Katherine Goldstein’s Post

CNN just launched its paywall, charging $3.99 a month. It's intentionally vague on how many free article views will trigger the paywall -- probably because it's running various A/B tests on the best conversion strategy. I also wouldn't be surprised if it's utilizing a "smart" paywall that's optimized based on personal use. One thing I'd be interested in knowing is whether the company is planning to expand its digital content team, or if it's just going to maintain the status quo and see if that's enough to drive subscriptions. https://lnkd.in/eQTGvA4Z

"I was given a very specific mandate. The company was losing money, and the ownership didn’t want to lose money any more." Nicholas Thompson, the CEO of The Atlantic, recently sat down with Media Voices to share details around how he grew The Atlantic towards 1 million subscribers – and profitability. We're proud to be the tech provider that The Atlantic utilise for Apple News delivery, and Nicholas spoke about how this fits within their acquisition and monetisation strategy. Here are some highlights and quotes: 1) They attract a sizeable number of readers on the platform – and that number is growing "We have lots of readers in Apple News – not as many as there are on the Atlantic website, but it's fairly close." "...the number of people who read Atlantic stories in Apple News continues to climb and is huge." 2) They are seeing their revenue share from Apple News climb, as they continue to focus on quality journalism and long form articles "...our [Apple News] revenue is increasing. The way Apple News counts revenue is based on the time that people spend reading your stuff" "You know, we have lots of good stories, we have lots of long stories, we have lots of stories, people read beginning to end...which means that we do reasonably well on this metric of time, so we get a reasonably large fraction" 3) Although The Atlantic publishes a high volume of content to Apple News, they don't share everything! "There are lots of things you can't read, even if you're going to Apple News+ subscription. There are many reasons to become an Atlantic subscriber, and lots of stories you only get if you're a subscriber" I'll do a more detailed breakdown next week with more key takeways since the interview covers many topics such as their approach to newsletters, experimenting with paywalls, and how they're thinking about the future of the business.

Just watched Baby Reindeer on Netflix and Martha Scott could give a masterclass in persistence—reminding me of those never-say-die cold emails and calls we all know! While Martha's relentless follow-up is legendary, it teaches us a valuable lesson in sales and marketing: know when to stop. Persistence is crucial, but respecting an unsubscribe is even more so. But here’s the real takeaway for all the eager sales reps and email marketers out there: While persistence is key, there's a fine line between being attentive and becoming the reason someone invests in more spam filters. Let’s not be a Martha who doesn’t know when to stop. When they unsubscribe, let’s just wave goodbye and move on! So, cheers to finding that perfect balance in our outreach efforts, and remembering that sometimes, less is indeed more! #Sales #Marketing #Persistence #BabyReindeer #Netflix #ColdCalling #EmailMarketing #Stalker

Retailers, It’s Prime Time! 🌟 Amazon Prime Day kicks off a month of incredible sales events, from Target Circle Week to Walmart’s July deals, making waves across the retail world! Amazon’s strategic use of Prime Day has been driving long-term growth and has proven to boost Prime memberships. 🔍 Why This Matters: Strategic Sales: Amazon’s Prime Day isn’t just about quick deals. It’s a smart move to build customer loyalty and prepare for back-to-school and holiday seasons. Standing Out: While competitors launch their own sales, Amazon’s data-driven approach and logistics tend to keep them ahead. Innovative Delivery: The tech giant has recently been encouraging users to utilize pickup delivery to Amazon lockers, potentially boosting revenue further. We understand the importance of flexible delivery options. That's why our software empowers retailers to offer +24,000 pickup point locations across North America, enhancing customer choice and satisfaction. Are you planning to do some shopping for Prime Days? Share your best tips in the comments! #UPSAccessPoint #primedays #RetailStrategy #HubBox #backtoschool https://lnkd.in/ebNYYyGm

