Report explores money-making commerce options for newsmedia

Oct 22, 2020 at 06:46 pm by Staff


There's more to making money from content than simple e-commerce, with options including affiliate models and attribution marketing, a new report shows.

Affiliate models send customers to an outside link with the publisher earning a percentage of revenue, while attribution marketing involves keeping track of the touchpoints from customer to purchase and putting a value on getting the consumer from point A to point B.

These options are discussed in a new INMA report on content-to-commerce opportunities for publishers.

'Content-to-Commerce brings revenue in post-advertising world' presents case studies of five diverse news media companies from differing areas in the world:

Swedish publisher Aftonbladet partnered with e-commerce platform Tipser to sell products while staying within the media company's website;

UK-based Dennis Publishing - one of the top examples of how content-to-commerce works in media - sells cars it owns and has two affiliate marketing brands, although it is its car brand which brings in 30 per cent of the company's overall revenue;

The New York Times' nine-year-old Wirecutter is a product review website, generating more revenue from affiliate commissions than traditional advertising;

Hong Kong's South China Morning Post has two traditional content-to-commerce brands, one of which, SCMP Research is discussed in the report. A literal content-for-commerce revenue strategy has slowly grown over the past few years and debuted as a proper revenue strategy in July;

In India, Times Internet, the digital division of the Times of India makes direct sales of men's products after acquiring MensXP in 2009.

Non-media companies and magazines were early adapters of content-to-commerce, but news media companies fall perfectly within the skill set required: they have strong content and audiences that trust them.

'Content-to-Commerce brings revenue in post-advertising world' is an early look at how traditional news publishers are creating their content-to-commerce strategies, focusing on three basic models.

Author Dawn McMullan, a senior editor at INMA, pulls from INMA webinars, study tours, and conferences while adding in new initiatives from around the world.

Executive director and chief execuitive Earl Wilkinson says content-to-commerce is a rising subject of interest as data, technology and growing sophistication in understanding reader needs and motivations sweep the news industry. "As publishers aim for closer and more trusted relationships directly with readers, they are in a unique position to capitalise," he says.

"Content-to-commerce is a fantastic opportunity."

The report is free to INMA members and may be purchased by non-members. Click here to access the report.


Comments

or Register to post a comment




ADVERTISEMENTS


ADVERTISEMENTS