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Our colleagues at TheCodeCo suggest that, just because your original website made you the person you are today, this doesn't mean that it will always work. This article is republished under the terms of permission. check out the original article here.
You and your trusty publishing platform have been through many things together. You're deeply attached. It's only natural that you want to try all you can to bring back nostalgia for the great old times.
But just because your original customized website helped you become an accomplished author currently, that doesn't mean it will carry you in the near future. As with all relationships that last for a long time ending a relationship is difficult to do. But don't let sentimental feelings stand in your way of advancement.
Is it time to break the ties with your website?
Sometimes, you just need to accept the reality. You've changed. The business has evolved. It's time to move on. Deep down, you already know this. However, you feel like a more relaxed stumbling around in your creaking, old CMS, hoping for some alternative, button, or magic that will help you get out of the ever-growing chaotic.
Why? because it is a technology project. Most people (even the digital publishing industry) are uncomfortable with technology. Indeed, a research conducted by Chapman University revealed that technology was Americans' second biggest source of fear. That's right, technology is scarier than death (and just a little less frightening than experiencing an earthquake). If you're looking to get ahead as a modern media operator is the right time to face your fears and review your most important relationship.
Signs your tech stack is holding you back
Does any of these scenarios seem similar to yours?
- Your editorial team is constantly bogged down with website admin and other processes.
- The cost is huge to achieve seemingly straightforward actions.
- A quarter of your technology budget will be spent on keeping the lights on for your site
- Your programmers have advised you that something cannot be achieved "because of the way the system is constructed"
- The number of people who visit your site is increasing, but the profit is flat.
- Advertisers are requesting audience insight/data which you're unable to supply
- You're running low on advertising supplies or you have an uneasy feeling that you're missing out on revenue opportunities
- The business model you have adopted has changed significantly since you first launched
If you're in agreement with any of these statements, you should seriously look into a tech overhaul. For any publisher that's overgrown their site, replatforming is often the fastest way to create an impactful and durable transformation. This can be a way to see outcomes in a matter of minutes.
How do publishers avoid tech projects?
It's fair to say that it's not just the technological fear that's keeping your back. It's the fear that technology is getting wrong. For most digital publishers, their hesitation to innovate centres around one (or more) of these "nightmare scenarios':
- The cost blow-out
- The never-ending project
- The incorrect agency
These fears are perfectly understandable. You're already leading an organisation that's digital in one of the largest period of disruption that the globe has seen. This is why you're uneasy about the prospect of a major web rebuild. But, waiting and watching does not lead to success in the current McKinsey research 'Digital Strategy in a Time of Crisis' demonstrates.
"Early use of technology at an early stage and on a large size, in conjunction with massive allocation of resources towards digital projects, as well as M&A, correlate highly with creating value" MCKINSEY, 'DIGITAL Strategy in a Time of Crisis'
What technology would publishers be wise to invest in?
While now is definitely the right time to start investing in the field of technology, it is important not to overinvest. Tech debt is easy to accumulate but far harder to clear. Publishers are increasingly overwhelmed by tech options. This is one reason why each project begins with a extensive discovery. This gives media owners the chance to thoroughly explore their options, set priorities and prevent costly mistakes.
Success in the field of media is being aware of the best technology to invest in. According to Steve Jobs famously acknowledged, technology is just an instrument to aid in the work of great people. It's the actions you take using that tool that makes the biggest difference.
The truth is, technology should never be complex or confusing.
So before introducing any new tool or technology, you should take a moment and ask "How will this improve my company?' If it doesn't add to the chaos. Working with media owners Our approach has always been "anti-complexity". What can we do to deliver the most effective business outcomes using the least complicated method? In avoiding distractions like flashing lights and ineffective gadgets, we ensure that the client's budgets are utilized only when is truly necessary. So your project always ends, there are never any surprise costs and all of nightmare scenarios are avoided.
The most efficient changes are typically caused by simple modifications that are executed with care and linked seamlessly to core business objectives.
The reason why traditional publishing goals aren't working
The first step to determining your requirements for technology is to define your business objectives. Here's what editors typically tell us are their main goals
- More traffic
- Additional advertising
- More time
The past was when these would have been sensible balls to pursue. But the advent of data has revolutionized the publishing industry.
Make sure that your technology is aligned with your publishing goals
It's not the best route to scaling your website's digital publishing. Advertisers don't really care how many people visit your website. They want to understand the people who is visiting, how they engage with content and what value they add to their particular brand.
To this ever increasing data-focused clients the vanity metrics such as traffic barely scratch the top of the iceberg. Now is the time to stop marketing advertising, and instead concentrate on the ways you can leverage technology to create mutually beneficial relationships with brands. When you have your stack right then you'll have more time to work.
What should your objectives be:
Goal 1: Better understanding of your audience The more information you have about your target audience is the easier it will be to optimize and enhance your content. This can lead to greater engagement (see Goal 2.) and provides you with the ammunition to create exciting opportunities for clients (see Goal 3)
Goal 2: Greater involvement of audience members: An engaged audience is a valuable audience. That's why now is such a great time to be a niche-based publisher. A small and active community is where future possibilities are for publishers.
