The Weekly Bulletin | June 13, 2023

Hi SODP community,

Let’s recap on what’s been happening last week, the new content, industry updates, tips, and more.

EDITOR’S NOTE

As someone who has solely worked in the digital side of the publishing industry, I’ll freely admit that familiarity bias has tainted my perspective at times.

It becomes easy to discount the future of print publishing without experience in the space. There are numerous stats and studies out there that speak to the continued rise of digital content consumption, driven by widespread mobile phone adoption and the ongoing rollout of 5G internet speeds.

And yet, when I geared up to talk about a book I’d started rereading after more than 20 years on my Kindle, I found that I was quite considerably in the minority when it came to ebook adoption. Let me explain.

After watching the recent trailer for Dune 2 (the first film was great and I’d highly recommend it to anybody with an interest in sci-fi), I had a hankering to reread Frank Herbert’s Dune. While there might have been a time I would have bought the book (I used to be a hardcore advocate for physical books — the tactile experience of leafing through pages and all that) the Kindle Paperwhite converted me.

No screen refresh? Check. No bluelight? Check. Ease of transport/storage? Check. Backlit to avoid bedtime arguments over the lamp? Check! No matter how much I love physical books, it’s hard to argue against these advantages.

And then you have Dune’s publisher forward, which talked about how the “realities of commercial publishing” meant that “vast troves” of classic science fiction and fantasy would never be physically reprinted. The advent of digital publishing has mitigated this, according to Orion Publishing Group, enabling the distribution of classic and modern sci-fi backlists.

And yet, given all these advantages, print books are still far more popular than ebooks.

The book publishing game may be outside my area of expertise, as I’ve mentioned before, but it’s easy to understand why print continues to succeed in this space. There is still a significant number of people around the world that don’t have reliable internet access or can’t afford the digital devices necessary to enjoy reading ebooks. There are also those who still simply enjoy picking up a book more.

When it comes to magazines and newspapers, however, the rapid turnover of short-form content means mobile devices are a fantastic medium through which to consume this content. With that being said, it’s important not to become blinkered when it comes to the potential for new print publications.

Take Full Pour, for example, which focuses on a premium experience at a premium price. The publisher is charging $20 per issue, released on a quarterly basis. The number of advertisers is being limited to provide a more coherent reading experience. It’s a different mindset to that within digital publishing, where the commoditization of content has made it more challenging for publishers to charge premium prices.

While the benefits of digital are unquestionably many, print still has a place in the wider media landscape.

SODP POSTS

WHAT IS CPM FOR PUBLISHERS?

The CPM pricing model is a firm favorite among digital publishers, with good reason. The model is easy to use and requires relatively low levels of effort from web site owners to convert traffic into revenue.

The increasing number of internet users has made digital marketing vital to any business’ growth strategy. As of April 2023, there were 5.18 billion internet users worldwide — almost two thirds of the global population — with that figure growing at 4% per annum.

It is, therefore, hardly surprising that the global digital advertising market is projected to hit $786 billion by 2026.

Cost per mille (CPM) is one of the most popular models for pricing web ads, helping brands reach new audiences while requiring very little from publishers. Under CPM advertisers pay publishers, website owners or video monetization platforms for every 1,000 impressions a display ad receives.

Keep reading to understand what a CPM marketing campaign is, its different aspects and what advertisers expect from successful ad campaigns.

SEE MORE

7 BEST ADBLOCK RECOVERY SOFTWARE FOR PUBLISHERS IN 2023

There are two common questions about adblock detection software’s effectiveness:

• How effective is it at detecting adblock?

• How effective is it at recovering publisher revenue?

For the first question, the results are a mixed bag. We conducted a stress test to see just how well these solutions perform against some of the most popular adblock software. However, the ease with which users can find ways around this — such as software hopping — remains a problem.

The case for the latter question is also complex, though there is an argument to be made for the effectiveness of adblock recovery software in convincing users to turn off their ad blockers.

A report released by recovery specialist Blockthrough in 2022 suggests that 22% of adblock users complied with targeted messages and deactivated their ad blockers. Though 66% denied the request — and 16% left the site entirely — a 22% recovery rate is a fairly significant amount of lost ad revenue to reclaim.

SEE MORE

JOB BOARD

➡️ NBC News Digital seeks a London-based editor to manage NBCNews.com overnight U.S. time on Saturday and Sunday (7 a.m. to 3 p.m. London time). SEE MORE

➡️ Following a successful relaunch and redesign, The Chelsea Magazine Company is looking for an exceptional travel journalist to lead Cruise International into a new era. SEE MORE

➡️ Following a successful relaunch and redesign, The Chelsea Magazine Company is looking for an exceptional travel journalist to lead Cruise International into a new era. SEE MORE

NEWSLETTERS WE RECOMMEND

➡️ Niche Media Publishing’s weekly newsletter shows you how to produce the best content for your audience, grow with the best paid and organic traffic tips, monetize your content & get paid, and lots more… SEE MORE

➡️ Subscribe to the Scrappy Podcasting Newsletter for one two-minute tip per week on how to punch above your weight as an underdog brand or creator. SEE MORE

➡️ Join the bite-sized newsletter read by 1000's of creators every day. 8AM delivers just one story, idea, or gem of advice every morning. SEE MORE

COMMUNITY BUZZ

INDUSTRY NEWS

➡️ Google has cut down the time it takes for the new Search Generative Experience, which was opened to some users a few weeks ago by half the time. READ MORE

➡️ Google on Thursday said it will finally debut its News Showcase product in the U.S. this summer, years after initially launching it in other countries. READ MORE

SOCIAL MEDIA DISCUSSIONS

➡️ Chase Dimond shared a carousel on LinkedIn:

RIP to Paid SEO Tools.

ChatGPT Plugins are changing the SEO game.

Here are 5 ChatGPT SEO Plugins you don't want to miss.

SEE THE CAROUSEL

These are the highlights for last week.

Until next!

Andrew Kemp and the editorial team at SODP