LiveIntent Blog
  • Solutions
    • Advertiser solutions
      Discover a new advertising channel for powering profitable growth.
    • Publisher solutions
      Maximize the revenue generated across email and web inventory
    • Identity data solutions
      Build stronger connections with addressable audiences everywhere.
  • Identity framework
  • Case studies
  • Company
    • Our story
      Learn more about us, our mission, vision, and the people behind it all.
    • Careers
      Grow and develop personally and professionally at LiveIntent.
    • Press
      Read up on how LiveIntent is innovating the digital ecosystem.
    • Events
      Check out our upcoming events and stay up-to-date with all things martech.
  • Resources
    • LiveIntent Library
      Learn how to harness the power of email with our eBooks, guides, and reports.
    • Blog
      Explore martech topics, strategies, and tactics with fun, insightful content.
    • Knowledge base
      Get answers to all your pressing product related questions.
    • Brand assets
      Everything you need to know about the LiveIntent brand all in one place.
Contact Us
LiveIntent Blog
  • Solutions
    • Advertiser solutions
      Discover a new advertising channel for powering profitable growth.
    • Publisher solutions
      Maximize the revenue generated across email and web inventory
    • Identity data solutions
      Build stronger connections with addressable audiences everywhere.
  • Identity framework
  • Case studies
  • Company
    • Our story
      Learn more about us, our mission, vision, and the people behind it all.
    • Careers
      Grow and develop personally and professionally at LiveIntent.
    • Press
      Read up on how LiveIntent is innovating the digital ecosystem.
    • Events
      Check out our upcoming events and stay up-to-date with all things martech.
  • Resources
    • LiveIntent Library
      Learn how to harness the power of email with our eBooks, guides, and reports.
    • Blog
      Explore martech topics, strategies, and tactics with fun, insightful content.
    • Knowledge base
      Get answers to all your pressing product related questions.
    • Brand assets
      Everything you need to know about the LiveIntent brand all in one place.
Log in Contact Us
  • Blog Homepage
  • Programmatic Advertising
  • Email Monetization
  • Identity Resolution
  • LiveIntent Culture
  • Real Time Banter
  • LiveIntentional
  • Subscribe

AdWeek Elevate: Newsletters and a path to a sustainable business model for publishers

    • Email Monetization
  • November 23, 2021
Nick Bolt
Senior product marketing manager, publisher solutions

LiveIntent recently attended AdWeek’s Elevate: Publishing conference. Over three days, publishers and tech partners came together virtually to discuss the hottest topics and trends in the publishing world. While the scope of the conference was broad, covering areas such as audio, NFTs, and virtual reality, there was a common theme across sessions that highlighted newsletters.

So what was this common theme that spanned publishers like The New York Times, Hearst Magazines, The Weather Channel, BuzzFeed, and The Philadelphia Inquirer? Poetically speaking, it was: know thy reader, know thy business. Pragmatically speaking, that translates to creating a sustainable business model via the effective use of first-party data and nurturing reader loyalty.

Reader loyalty: A renewable resource for a sustainable model

Reader loyalty is what gives your brand value and is the raw, recyclable material on which to build a sustainable business model. Cultivating reader loyalty yields a bountiful harvest of first-party data. When readers trust your brand, they engage with it, generating insights around their passions and interests and creating the opportunity for dialogue around what they want more of. These reader insights are the ore that, when properly processed, can then be used to construct premium experiences. Through these premium experiences, publishers can feed readers’ hunger for relevant content and thereby continue to foster more reader loyalty. The cycle supports itself.

Collection, curation, and considerations

Across the AdWeek Elevate sessions, publishers highlighted the versatility of first-party data and the variety of use cases to which they can apply it. They discussed how they’re building their own ‘premium experiences’ in the form of commerce and affiliate programs, robust ad sales businesses, and subscription-only content models. During these conversations, publishers placed a significant emphasis on the collection and curation of first-party data. The most frequent advice dispensed includes:

  • Engage with your readership. Ask your readers what content they love most and want to get more of.
  • Explore new inputs into your data loop. Think about how you capture more intent and behavioral data.
  • Assess your tech stack. Find out if the vendors you’re partnering with help offer solutions that help you execute your business strategy.
  • Consider the applications. Learn if the first-party data you’re collecting can applied to multiple business areas or support a growing portion of your business (like ad sales and paid subscriptions).
  • Be privacy-forward. Value your reader just as much as they value your content.

