Analytics Can Inspire New Digital Revenue Ideas for Publishers

May 22, 2013 By Leave a Comment


When was the last time you really dug in to your Google Analytics?  There are ways for niche magazine publishers to look at the stats to uncover hidden gems that trigger ways to increase digital revenue.

Jeff Bruss, the Publishing King of numbers and Niche Digital Conference speaker, has plenty of analytics knowledge and experience to share. We caught up with him to ask him how he can help you decipher how mobile, page views, visits, trends and anomalies in analytics can inspire new digital revenue ideas.

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Jeff Bruss, President of
Cole Publishing

Niche: Many publishers use Google Analytics but are not fully utilizing the opportunities generated from that data. What is one thing a publisher could do today to utilize more out of their own data?

Jeff Bruss: The most important thing Google Analytics (GA) does for us is identify trends – both good and bad. By attaching query strings to things you want to track you can identify the paths people use to navigate your site. If a query string receives a high number of clicks you can duplicate characteristics associated with it. Likewise, low clicks means you need to take another look and re-evaluate link location, type, text, whatever. Utilizing all of this data leads to an increase page clicks, and increased page views lead to greater revenue opportunities. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Ad Sales, Audience Development, Featured, Online Revenue, Publishing Management Tagged With: , , , ,

10 Tips for a Better (and More Profitable) e-Newsletter

May 20, 2013 By Leave a Comment


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Fresh out of fresh e-newsletter ideas?
Try these!

Not getting the e-newsletter subscribers you want? Do you feel like the whole thing needs a re-vamp but you don’t have a lot of time, energy or resources?

Don’t fret. Don’t sweat. Here are 10 easy tips to make your e-newsletter better:

1. Create PDF sample files of your e-newsletters rather than forwarding a sample, ensuring the graphics look right. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Audience Development, e-Newsletters, Online Revenue Tagged With: , , ,

5 Ways to Brand Your Editors

May 15, 2013 By Leave a Comment


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Don’t make your editors mysterious! Encourage them to be a face for your publication.

Your editors are already building engagement (or should be), but can they also build your brand? YES!

A brand isn’t a brand until you add a personality to the mix. Otherwise it’s a simple physical representation of your product or service. “Face” editors who are willing – and able – to travel, speak publicly, visit news sources in person, go to trade shows, moderate panels and events, and even give keynote speeches, are worth their weight in gold.

A well known editor drives industry prestige, can make your publication seem “bigger” than it is, can impact digital ad sales and sponsorships, and have a huge impact on your publication. How do you get them started? [Read more...]

Filed Under: Audience Development, Featured, Publishing Management Tagged With: , , ,

Niche Your Niche: Small Magazines Find New Revenue Streams by looking Within

May 13, 2013 By Leave a Comment


Niche magazines know their niche. But most successful ones don’t just rely on what THEY think they know–they ask their readers what they want.

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Niche your Niche! Here’s one real-world example on how a small magazine looked within and found great success.

Thriving niche magazines are also constantly searching for new ways to meet the needs of their evolving audience. These ideas have to make financial sense and make the readers happy a the same time.

How do you benefit your niche community AND create an additional revenue stream at the same time? [Read more...]

Filed Under: Audience Development, Publishing Management Tagged With: , , ,

How to Work a Trade Show to Get More Ad Sales Prospects

May 12, 2013 By Leave a Comment


The one thing that successfully working a trade show is NOT: Setting up a booth and sitting there, waiting for prospects to come by and talk with you. Find someone else for that job. To get the most out of your time as a sales person at a trade show, you need to be accessible, pro-active, and have a plan to renew contacts with clients and meet new prospects. Here’s how you do it:

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Turn working a trade show into big success with these three tips.

3 tips for getting the most out of working a trade show

1.  Pre-show planning:  Get a list of exhibits—most shows have this posted on their web sites far in advance.  Put them into a spreadsheet and sort by booth numbers.  Fill in a column for known contacts and leave a blank column for notes. Highlight accounts you really want to see (include new prospects). [Read more...]

Filed Under: Ad Sales, Audience Development, Featured Tagged With: , , , ,

How the SF Giants and Baseball Can Make You A Better Niche Publisher

May 9, 2013 By Leave a Comment


Every other Friday the Niche Media HQ gods let me write about any random thing I want to write about.

Carl and Sophie at the game

Raving fans Grand Poobah Carl and daughter Sophie having fun at AT&T ballpark.

So today you are lucky I am NOT writing about my new clams and mussels with linguine recipe, which I am also very excited about.

I went to a San Francisco Giants game on Wednesday, as almost three years ago I swore I would pay attention to and adore this team as part of my wedding vows.

It has occurred to me that baseball could be like running a niche magazine. I know it sounds like I’ve been brainwashed by Carl B. Landau, but bear with me:

It’s about teamwork, accomplishing goals and ultimately being successful, right?

