Posts Tagged ‘Penmaen Media’
What media owners can learn from the hospitality industry
Wednesday, July 21st, 2010I’ve long believed that a specialist media owners’ greatest asset is not their content but their audience’s attention. Once you have built a community of interest it is much easier to find new products and services to sell to them, and even find ways to get them to pay to contact each other. Miles Galliford of Subhub has long been a proponent of this view, and a discussion he started on the Specialist Media Network on Linked-in moved in some interesting directions - read on to discover what a media business can learn from the hospitality industry, and the importance of valuing and entertaining your audience… (more…)
Tags: audience, Colin Bradshaw, content, entertaining visitors, events, hosting an event, Miles Galliford, networking, Penmaen Media, Specialist Media Network
Posted in b2b, business strategy, consumer, content, events
Successful commercial partnerships for media owners
Saturday, May 15th, 2010Media owners are finding their advertising clients these days are far more demanding, expecting to be able to measure the real business value of their campaigns, rather than relying on the simple reach of any advertising activity. Mere banners, links and MPUs are just not enough when the online ad market is awash with low-cost inventory. So how can specialist media owners develop long-term, successful commercial partnerships in this tough environment? I met yesterday with Duncan Tickell, MD of Magicalia, and Paul Hood, Head of Digital at Mirror Group, who are both taking part in a session at the Specialist Media Show Conference on 25 May on this topic, and picked up some insights, based on their campaigns for bike manufacturers, parenting clients and music publishers, that I believe can be used by large and small media businesses alike. (more…)
Tags: advertising, bespoke campaigns, commercial partnerships, Duncan Tickell, Magicalia, Mirror Group, Paul Hood, Penmaen Media, specialist media show
Posted in advertising, b2b, business strategy, consumer
Driving relevant traffic via referrals
Sunday, March 28th, 2010It’s all too easy to get obsessed with optimising your site for Google and imagining that all your traffic will arrive via natural search. But there are plenty of products and services where search isn’t necessarily the route that prospective customers take. This is particularly the case for professional services, where generic terms are too competitive, and your customer may find it hard to express their rather complex requirement in a small search box. Then you need to focus more on how external links in related sites can drive relevant traffic to your site in their own right, which has the added benefit of enhancing your pagerank. The trick is thinking through your customers’ purchase process, and working out which online sites they will use to gather information before looking for a supplier. Here are five ideas to help you identify these types of links and build referral traffic back to your site. (more…)
Tags: book reviews, niche forums, Penmaen Media, personal brand, referral community, referrals traffic, SME workshops
Posted in SME digital marketing, b2b, consumer, content, marketing
Growing an online content business through building trust
Sunday, March 21st, 2010Traditional and digital publishers alike are grappling with how to build a profitable business around online content. But the old model of ad-funding isn’t enough anymore. I believe that specialist publishers can learn from the experience of small niche digital publishing entreprenueurs who have built businesses around online content. Miles Galliford, one of the founders of SubHub, an online platform for niche publishers, is currently writing a book on this subject called the Funnel of Trust. It details a step by step approach to building multiple online revenue streams that seems to work for a wide range of content entrepreneurs. I have read a pre-publication draft, as Miles is speaking at the Specialist Media Show on 25 May 2010, which I am organising, and he has kindly given permission for me to summarise his first chapter here. You can get a free PDF of the first chapter if you register to attend the Specialist Media Show. If you book a ticket to the conference you will get a copy of the final book on the day, hot off the press! Here are the key steps to profitable online content publishing: (more…)
Tags: content, e-commerce, events, marketing, Miles Galliford, online subscriptions, paid-for content, Penmaen Media, Subhub
Posted in b2b, business strategy, consumer, content, events, news
Creating an event cycle that drives content and community
Monday, March 15th, 2010Many media owners are branching out into live events - either putting forward their experts as speakers or organising their own paid events, conferences, seminars and networking sessions. Events complement online content well, especially on controversial topics where the gurus disagree, and the audience has specific questions. Participants also love to meet each other in person even if they have already made contact online. But the greatest value in events is created by planning the entire event cycle to maximise the event’s ability to create lasting content and stimulate discussion in the community well beyond the time and place of the physical event. Here are my tips on creating an event cycle: (more…)
Tags: Business Zone, community, content, event marketing, events, networking, Penmaen Media, Specialist Media Network, specialist media show
Posted in b2b, consumer, events, news
What online content will people pay for?
Thursday, February 4th, 2010All online publishers, whether they have a traditional print business or not, are busy searching for the perfect online business model. The consensus appears to be that they need a mix of free content to attract users/readers/customers, and some premium paid-for content. But how can they categorise their content to work out what can be charged for? I’ve assembled five categories, based on a range of examples from traditional and online-only publishers. I’m indebted to Miles Galliford of subhub, whose post on this topic is worth reading, and also to Iain Nicol and Mark Bishop who contributed to the discussion on the Specialist Media Network. So what content will people pay for? (more…)
Tags: content, databases, magazine iphone apps, online subscriptions, paid-for content, Penmaen Media, Publishing Expo, specialist media show, Subhub
Posted in b2b, consumer, content, marketing