Originally appeared in The Verticals Collective newsletter, Aug. 9, 2017.
The pendulum in the publishing chatter-sphere seems to have swung to the wisdom of getting paid by the people consuming your media — if you can. A lot of the Verts have shown they can, indeed, sell subscriptions, research, event tickets, and other offers.
Other subject-focussed (a.k.a “vertical”) media, meanwhile, show they can make a go with advertising, see success and even get investment (see Fatherly, below, who do have a knack for getting in this newsletter).
Going vertical now seems the “thing,” whether it’s among Verts gathered in our collective, or the larger “mainstream.” Read on!
– Dorian Benkoil, Teeming Media
Editor
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Millennial Dad Site Fatherly Raises $4 Million (Fortune)
The money, from BDMI, the investment arm of media company Bertelsmann, and talent agency UTA, will be used to expand the scope of content, launch a podcast, develop original video series, and expand internationally in the next 18 months.
How Food52 is Trying to Cure the Native Ad Growing Pains (Digiday)
With unique features like a recipe generator, Q&A for sponsors and users, and a “Mad Libs-style” recipe game.
Well+Good Founders to Keynote at Global Wellness Summit (release)
Alexia Brue and Melisse Gelula, founders of “the leading media company dedicated to the U.S. wellness scene,” will “provide crucial insight into how millennials are disrupting the wellness travel market, sharing results from a new survey.” Oct. 9-11 in Palm Beach, FL.
New Investment Supports IRIN’s Audience Engagement Work
The New Venture Fund for Communications is supporting efforts aimed at maximizing IRIN’s pursuit of its mission to put quality, independent journalism at the service of the most vulnerable people on earth. The initiative is targeting strategic change-makers.
Active vs. Passive in Investment Fintech (INV Unfiltered)
If you know what that headline means, you’ll be interested in what StockTwits’ Pierce Crosby has to say in this podcast.
How to Make it In Publishing, Now: Advertising Explained (Teeming Media)
Because the media business is unique, many of the opportunities are, as well. This book helps you capitalize on those opportunities. Nowhere else will publishers find such a practical, plain-spoken guide, with real-world examples that tell you what to do, and how. This compact volume — one in our series — helps publishers understand the complex world of digital advertising. (Sponsored post.)
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And here’s some more from around the realm. Everyone’s becoming so vertical, it’s starting to look like a West Point graduation ceremony (oh, we crack ourselves up). Pointers, platforms and the vertical push….
The Awl Leaves Medium
… and goes back to WordPress. Medium was “a cool experiment.” Ah, the struggle with platforms.
1. Focus, 2. Focus, 3. Focus (MediaShift)
The story’s about the success of right-wing media, but there’re lessons for verticals: 1. Ensure your outlet is values-driven and mission based. 2. Cultivate a core community of loyal supporters. 3. Stay focused on mission.
Hypebeast vs. Highsnobiety: A Journey Towards the Heart of Content (032c)
Two long interviews with the founders of the culture-meets-sneaker pubs explore what works for them, from content for sponsors to sharing the right ways on social platforms.
How Gizmodo Media Group Finds New Verticals to Launch (Digiday)
… by seeing what’s popular on their media existing properties. Old school works, it seems. Meanwhile, Axios is to launch their fifth vertical, with an emphasis on energy.
How Facebook and Google could disrupt the subscription model for news (Monday Note)
Let’s try dynamic pricing for subscribers (not just for ads), says Frederic Filloux.
To read more about subscriptions, catch our earlier newsletter on that topic. Talk soon, I hope.
