In uncertain times like now, digital publishers are in constant search of new strategies, which would ensure satisfactory revenue outcomes. Here are several of them worth considering for 2025.
Even in spite of the yet another delay in the deprecation of third-party cookies, digital publishers in various niches and market verticals are still facing a number of challenges and uncertainties ahead of 2025.
In this respect, one of these is related to the slow-down in traffic acquisition, due to the overall reading fatigue, as well as Google’s launch of SGE (Search Generative Experience). Namely, the latter utilizes robust AI-powered capabilities to display information about the query on top of search results instead of directing users to publishers’ digital properties, hence posing a major threat to their referral traffic volume in the months to come.
Another serious issue lies in the still commonly-rigid brand safety rules, which, contrarily to the more nuanced, context-focused brand suitability principles, can basically demonetize news content even on the most reputable publishers’ websites.
Add it to the generally lower CPMs in programmatic ad sales, even in the more premium video segment, if compared to direct deals, which inevitably keeps the carefully planned first-party data strategy at the top of publishers’ priorities in Q4 2024 and 2025, if they wish to achieve higher revenue goals, or at least make sure their profits don’t fall below the set benchmarks.
Using New Tactics to Achieve Scale
In view of the common inventory monetization challenges, digital publishers can still maintain scale by engaging in data co-ops, i.e. share their consented first-party data (without the personally-identifiable data elements) in data clean rooms for brands’ targeted advertising purposes. While a data co-op operator generally requires payment of a certain fee from member companies, this tactic enables publishers to spare operational resources, while unlocking a new, incremental revenue stream from their first-party data.
Another way for to ramp up advertising revenue is to take advantage of DCaaS (Deal Curation as a Service), i.e. partner with a DCaaS vendor on the Supply side to create top-quality curated inventory bundles for advertisers’ use, hence increasing their value proposition as a digital publisher.
Exploring New Content Strategies
In spite of the gradual slow-down in digital traffic acquisition, particularly in the news segment, the necessity to revamp the applied content approach becomes absolutely vital closer to 2025. And while there’s no one-fits-all remedy known yet, it’s crucial that publishers continue exploring new tactics to engage newly-acquired readers more effectively, while also improving audience retention rates.
Namely, a potentially efficient content strategy stands on the several key pillars, including personalization and curation (i.e. creating personalized, and often localized newsletters, bundles and other content offers), as well as the compilation of the exclusive, member-based paid options and benefits, like access to gated content, online & offline events, meetings with authors and limited premium features (specifically on mobile), just to name a few.
Taking Advantage of the Formerly Missed Opportunities
Although the notion of a website forum has for long been considered a dying breed, it’s still possible (and quite advantageous for publishers) to boost their readers’ loyalty by helping them build and engage in some form of an online community within their digital properties.
In particular, a potentially working tactic is to create and develop member-based and/or the more exclusive, invite-only groups and chats in Discord and Slack, curate mini-subscriptions for Premium customer segments, and more.