Here’s 7 things I learn at SF Giants’ baseball games that could apply to Niche Publishing:

  • Stop. Take a deep breath. Observe those around you, including your competition.
  • Be enthusiastic about your team—buy the hat, wear the t-shirt! (Being a raving fan is really fun, too.)
  • Continually evaluate, play by play, what you are about to do, what you can do, what you ended up doing and how you can do it better next time. (Or become a cool radio announcer like Kruk.)
  • Share a hot dog. Well, at least invite a prospect or colleague to lunch once in a while.
  • Make sure you have a Pablo and a Pence on your ad sales team.  That’s all I’m sayin’.
  • Don’t skip spring training! Dedicate time every year to building your team’s skills.
  • Celebrate the home runs. [Read more...]
Filed Under: Ad Sales, Audience Development, Featured, Publishing Management Tagged With: , ,

3 MORE Things You’re Not Doing with Social Media (That You Actually Already Do)

May 6, 2013 By Leave a Comment


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Make social media for your magazine a breeze by incorporating what you already do.

Where do you fit in THE TIME to create more content AND use it to engage readers via social media?

I gave you three ways to do just that with things you and your editors already do in my previous post: 3 Things You’re Not Doing with Social Media (That You’re Actually Doing).

Here are 3 MORE existing content sources that you can draw upon to engage readers, re-purpose content, and give your publication a personal touch:

1) Share your readers’ content.

You’re already on Facebook, on Twitter, on Pinterest. Re-tweet, re-post/”like”, and re-pin your readers’ content. Then guess what? THEY will turn around and re-tweet, re-post, and re-pin THAT interaction. Convert your readers into advocates for you and your publication.

2) Share the Web.

You’re already a website visitor. A news browser. A pic clicker. Share what you like. It doesn’t have to be related to your publication, or even your pub’s area of interest. See a funny someEcard? Tweet it. Post an interesting news article on Facebook. Pin a cool photo. Don’t be afraid to give your magazine’s social media presence some personality! [Read more...]

Filed Under: Audience Development, e-Newsletters, Featured, Online Revenue, Publishing Management, Social Media Tagged With: , ,

3 Things Your Magazine is Not Doing with Social Media (That You Actually Already Do!)

April 29, 2013 By Leave a Comment


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3 easy ways to share with your readers
–that you actually are already doing!

You are the editor of a small-to-medium-sized publication with a limited staff.

You are already stretched thin filling the magazine.

Then came your website.

Then came Facebook. Twitter. Pinterest. And more. Using these social media outlets takes time, attention, and content.

“Where am I going to find the content?” you ask. “Where am I going to find the time to post it?”

Surprise! You’re already doing it! Here’s three easy ways to integrate what you already do with your magazine’s social media: [Read more...]

Filed Under: Audience Development, Featured, Publishing Management, Social Media Tagged With: , , ,

How to Get Ad Sales Prospects to Respond to Your Emails – Free Burritos!

April 23, 2013 By Leave a Comment


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Get creative in your email subject lines to your ad sales prospects and they will be hungry to respond to you!

So how can you get your prospects to respond to YOUR email when they are scanning through hundreds in their inbox every day? Sometimes the most basic themes resonate most with busy customers. Plus, you have to be creative and original in your approach to catch eyes.

By now almost everyone, (well at least those who have attended ad sales training at Camp Niche), knows the story of how Carl Landau of Niche Media offered free cats in the mail as a (very) successful ad sales approach. PETA probably wouldn’t appreciate that so much these days. 

Here’s an example of how you can use creativity and touch on basic needs to get prospects to respond to your ad sales emails:

I tried putting “Free Burritos” in the subject line of my email to prospects. Here’s how a typical exchange went: [Read more...]

Filed Under: Ad Sales, Audience Development, Featured Tagged With: , , ,

Top New Marketing Channels Niche Publishers Need to Try

April 22, 2013 By Leave a Comment


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Niche media companies need to be on the lookout for new channels!

What’s coming up next in the niche magazine world? Of course, we all want to know what to look for in the ever-changing brandscape of magazine marketing. The more we can anticipate change the better prepared we’ll be to meet the challenges and also capitalize on opportunities. In this third part of our interview with Jeff Rohrs, Marketing and Social Media guru and popular Niche Magazine Conference speaker, Jeff lays out the new marketing channels that niche magazine publishers need to check out.

Niche Media:  What channels should niche magazine publishers be investigating?

JR:   If you have the budget to explore some new emerging channels, you should experiment with them and measure the results. It will give you the ability to niche your niche even further. Here are some new channels to try: [Read more...]

Filed Under: Audience Development, Featured, Online Revenue, Publishing Management, Social Media Tagged With: , , , ,
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