3 ways we can help publishers this Fall: Branded content, an SEO audit and video sponsorships

As you look at the back half of the year, it’s really the ideal time to consider initiatives that can give your revenue an extra boost.

I always love this time of the year, because everyone is looking for a little extra juice heading into the end of Q3 and Q4, so it’s a great time to put some tested ideas and strategies in place that could carry into the new year.

Brainstorm those new ideas or areas you want to test in August, get them launched in September and October, learn what worked and what didn’t and bake the good stuff into your 2025 strategic plan and budgets.

It’s a nimble way to learn and hopefully get a nice burst of revenue.

And of course, my consulting company can help. Here are three things I’d encourage you to test with me the rest of 2024.

1. Use a product readers are familiar with and tack on branded content

Why: For publishers who either haven’t launched branded content or are struggling with getting it going, using a product that your sales staff is already comfortable with and that your advertisers are familiar with, can be a great way to drive branded content revenue.

How it works: We’ll review what special sections, magazines and events you have coming up the remainder of 2024 that could be an entree into branded content. For example, if you have a Best Of contest coming up, you could add on a few additional hundred dollars into your print package and now also offer a branded content story with that package. You could do the same thing for a popular Fall or holiday-oriented special section. We help publishers strategize how to package and sell the branded content, can even pitch it with you and are here to write the content or work with a freelancer.

The results: This idea has worked incredibly well for smaller organizations not only because it creates a nice burst of revenue but it gets more advertisers working with you on branded content and it opens up more opportunities to extend advertisers to a 3 or 6 month campaign after doing that single story with you.

2. Fix your search traffic with a technical and content audit

Why: Because of Google’s major updates, it’s paramount that publishers are keeping up with the changes in search and taking steps for improvement, especially if they are seeing organic search drops.

How it works: We’ll do a technical audit looking at a host of things like errors, site speed, bad links, your web health and optimization of the backend of your content management system. We’ll work with you to implement those changes. From there, we’ll go through how to position your content best for SEO through optimization tactics that will tie to how you headline and write your content with keywords.

The results: SEO fixes aren’t an overnight thing and there are a lot of boxes to check. But once the backend issues are addressed and sites have realigned their content to match Google’s helpful content approach, the results have been overwhelmingly positive, meaning we’re seeing organic SEO traffic bounce back in big ways for publishers we’re working with.

3. Sell holiday-oriented video sponsorships

Why: The holiday — packed with things to do, shopping and the need for help — is the perfect time to introduce vertical video as a product that can help your advertisers get the word out on their businesses.

How it works: Think of Reels like any other product you offer and pitch a program that helps the advertiser tell their story through a 30-second video. For example, if a city is sponsoring a host of events (maybe a Thanksgiving 5K and a holiday light display), suggest you build a series of Reels previewing the content. Or if an advertiser has a series of products that they want to promote this holiday, create a 3-part Reels series that showcases those products. This idea can work as a standalone package for an advertiser and get bolted on to something you’re already doing, as an upsell. The more creative you get, the better the package will be. We’re able to help you strategize on the packages, pitch the idea to advertisers and build the Reel(s) for you.

The results: We’re seeking this idea work over and over again, especially as an add on. Publishers are getting additional revenue and advertisers love the additional exposure this is providing them. A key component to this idea is adding a little paid social media budget so the content reaches the largest audience possible.

Let’s work together!

Contact me at david@davidarkinconsulting.com today. I’d love the chance to chat with you about how we can work together.