Post on 17-Jul-2015
transcript
A DOZEN (OR MORE)
NEW REVENUE IDEAS
FOR PUBLISHERSAnd Tips On How to Pull Them Off
Jim Sulecki | Corporate Content Director | Meister Media Worldwide
Niche Media Conference | Denver, CO | April 1, 2015
Jim Sulecki | Corporate Content Director | Meister Media Worldwide
Editorial
198x-2002
Publishing Mgmt / Sales
2002-2008
Digital Media
2008-20122012-
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
2010 2015 (B) 2017 (T)
Events, Awards
Digital“Direct To Market”
Total Revenue Growth
CHANGES IN REVENUE MIX
Greater revenue
diversity – but far
more demand for
ideas, product
development
TOTAL COMMUNITY:GETTING PRODUCTS INTO ORBIT
Audience Advertisers
Digital
Events
Data
Initiatives
EVERYTHING NOW IS MULTI-PLATFORM
For media today,
working across
platforms is not a
choice – it’s a
necessity
(rock bands may have been among the first to get this)
DOWN TO BUSINESS
• A Dozen (Or More) New Revenue Ideas
• Tips On How How To Pull It All Off
• Takeaways
• Dialogue
IDEA 1: SPIN OFFS!BY CONTIGUOUS MARKET
> >
Offspring now generate more revenue than their ‘mother’
>?
IDEA 2: SPIN OFF VERTICALLY WITHIN A MARKET
>
• Economies of
scale – same
staff
• Stay in scope
– no mission
creep; product
must be
differentiated
IDEA 6: SEGMENT BY SIZE
• The very
largest
• Sponsored
print, digital,
events
• Opportunity
for audience
revenue
IDEA 7: SEGMENT BY AGE
• Sponsor
revenue?
• Audience
revenue?
• At the very
least…grooming
next-generation
audience
IDEA 8: NICHE EVENTS
• Tightly focus on bringing
buyers, sellers together
• Be leery of taking on large,
“pipe-and-drape”
tradeshows – unless
there’s a clear need
IDEA 9: MEGA EVENTS
• If there is a clear
need…go for it!
• Organizer of this
show once was a
magazine publisher
SOME NOTES ON EVENTS
One size does not fit all!
• Tradeshow
• Hosted buyer
• Conferences
• Seminars
• Awards
SOME NOTES ON EVENTS
The margins on events often aren’t as
good as those for print (or digital)
People Time Cost Of Goods
Digital
Events
Medium Medium
High Low
High High
Media moving
increasingly to
a more labor-
intensive model
SOME NOTES ON EVENTS
They’re multi-platform-dependent / content hogs
• You can have print (or digital) without events,
BUT…
• It’s hard to have events without print (and nearly
impossible without digital)
BUILT-IN BENEFITS
• Tied-in to events that are
in-person analog to buy-
sell mode
• Already have most data
from a (discontinued)
print title
• Flat-page directory
promotes data product
AND…A FEW PRECAUTIONS
• Anticipate that data publishing
is very different from
journalism publishing• Mindset
• Skillset
• Build for eventual subscriber
support; ad revenue a plus
• Build products, not platforms!
A SUCCESS STORY
• $700k annual
revenue
• Wraps value around
the usero Certification
o Events
o Online tools
IDEA 12: CARVE A WHOLE NEW DATA NICHE
Be prepared to go both high
and low
o On-the ground data
gathering, verifying
of supplied data
o Hiring a data scientist(a) (b)
IDEA 13: BE THE LEARNING CENTER FOR YOUR MARKET
• Audience revenue
• Revenue share with
presenters
• Presenters are speakers
are columnists
IDEA 14: TOPICAL ENEWSLETTERS
Tightly focused on
specific topics
o Content deep dives
for audience
o Hospitable
environment for
category advertisers
IDEA 15: LET CONTRIBUTORS DO THE TALKING
• Penton’s “Xpert”
bloggers across markets
• Drive engagement (and
pageviews /
sponsorships)
• Site is thought-leader
IDEA 16: INITIATIVES
Something a whole market
can rally behind
o A better future
o Education
o Increase in
professionalism
o Government advocacy
o Industry recruitment
IDEA 16: INITIATIVES
Example:
o Leadership
roundtables about the
city’s future
o Events for young
people and new
residents
o Awards for best rehabs
o Contests for best new
ideas
o Tours of interesting areas
o Corporate sponsors
o Affiliations with city groups
“Rebuilding / Rebranding Cleveland”
IDEA 17: BUILD YOURDIRECT-TO-MARKET BUSINESS
• News flash: The larger share of
most marketers’ spend is not
going to media platforms
• Five areas at Meister:o Mail direct
o Email direct
o Data services
o Custom publishing
o Custom events
IDEA 18: CUSTOM DIGITAL SERVICES
• Four key areas:o Custom content
o Site design
o Site development
o Video / webinar production
• Custom content is BIG
FORMALLY “SCAN” THE YEAR AHEAD FOR NEW OPPORTUNITIES
• Mid-year-ish
• All-hands | half-day discussion
• Emerging trends | possible
opportunities
• Build into coming year’s plans
• Idea-generation at every strata
BE CLEAR ABOUT PEOPLE’S MOTIVATION TO TAKE ON NEW IDEAS
• Sales people: generally financial
• Editors and assorted creatives:
a new intellectual challenge
• All: a sense that you’re part of
something progressive and
rewarding
$
“Idea generation is not a problem
in our organization. We have
plenty of good ideas.”– Gary T. Fitzgerald, Chairman/CEO, Meister Media Worldwide
PRIORITIZE / FLIGHT IDEAS
• Beware pet projects
• Someone has to play traffic
cop
• Prioritizing criteria needed
(often revenue)
• Balance between
empowering and practicality
STAY WITHIN SCOPE
• Especially important for
developmental and custom
projects
• “But this client is spending
$X with us…”
NOT JUST GROWTH –PROFITABLE GROWTH!
• Know when to start –
and when to stop
• If it ain’t fixed, break it!
“Media
companies
have a hard
time stopping
something
once it’s
started”
INVEST AND RESOURCE
• Redeploy current employees
• Or…new hires – usually with
specialized, proven knowledge
• Although – increasingly finding
some knowledge of / instinct for
the market is important
COORDINATE ACROSS PLATFORMS
• Vertical excellence
needed – but
horizontal
consistency makes a
product / project sing!
TAKEAWAYS
• Expand horizontally – “next door” markets
• Expand vertically – new demographic strata
within your core market
TAKEAWAYS
• Harness the power of co-workers’ ideas, buy-in
• Reckon with the time and money to get
something new off the ground (usually 30% more
than estimated)
• Judge by results (“brand-building” need not
apply)
TAKEAWAYS
• Know there is no way back – publishing is now
multi-platform, multi-faceted
• Enjoy it! This is a deeper, richer experience