You’re an OI Master of Email Metrics! “Join us [next] Tuesday when we present the correct answers with supporting information and the winners, on our OI Metrics Quiz Webinar (you can register for the webinar at the end of the quiz).” Jennings added to this recipe by integrating her Case Study: Why Click-through Rate Isn’t a Good Key Performance Indicator into one of the questions in a link.

To educate readers about your topic. In another quiz, ASME asks “Who are these Five Influential Women Engineers?” “Many influential women engineers are role models and mentors for the next generation of female engineers. How many of these women do you recognize?” Then after I got just 2 out of 5 questions right, I got this: “Interested in finding out more about these influential women engineers?” Hit the Learn More button. Another outcome would be to market a webinar on that topic, a la OPIS.

 

 

Media Library (9)

How SIIA Members Can Spread the Word About the Affordable Connectivity Program

by Policy

For many years, SIIA member companies have strongly supported closing the digital divide. School closures at the beginning of the pandemic exacerbated the longstanding problem of students, families, and educators not having access to internet at home.

A new program administered by the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) seeks to diminish the digital divide and finally close the homework gap. We’ve put together the following resource for member companies and the broader education technology community to share with their school partners to bring awareness to this new program.

 

What is the Affordable Connectivity Program?

The ACP enables eligible households to save on their internet bills when they sign up at GetInternet.gov.

The ACP provides eligible households:

  • A discount of up to $30 per month to pay for internet service (or up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands); and
  • A one-time discount of up to $100 for a laptop, tablet, or desktop computer from participating providers if the household contributes more than $10 and less than $50 toward the purchase price.

Many internet providers offer fully covered internet plans — meaning eligible households can get high-speed internet without paying a dime.

 

Who qualifies for the Affordable Connectivity Program?

  • Households with income at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines; or,
  • Those receiving a government benefit like SNAP, Medicaid, SSI, WIC, Pell Grant, or Free and Reduced-Price School Lunch Program or School Breakfast Program, and more; or,
  • Those who meet the eligibility criteria for a participating broadband provider’s existing low-income internet program.

Nearly 40% of U.S. households are eligible to save through ACP right now, but tens of millions of eligible households have not yet claimed their benefit.

 

How can qualifying households sign up for the Affordable Connectivity Program?

Households should visit GetInternet.gov to check eligibility, apply, and find an internet provider that meets their needs.

Households can also apply by printing out a mail-in application (available at GetInternet.gov), contacting a participating internet service provider, or calling 877-384-2575 to learn more.

Once the application is approved, households need to choose a plan from a participating internet service provider and have their ACP benefit applied to that plan.

 

I am employed by a K-12 school or district, what Affordable Connectivity Program resources are available to me?

To encourage ACP sign-ups, the FCC is partnering with the Office of Educational Technology (OET) to create FAQs and resources to facilitate communication with families about their ACP eligibility. These resources include:

  • A template letter to let families know that their child receives free or reduced-price school meals and is subsequently ACP-eligible;
  • A sample form for schools to complete that households can present to an ACP participating provider or to submit along with their ACP application to demonstrate their child’s eligibility for free or reduced-price school meals;
  • The White House school ACP outreach toolkit; and
  • Suggested strategies for school and district outreach to families.

For families struggling to afford their monthly internet service, this program may be able to help them maintain the essential technologies for their children’s learning and development.

 

I am employed by an ed tech company, how can I support sign-ups for the Affordable Connectivity Program?

Ed tech companies can play a role in encouraging sign-ups by working with schools to post notices on digital bulletin boards, class registration pages or other sites. These notices can include information on the ACP and eligibility requirements. Ed tech companies can also direct students or their parents to GetInternet.gov to find out more and start the enrollment process, if eligible. Additionally, sign-ups can be encouraged by including information on the ACP and how to apply in the emails or other mass communications sent to students and families. These communications can further be targeted to partner school districts with large numbers of students eligible for free or-reduced price lunch, or those in CEP districts.

 

I am a leader in higher education, how can I support sign-ups for the Affordable Connectivity Program?

Higher education leaders can support ACP sign-ups by reaching out directly to students via text, through on-campus notices in their mailboxes, in libraries or student centers, and by email or other methods to notify them of the existence of the ACP. These communications could highlight the eligibility of Pell Grant recipients and direct them to GetInternet.gov to apply. It may also be helpful to include a list of local providers who are participating in ACP and information on the one-time $100 discount on a laptop, tablet, or computer as part of the program. Additionally, leaders can host office hours or other events at which students can learn about the ACP, complete applications, and get questions answered. These events could be hosted in partnership with local internet service providers.

 

For a more targeted approach, leaders can reach out directly to the lists of current-year Pell Grant recipients to notify them that they are automatically eligible for ACP and direct them to GetInternet.gov. Please also consider outreach from financial aid offices to other students who may be eligible.