The Business of Content

Simon Owens, tech and media journalist
  • 4.8 (28)
  • NOTICIAS TECNOLÓGICAS
  • DOS VECES A LA SEMANA
The Business of Content

The podcast about how publishers create, distribute, and monetize digital content.

  1. HACE 1 DÍA

    How to market a book in the age of Tiktok

    My newsletter: https://simonowens.substack.com/   Book publicity is a mixed bag these days. On the one hand, it’s never been easier for an author to form a direct relationship with their audience with tools like Substack and TikTok. On the other hand, more books are published each year than ever before, which means competition is fierce. Most newspapers have laid off most of their book critics, but at the same time there’s an ever expanding ecosystem of podcasts that are eager to have on book authors for longform interviews.   Probably nobody is more knowledgeable about marketing books in the modern age than Kathleen Schmidt. She spent nearly 20 years working for almost every major book publishing company, and she now runs her own firm that specializes in book marketing. She also writes Publishing Confidential, her insider account of how the book industry actually functions.   In a recent interview, Kathleen walked through nearly every aspect of selling books, from choosing the right cover to courting influencers to advertising on Amazon.

    26 min

  2. 18 OCT

    How Alts.co monetizes its massive newsletter with an investor membership platform

    My newsletter: https://simonowens.substack.com/   When people sign up for the Alts.co newsletter, they’re looking to read its deep dives into alternative investments like art, baseball cards, and rare books. But the most serious investors in its audience want access to actual deal flow, and to gain that access they sign up for Altea, a high-priced membership community that actually vets potential deals and allows them to invest. Not only does Alts.co generate revenue through the annual membership, but it also charges for management fees and carried interest. In essence, Alts.co is a media company that monetizes via an investment firm.   In a recent interview, co-founder Stefan von Imhof explained why his company settled on this model, how it sources deals, and why he eventually wants to stop selling sponsorships within the newsletter.

    22 min

  3. 17 OCT

    How Eric Siu leveraged his hugely popular podcasts to grow his ad agency

    My newsletter: https://simonowens.substack.com/   Eric Siu has a pretty massive audience; his YouTube channel boasts 161,000 subscribers and his two podcasts – Marketing School and Leveling Up – have generated tens of millions of downloads.    But Eric doesn’t bother with traditional media monetization models like advertising or subscriptions. Instead, he leverages his influence to drive clients to Single Grain, a marketing agency he owns. As that business grew, he was able to acquire more agencies and add to Single Grain’s capabilities, and it now works with some of the world’s largest brands.   In a recent interview, Eric explained how he met his co-host, where he found his audience, and why he chose to monetize his content with a services business.

    19 min

  4. 10 OCT

    How Keith Pepper turned an Atlanta newspaper chain into a digital-first media company

    My newsletter: https://simonowens.substack.com/   When Keith Pepper bought a chain of print newspapers back in 2020, he received an email from a columnist at the Atlanta Journal Constitution that basically asked if he was crazy. But Keith had a plan for taking a company that generated 98% of its revenue from print advertising and converting it into a digital-first media company.   And he’s done just that. Today, Rough Draft Atlanta generates 27% of its revenue from digital ads, and it managed this feat without seeing a significant decline in print advertising. This has allowed Keith to reinvest in the business by hiring more journalists, and it’s now stronger than ever.   In a recent interview, Ketih explained how he consolidated all the newspapers under a single brand, his strategy for attracting online ads, and why he’s avoided placing his content behind a paywall.

    18 min

  5. 24 SEPT

    How Block Club Chicago reached 20,000 paying subscribers

    My newsletter: https://simonowens.substack.com/   Layoffs in the local news sector are, sadly, a regular occurrence, but the founders of Block Club Chicago decided they weren’t going down without a fight.   In November 2017, the news startup DNA Info laid off its entire staff, and it was only a few months later that three of its editors launched a Kickstarter that raised over $183,000;  they used that capital to launch Block Club Chicago, a nonprofit that seeks to put a journalist in each of the city’s neighborhoods.   Flash forward six years, and Block Club has a robust news gathering operation that’s funded by 20,000 paying subscribers, foundation support, and a growing advertising business. In a recent interview, co-founder Stephanie Lulay walked me through the site’s launch strategy, its unique approach to neighborhood-based reporting, and why she thinks Block Club’s model can be replicated all across the US.

    53 min

  6. 18 SEPT

    How State House News charges $4,000 for access to its journalism

    My newsletter: https://simonowens.substack.com/   For much of its 130-year existence, State House News operated as a standard newswire service. Its journalists covered the Massachusetts state government and it then syndicated their content to regional and national newspapers.    But in the late 90s, owner Craig Sandler realized that internet distribution would allow him to sell direct digital subscriptions and vastly expand his customer base. Today, the service charges $4,000 a year to any company or organization whose business is directly influenced by the state’s government.   In a recent interview, Craig discussed how he built the direct subscription business, why he decided to sell a majority stake in the company, and whether State House News is shielded from the whims of large tech platforms and AI chatbots.

    42 min

  7. 11 SEPT

    How Stacker distributes sponsored content to thousands of publishers

    My newsletter: https://simonowens.substack.com/   Most people are familiar with newswires like the Associated Press and Reuters, but a much newer upstart called Stacker has devised a new business model for syndicating content. Rather than charging a fee for its articles, it instead gives away its data journalism to any publisher that wants it. It then charges brands a fee to create and distribute sponsored content across the thousands of media outlets that subscribe to its service.   In a recent interview, co-founder Noah Greenberg explained how Stacker works with publishers, its process for creating sponsored content, and why he has no interest in driving an audience to Stacker’s owned and operated website.

    16 min

  8. 5 SEPT

    How Mignon Fogarty launched a massively successful series of online courses

    My Substack: https://simonowens.substack.com/   Mignon Fogarty isn’t just one of the world’s most popular podcasters, she’s also an incredibly innovative media entrepreneur. She launched her Grammar Girl podcast 18 years ago, and the success of that propelled her book onto the New York Times bestseller list. She also founded Quick & Dirty Tips, a media network she now runs in partnership with Macmillan Publishers.   To round out her media business even more, she’s launched around seven courses, all geared toward being a better communicator and writer. Thousands of customers have taken them, and they’ve opened her up to an entirely new customer base for her content.   In a recent interview, Mignon explained how she entered the courses market, what goes into putting together a course, and why she decided to partner with powerful distributors like LinkedIn Learning rather than create the courses by herself.

    16 min
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4.8
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The podcast about how publishers create, distribute, and monetize digital content.

Información

  • Creador
    Simon Owens, tech and media journalist
  • Años de actividad
    2018 - 2024
  • Episodios
    101
  • Clasificación
    Apto
  • Copyright
    © Simon Owens 2018
  • Mostrar sitio web
    The Business of Content

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