Why publishers are no longer as excited about ecommerce
PLUS: How to monetize parasocial relationships
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The Guardian brings The Filter to the U.S. in affiliate commerce push
Media companies don’t talk about their affiliate verticals nearly as much as they did five years ago. The market became so saturated that most publishers saw diminishing returns, and now many product recommendation articles are being buried in search results by AI-generated answers.
That said, the Guardian’s strong brand and direct relationship with its audience could give it an edge, allowing its product recommendations to generate higher-than-average conversion rates. [Digiday]
People Inc. acquires Feedfeed
Another legacy media company is expanding into the creator space by acquiring a network of creators to produce content for its existing magazine verticals. This approach is quickly becoming the dominant way for traditional publishers to collaborate with creators, rather than trying to sell sponsorships on the creators’ personal channels. The advantage is that the media company retains more control over both the distribution and the branding of the content. [Axios]
ICYMI: How Richard Rushfield founded one of Hollywood’s most influential newsletters
Richard wrote the newsletter in a raw, unfiltered voice; he was an insider who wasn’t afraid to ruffle feathers.
Hell Gate saw a 69% increase in subscribers in its third year of covering New York City
Hell Gate is proving that the writer-owned cooperative model can work at the local level. It’s on track to hit $1 million in annual revenue by 2026. It’d be great to see its approach replicated in more cities. [Nieman Lab]
Guardian editor sets out multi-year transformation plan
There’s an argument to be made that the Guardian’s comeback is every bit as impressive as the New York Times’s. 10 years ago, it was hemorrhaging money and there were questions about whether the Scott Trust would be able to sustain it. Then it turned everything around by converting a substantial portion of its audience into paid subscribers, all without placing anything behind a paywall. Given how much competition there is in the media space for subscription revenue, that’s no small feat. [Press Gazette]
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Behind the paywall
Here’s what I have on deck for paid subscribers:
How media companies can monetize parasocial relationships
The book publishing industry has abandoned its midlist authors.
Goalhanger’s impressive media expansion
Creators trade in sponsorship money for equity.
Let’s jump into it…