Main takeaway: Don’t neglect your newsletters

But how do first-party data and the sustainable business model tie back to newsletters? Newsletters represent not only a microcosm of the sustainable model but are also a great vehicle through which to execute the model. The fact that publishers own their newsletter channel cannot be understated, and it offers the means to build a first-party data loop to inform other areas of your business. Those who are investing in their newsletter have a real opportunity to enact the model outlined above. Let’s look at how.

Your newsletter readers are the most loyal readers you have, they’ve raised their hand to receive your content, and they’re itching to engage. Newsletter readers are likely your most engaged audience, and their deep engagement provides some of your most valuable insights. You can apply these insights to your business in several useful ways. For example, newsletter reader insights can inform your content strategy, drive your ad sales program, and fuel your paid subscription push. These tactics all drive back to that raw, recyclable materials – reader loyalty – and can be used to sustain your newsletter and your larger organization. The more relevant you make the reader experience, the further along you are to creating a sustainable business — and activating the first-party data collected from your newsletters is a great way to start.

If you’re interested in how LiveIntent’s solutions can help you on your path to a sustainable business, contact us.

0
Tweet 0
Nick Bolt
Senior product marketing manager, publisher solutions

Must-Read Content

3 publishing priorities
    • Email Monetization

3 publishing priorities for 2023

  • Mano Pillai
  • December 21, 2022
    • Email Monetization

Staking a claim in $61.15bn in digital ad spend

  • Chris Hartley
  • December 13, 2022
    • Email Monetization

Why email is crucial to local publisher monetization strategies

  • Victoria de Leon
  • July 14, 2022
Learn more about Email Monetization.
View Post
  • Email Monetization

Consumer behaviors, email newsletters, and subscription fatigue with Mark Stenberg

  • Mark Dunning
  • June 13, 2022
View Post
  • Email Monetization

Email list monetization: What is it and why is it important?

  • Victoria de Leon
  • May 18, 2022
View Post
  • Email Monetization

4 ways to monetize your first-party data in 2022

  • Victoria de Leon
  • May 3, 2022
View Post
  • Email Monetization

5 tips for email audience building in 2022

  • Mark Dunning
  • April 5, 2022
View Post
  • Email Monetization

Unlocking and supporting business opportunities with first-party data

  • Nick Bolt
  • March 30, 2022
View Post
  • Email Monetization

CNET finds the sweet spot between direct-sold strategy and operational ease with Native Ad Blueprints

  • Jennie Conway
  • March 14, 2022
View Post
  • Email Monetization

Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection (MPP): What it means for direct-sold deals

  • Nick Bolt
  • February 22, 2022
View Post
  • Email Monetization

Building audiences in today’s digital world

  • Mark Dunning
  • February 16, 2022
LiveIntent Blog
Think outside the inbox and discover all the innovative ways email can help you grow your business.
© LiveIntent 2022
  • Solutions
    • Advertiser solutions
    • People-Based audiences
    • Publisher solutions
    • Identity data solutions
    • Identity framework
  • Company
    • Our Story
    • Careers
    • Employee Resource Groups
    • Press
    • Events
    • Contact us
  • Resources
    • Case studies
    • Blog
    • Knowledge base
    • Brand assets
  • Legal
    • Powered by
    • Content policy
    • Website privacy policy
    • Services privacy policy
    • Do not sell my info
    • Ad choices
© LiveIntent 2022
Popular topics
  • People-Based Marketing
  • Meet-a-LiveIntenter
  • Email Revenue
  • Identity Graph
  • Subscriber Acquisition
  • First-Party Data
  • Direct-to-Consumer
  • Cookie Apocalypse