Goal 3: More engaging advertising opportunities for customers: If you've achieved goals 1 and 2, Goal 3 is likely to happen naturally. If you can provide smart, personalised marketing solutions to your clients, you're a far more attractive prospect.
The game-changing technology of publishing
Now that you've established the goals you want to achieve, it's time to begin looking over your technology collection. In the case of digital publishers that are trying to expand, these are the first challenges we take on:
Content Management System
Your business is based on content, which is why it's not difficult for an expert to appreciate the importance of your content management system (CMS). A superior CMS is the backbone of any successful digital publisher. It's (or it should be) the only source of information, and should be adaptable enough to accommodate all of your editorial and advertising requirements.
If you're a growing media provider, you shouldn't go past WordPress. Well you can, but you'll probably regret it pretty fast. Many different platforms have attempted compete with WordPress however nothing can been able to match the flexibility, reliability, and capabilities for integration.
READ MORE: Drupal and. WordPress: What's best for digital publishing?
Even if you're a large-scale publishing empire, there's still an excuse not to develop your own platform. The CMS's that are proprietary are inflexible costly, and they're likely to completely obliterate you if (or most likely if) technology continues to evolve with the speed at which it is currently.
What people often don't understand is that WordPress is able to be optimised for complex workflows. We do it all the time. It's just that publishing platforms are incredibly complicated and it is rare to meet developers who have the capability (or time) to fully answer your particular request. So, by various workarounds, it's a complex architecture for publishing.
What about SaaS publishing platforms like Substack as well as Medium?
If you're a blogger , or trying your hand at the business that is publishing SaaS platform are awesome. But plug and play tech stacks are a major warning for serious publishers. Do you really want your entire business relying on an app that costs you $50? The majority of what we do at The Code Company involves 'rescue operations' with publishers that learnt this the hard way.
READ MORE: The three most common mistakes made by publishers when building or replatforming their websites
Hosting Platforms
A website that is slow is the fastest way to lose customers and even advertisers. It's the reason why selecting the best hosting platform is crucial. When selecting a server, there are two choices:
- Self-managed hosting
- Managed hosting platforms
In the past, because of the difficulty of what they needed many enterprise publishers have chosen to build their own hosting setup. But managed platforms have evolved to the point that all the major needs of publishers growing are now taken care of.
READ MORE: What is the most effective hosting option for digital authors? Managed hosting options are particularly straightforward if you're making use of WordPress. In terms of safety, reliability, backups, caching and updates, the capabilities offered by platforms like WP Engine and WordPress VIP can be compared to the best. And you'll most likely reduce costs. We have been reminded of the advantages of hosting services recently while working with a new publishing client. Simply by switching to a managed service and saving them around $200,000 annually!
AdTech
Our team recently met with a publisher in a niche market that had created such an active audience that advertisers were knocking on their doors in order to place ads. A publishing dream come true? You'd think. However, there was one issue. They had run out of inventory. It was impossible to find enough advertising units available on their website to accommodate client requests. Their profitline was falling, yet they were turning clients away.
The first thing we did to change this dire circumstance around was to the hiring of the AdOps team to successfully install Google Ad Manager and build an efficient WordPress integration. This gave editorial and advertising teams full control of campaign management and their targeting. In addition, it contributed to an immediate ROI and an impressive increase in customer revenues.
The focus of publishing is rapidly shifting from traffic to targeting It's therefore inevitable that clients will demand increasingly complex strategies for advertising. For the best chance of maximizing future revenue, now is now the best time to plan your AdTech to succeed.
Data Collection Tools
Do you have a goldmine of data? Probably. Many digital publishers are yet few realise it. And even fewer know what they can do with the data to boost their profits. The WPP AUNZ CEO Jens Monsees made this point at the 2020 Mumbrella 360 when he likened digital information to high school sex.
"Everybody speaks about it," but very few actually do it and no one is doing it correctly. More than that it is important to comprehend it. What is the location of this information? How do I get it to me and make sense of the data in real-time? Which clients do you think are using a good data strategy as well as the IT infrastructure in place to harvest and make sense out of the information?"
With the right technology, it's possible to gain profound behavioural insights that show that you how your audience is performing over a longer period of time. A good place to start is by configuring your email service provider (email service supplier) to get a better understanding of the content categories an individual users click on. This allows you to customize your visitor's experience, and offer highly relevant advertising opportunities for clients and content.
"Behaviorally targeted ads have twice the useful and as efficient than non-targeted ads on the internet"
Google Tag Manager (GTM) should be also on your radar. As the name suggests, GTM allows you to manage tags on your website. It's transformed the way publishers work because it gives you more control over the tags you use on your website which means that you don't have to continuously involving programmers in making minor changes. It's the GTM Event Tracking tool is a powerful way to monitor interactions between visitors and certain features/elements of your site.
Read More: The Server-Side Tagging within Google Ad Manager: What it means for the publishers
Some parting thoughts
As a digital publisher You're in a long-term relationship with the technology. Is your site providing everything you need to be successful? Or are you resisting change due to the fact that it's comfortable and familiar? Be aware that none of the greatest achievements could be achieved within the comfort of a zone.
But innovation shouldn't have to be difficult. When you find the right tech partner and an anti-complexity mindset the publishing platform could well live happily for the rest of your life.