Entrepreneur contributors do not necessarily agree with the opinions expressed.
Despite some setbacks in 2020, trust towards news publishers is growing. This has led to many news outlets forming new programmatic and direct ad partnership agreements. These partnerships primarily target display and video advertising. People are increasingly paying more for ad-free news sites.
Things are changing as we move into Q4 2021. It is time to take control and regroup.
Shadow banning is not an issue for most large, reputable outlets. However, readers are feeling news fatigue which is slowing down subscription growth and sometimes even leading to their decline.
Additionally, due to the ongoing fight against ad fraudsters in particular in the programmatic advertising segment and many AdBlock users it becomes more imperative to unlock new monetization possibilities in the news segment.
Similar: The Creator Economy Boom
Paid subscriptions no longer work as a solution.
Apart from news fatigue, the question is: Can you run a news site while keeping all content behind a paywall?
This strategy doesn't work for news publishers, regardless of whether you agree with it. We have seen this trend in 2021. There are some valid exceptions to this rule, but they only show the point.
It's not that a reader would pay for quality news access, but they might only subscribe to one outlet. People are more inclined to read reprints. If a publisher isn't one of the top news sources in their region or niche, then they will undoubtedly experience a decline in paid subscriptions.
Subscription users are rarely prompted to upgrade to premium by being offered a free trial. Although it can help maintain a high email newsletter subscription rate, very few people actually read or open such emails. This leaves little room for monetization.
There are exceptions, however, where the publisher's creative team is able to maintain a high newsletter open rate to sell ad space to agencies and brands. However, their share of the market is too small for this to be considered a universally successful monetization strategy.
How to make freemium strategies that are ad-supported work
Advertisers should offer an alternative if subscribers don't want to pay for news content.
The ad-supported freemium strategy can be used in the context of reader acquisition. However, there are two main use cases for the strategy:
Sign up for free to get article previews and full news content (only available to Premium subscribers).
Access to a restricted number of publications per calendar month is free. Subscribers have full access (normally paid).
The acquisition of demand partners is important. While advertising in news outlets builds trust in a brand's reputation (per IAB), there a few essential elements publishers must ensure that their inventory remains valuable. These include a safe and appropriate brand environment for video and display ads, and precise targeting capabilities.
Related: Four Booming Industries Are Stealing Social Media Growth
Third-party verification of campaign data is a key factor in programmatic advertising. However, these factors will not be as important as the ones mentioned above.
This is because while trust.txt can verify the publisher's digital property ownership and (app)ads.txt their inventory, the precise targeting depends on the first-party data of the reader.
This has led many news publishers and media outlets to create full-fledged first party data platforms. They enable their demand partners to target the most valuable audience in the right context, at the right time.
Although it is not easy to access and use first-party data in privacy-centered realities, many jurisdictions require that informed readers consent to their collection and use for advertising purposes. However, it may be worthwhile.
Expanding e-commerce niches: Benefits vs. pitfalls
Apart from advertising partnerships and paid subscriptions, news publishers can also expand their e-commerce businesses. This often involves the creation of separate divisions that offer customers limited deals, holiday packages, and product discounts from third-party vendors.
The bright side is that the launch of this e-shopping section within the publishers platform will help acquire customers from non-target niches and add an incremental revenue stream to third-party vendor partner partners.
However, it is a costly and time-consuming task to develop and promote such an ecommerce platform. This can make it too risky for smaller and medium-sized news publishers.
