What are a publisher's goals?

If there's anything to be learned from all that internet marketing material out there is you need goals.

The marketer asks "What's the next action you want your reader to take?" and "Craft your text to move the reader through the shopping cart to a purchase (sign up for my newsletter and I'll show you how!)."

Traditional print publishing doesn't seem to have that same focus, especially for their online offerings. Why is that?

It doesn't make sense. They're commercial ventures, and they have a product they'd love to sell. In fact, they have two things to sell: a subscription (or membership as the marketers now call serialized content) to content, and an audience to advertisers.

This is most obvious when discussing an online or electronic project, like a daily news briefing that's tied to an email newsletter. Traditional publishing looks at:

1. finding a niche audience


2. gathering and editing content they think that audience will want


3. distributing that content to the chosen audience (either through paid or controlled circulation)


4. finding advertisers who want to reach the same audience


5. rake in the cash

Note how:

1. the goal is split into two: develop the audience and sell the audience


2. there is no follow-through: once a message is delivered (content or advertising) the publisher no longer cares what happens

That's so 20th Century!

Would publishers be more successful if they thought in terms of goals? If so, what would those goals look like, and how could they be achieved? How would this change what editorial looks like, and what advertising is?

Here are a few tentative notes on how a goals-oriented product would be structured:

• Editorial is the hook, but there should be more available for sale, or in exchange for information. There should always be a hook or line encouraging subscribers or readers to explore these "enhanced" products (in-depth research, database information, etc). The idea is to eventually convince the reader to buy an enhancement;


• The product has to assume that the 'content' will be distributed outside of it's original medium (ie, compiled via rss). All messages have to be contained within the text of the postings;


• Advertising as a goal is suspect as a long-term success strategy because the goal then is to move the reader to the advertiser's website, ie away from the product. This might work for a coupon-clipper or catalogue-like product where the audience is interested in the collection of leads offered, but it's hard to see the value for subject-oriented content seekers (ie a traditional news or comment site);


• Display advertising apparently is good for awareness, but we also know that eyes quickly skip over display advertising. Display advertising also distracts from whatever you're trying to do with the product (ie buy an enhanced product). Display ads will also disappear on emails that don't have "download pictures" turned on or through any rss sharing or reposting. The advertiser should be integrated into the message, but in a way that's (1) consistent with the tone and purpose of the product, (2) does not compromise the product. That won't be easy, since the advertiser is only interested in renting the medium to reach the audience.

Resources:

Using a blog (read: content site) as a business tool:
Why Your Blog Doesn’t Make Money by Taylor Lindstrom

Conversions:
101 Ways to Make More Sales Online by Sonia Simone

Source: http://waferboard.blogspot.com/2010/08/what-are-publishers-goals.html