Becoming a reader-focused organization is not about technology or data. This report provides a framework for building those tools, but they are just tools. Growing engagement and shifting to reader revenue requires actions across the organization that authentically support an audience-focused mission. Truly pivoting to readers is a cultural transformation, not a development project.
A few mile-markers on that journey:
- Corporate goals and incentives are aligned across departments and all work is prioritized appropriately.
- Structural changes have been made to encourage collaboration and increase the visibility of mission-critical data.
- Meetings include questions such as “What does the data show?” and “Have we talked to readers about this?”
- Investments have been made in data systems, business intelligence tools, user research, and design and development teams.
- UX and design improvements are treated as strategic assets. And, those teams work to make digital products easier to use by prioritizing positive interactions (browsing, reading, watching) over negative interactions (dismissing pop-ups, closing windows, muting auto-play widgets).
- Personalization informed by deep insights is used to drive engagement and encourage account creation and log-in.
- Third-party vendors and partners are reduced and promoted clicks off-site are reduced. Internal promotion and recirculation is highlighted.
- Data privacy is valued and protected by the limitation of third-party widgets and trackers on-site.
- Revenue is diversified and data insights and user research are used to generate new business opportunities. Those choices are balanced against reader perceptions of quality and trust in our journalism.
- Content is more local, but also more in-depth. Newsroom goals will prioritize engagement, not clicks.
- Metrics are focused on loyalty and engagement. The number of visits, time spent, and breadth of sections read are tracked.
- Social platforms are utilized for marketing and outreach, and judged on revenue or loyal users generated.
Share with your network
- What it takes to shift a news organization to reader revenue
- What it really means to shift to reader revenue
- How to collect and use the right data about your news audience
- To shift to reader revenue you must improve your marketing skills
- Break silos and avoid turf wars: How to get all departments aligned on your reader revenue goals
- How to apply data-driven insights that will grow reader revenue
- How to tell if your culture has truly adapted to a reader revenue focus
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Interacting with your community and providing quality programming while providing the news may seem daunting, but it’s worth it.
Our belief in the brand and the business hasn’t wavered. When you’re a business with a mission, it becomes the only thing that matters.
Our mingles normally draw anywhere from 20 to 40 people. At a recent one, we had the mayor, a bank vice president, several retirees, a young entrepreneur and the owners of the bowling alley hanging out in our office, all chatting with each other and our newspaper staff.
