Subscription publishers Quartz, The Atlantic, and Dazed Media make changes to their digital offerings
We constantly pay attention to the changes subscription publishers are making to gain ground in the digital landscape. Today we’re sharing stories of three publishers and their methods for expanding and evolving content streams.
For our first story we turn to Quartz and its new product and vertical launches. MediaPost reports, “Celebrating its fifth anniversary this month, Quartz is launching five products, including a book, afternoon newsletter, two new verticals and multiple video series.”
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“Quartz is also introducing an afternoon addition to its Daily Brief email newsletter. It will be called Quartz Obsession and focus on a single topic on the global economy each day. Existing Daily Brief subscribers will get it automatically.”
The article continues with a look to the future of its publishing and new verticals, which includes one inspired by an email newsletter, and additional video content. “In November, Quartz will launch a lifestyle and culture vertical called Quartzy. It is based on Quartz’s popular email newsletter with the same name. Both verticals will get their own dedicated editorial teams.”
They conclude, “The publication will also debut three new video series this fall.”
Next we move to subscription publishers The Atlantic, which is launching a membership product. Digiday reports, “The Atlantic is introducing a membership program to get more revenue out of its most loyal readers. Starting on Sept. 6, the politics and ideas magazine will introduce the plan, called The Masthead, to subscribers at an introductory price of $100 a year.”
“Benefits include a digital subscription to the magazine (which is now being advertised for $24.50 a year); a daily newsletter with exclusive content; extended reporting around the monthly cover story; access to a members-only Facebook group; weekly conference calls with Atlantic editorial staffers like editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg and journalists David Frum and Julia Ioffe; and discounted tickets to Atlantic events. (For its Washington Ideas event later this month, for example, it’ll give away 100 complimentary tickets to members, then offer the rest at half-off.)”
The article continues with commentary on why this product was created. “Bob Cohn, president of The Atlantic, said that rather than just give people more of the type of journalism that’s already on the site, the idea behind The Masthead was to give people new kinds of content and the ability to interact with each other and The Atlantic’s journalists. The daily email, for example, might have a conversation with a reporter who’s covering the White House about what’s going on behind the scenes or recaps of the best work from The Atlantic that week. The publication tested the plan for several weeks with 250 people.”
Our last story looks at the website redesign from Dazed Media. WWD reports, “The new site is a complete overhaul, with an updated layout, individual designs for each section and an improved user interface. The mobile site will also include new specialized features, like the ability to swipe between articles.”
“Thomas Gorton, editor of Dazed Digital, decided to redesign the site in order to better cater to the shifting interests of its readership.”
Are you among the subscription publishers needing to rethink your digital offerings and subscription models? If so, set up a time to chat with us. We have extensive experience developing profitable subscription websites for niche content publishers.