We're 9 days into the viral No-Spend January challenge. Is it actually worth it? BookSmarts CEO Jenny Groberg broke it down this morning on ARC/KUTV, sharing her pros and cons for this popular trend: ✅ Pros: Helps build emergency savings by setting aside 30% of income. Spending fasts curb impulse buys and encourage better planning. Teaches you to prioritize needs over wants (goodbye, Amazon splurges). ❌ Cons: Can feel restrictive and hard to stick to without a clear plan. May lead to over-spending later if not approached mindfully. We want to know who's participating in No-Spend January! What do you think—helpful or just hype? Drop your opinion in the comments. ⬇️ #nospendjanuary #januarybudget #budgetingtips #financialtips

I realllly love this “peanut butter” analogy that Brad Garlinghouse used in an old internal Yahoo memo arguing that they were spread too thin and needed better focus and accountability. “We want to do everything and be everything -- to everyone. We've known this for years, talk about it incessantly, but do nothing to fundamentally address it. We are scared to be left out. We are reactive instead of charting an unwavering course.” I've heard our strategy described as spreading peanut butter across the myriad opportunities that continue to evolve in the online world. The result: a thin layer of investment spread across everything we do and thus we focus on nothing in particular. I hate peanut butter. We all should.” Some of the memo’s main points give me hints of Frank Slootman’s “narrow the focus, increase the quality” tagline: 1. Focus the vision Declare what we are and what we aren’t. Exit the non-core and duplicative businesses. Form a cohesive strategy and direction. 2. Restore accountability, ownership, and decisiveness Owners and other senior roles should hold accountability for results, implementing changes, and quality. Incentivize teams to care and be part of the solutions. 3. Kill redundancies Align the business units so they’re not competing against each other. Reduce redundancies and make faster decisions.

Can't agree more Arti Singh and more power to you for calling a spade spade. As I'm building my platform The CEO Post www.theceposts.com, I've come across plenty of such asks to share thought leadership strategies as "plan" for a particular business. While I did this for a lot, now I stopped doing it for FREE. Absolute waste of time & energy as it gets quite tricky from there. After analyzing their business journeys and giving your best in creating a sound "plan", and sending it with full hope and enthusiasm, often it gets stuck there. The next step remained unknown for many. I don't understand what stops them from saying a plain NO. Come on, I'm not ChatGPT. I use my intelligence, research, analytics, data & experience and then come out with a strategy. Its sheer hard work. This is the ugly realty of established businesses that they still want us to offer our intelligence FREE. Utter Nonsense. hashtag #saynotofreebusiness hashtag #businessrules hashtag #businessethics hashtag #bigbrands hashtag #hardwork hashtag #entreprenuership hashtag #womenentreprenuers Arti Singh Arti Singh • 2nd • 2nd Founder & Editor at The Head and Tale l One-stop intelligence and insight source for Fintech leaders. Founder & Editor at The Head and Tale l One-stop intelligence and insight source for Fintech leaders. 7h • 7 hours ago Following A lot of folks have been reaching out, asking me to share stories behind the paywall with them. I get it—students are curious, and I actually find it encouraging that some have bought subscriptions just to read it. But honestly, it’s surprising when founders of established companies, VCs, and investors make the same ask. If you value good journalism, at least pay for it. I’m not some VC-funded media startup; I’m doing this solo, grinding day in and day out. The least you can do is respect that effort. I’m not even going to get into the PDFs being passed around, but please, don’t ask me to send this story for free. I’ve got a home to keep, bills to pay, and a family to support. Support independent journalism—it’s worth it.

Few can explain the value of this partnership as clearly and as simply as Cas can. I agree, it certainly is fun working on better and better solutions for our clients to Reach more of their customers.

"Did you know? 58% of people are singing Google Business Profile's praises, believing it's only gotten better over the past year! It's like watching your favourite tv show getting renewed for another season - you just can't get enough! 📺 With its continuous improvements, Google Business Profile is the gift that keeps on giving for businesses and customers alike. So, if you're not already on board, now's the perfect time to hop on this train of success! 💻 #GoogleBusinessProfile #ContinuousImprovement #DigitalSuccess"