Despite the expectation of a cloudy horizon for this year’s Q4, publishers are about to receive a better forecast. While there has been uncertainty surrounding the upcoming quarter, the recent Digital Publishers’ Revenue Index report revealed the total revenue for Q2 was up by £154.8million. With a 12.3% increase from the previous year’s Q2, it seems like publishers can get ready to channel their energy into different drivers of growth. Here are some of the revenue trends that are sweeping through the industry.
Even though display advertising remains the largest category by revenue for digital publishers, other tried and true mediums experienced an uptick in profit. Recruitment classifieds was a stronger contender with a 70.3% increase as well as multi-platform revenue, coming in with a 21.2% increase. But overall, ads and subscriptions are making a major comeback. Knowing audience habits and surfacing the right number of ads can help publishers give their audiences the best offerings.
Publishers are also reexamining their paywall strategy. These days, it’s not a matter of competition but preparation. Paywalls won’t work for every brand or publisher, so the key is knowing what will keep advertisers, and readers, interested. While some brands face difficulty advertising against news content due to strict guidelines, The Independent’s svp of the U.S. is trying to correct this by using tech tools like NewsGuard to “contextualize the articles affected by keyword blocking.” Additionally, publishers can workaround this by instilling mission-based deals with brands whose values reflect their own. With the right angle, publishers can dip back into the paywall well.
Long form content is also making its way back into the trend cycle, except this time, the format looks a bit different. Creators on TikTok and Instagram Reels are now breaking down content into multi-part videos to drive users to click into their accounts. Publishers can now experiment with how they package and display content across different social platforms. The demand for storytelling is still alive and well, and with these exciting opportunities, publishers can look forward to a promising quarter.