We’re fortunate enough to have a lot of insightful, smart, and innovative people working in the publishing industry. I was fortunate enough to speak with several of them over the course of the past year.
In this roundup, we take a look back on interviews with some industry leaders who shared their perspectives on everything from audience segmentation to paywall models.
1. Stop Making Magazines Now! (Gerrit Klein)
Gerrit Klein has taken Ebner Publishing from making magazines to creating content. In this interview, he shares the difference between these two approaches and introduces the concepts of segmentation, content atomization, and predictive content as the keys to creating a successful online publishing operation.
2. Medium Is Fixing the Broken Ad Model (Caitlin Roman)
Caitlin Roman, Subscriptions Product Manager for Medium, knows that the old ad model is fundamentally flawed. Her team at Medium is working to change the paywall model to work for both writers and readers—rewarding writers for their work and providing subscribers with unique, in-depth content on topics they won’t find anywhere else on the internet.
3. The Key to Innovation Is to Make It Customer-Centric (Elizabeth Petersen, Julian Rose, Gregory Hart)
While every publisher is unique, there are similarities, no matter what readership group you serve. In this article, three experts from varied niche publishers discuss the similarities in their business models. (Hint: Focusing on your readers and using their insights to develop a solid framework for innovation is the key to success).
About the Author
Rob Ristagno, Founder and CEO of Sterling Woods, previously served as a senior executive at several digital media and e-commerce businesses, including as COO of America’s Test Kitchen. He started his career as a consultant at McKinsey. Ristagno holds degrees from the Harvard Business School and Dartmouth College and has taught at both Harvard and Boston College.
Rob is the author of A Member is Worth a Thousand Visitors: A Proven Method for Making More Money Online. He regularly speaks at key media conferences, including at Niche Media events, Specialized Information Publishers Association meetings, and the Business Information and Media Summit.
