5 tips for publishers to significantly increase reader engagement

The digital publishing world is still extremely competitive. Today's most successful publishers have therefore been investing more in reader engagement than in acquiring new customers.

The Financial Times (FT) now even gives about three times more for reader engagement as for acquiring new readers. However, 59% of all publishers do the opposite. When it comes to content creation, big publishers like FT see that less is almost always more. The aging strategy of maximizing clicks and page views has failed. Instead, reader engagement is increasingly taking center stage.

In this article, I'd like to look at the topic of reader engagement in more detail. In particular, I will cover the following topics:

• Why reader engagement is important
• How to correctly measure reader engagement
• Best practices for increasing reader engagement

1. Why reader engagement is important

Reader engagement is critical today for a number of reasons. One of the most decisive reasons, however, is that this can significantly increase a publisher's turnover.

According to media analyst Thomas Bäkdal Readers are becoming less and less interested in the number of published articles. Instead, they're looking for quality and items that pique their interest. Eliminating unnecessary ballast and offering high-quality articles therefore leads to more subscribers and advertising revenue. That makes sense. Because readers who see your articles as relevant and professional will continue to engage with them. They'll come back to your site time and time again because they know you'll find top-notch content there. At the same time, they are more likely to share your articles via social media and with friends. This leads to a cascade effect and thus increases sales growth.

There are numerous examples of this in practice. Publishers such as The Guardian, The Times of London and Le Monde have set themselves the task of reducing the number of their articles. This has led to growth in traffic, length of stay, and subscriber numbers. The Post and Courier of South Carolina For example, from 2017 to 2019, there was an increase in digital subscriptions by 250%. She achieved this growth by shifting her focus from page views to time spent and minutes spent on her website.

“We could abolish half of our journalistic offering, and our traffic would barely change — even if we didn't replace our offering. What if we replaced it with content that our readers really want?”

Josh Awtry, editor-in-chief of news strategy at USA Today Network

2. How to correctly measure reader engagement

It is therefore obvious that reader engagement is something that many publishers should take more seriously. But that is only part of the solution. In addition to recognizing the importance, you also need to create a plan for how to measure and improve reader engagement.

To better understand how you can achieve this, it's helpful to study a few successful publishers. Although your publisher doesn't have to adopt these key figures, they're often a good start.

Financial Times & Wall Street Journal

The Financial Times, for example, has developed its own Engagement Score, which is based on a mix of timeliness, frequency and volume. The Wall Street Journal, on the other hand, takes a slightly different approach. It measures reader engagement by relying on a metric called “active days.” Active days is essentially the number of days a reader engages with content on the Wall Street Journal website. The Wall Street Journal's so-called “Habit Project” is also worth mentioning. It uses 16 different “engagement opportunities” to increase the time WSJ readers spend on the site.

The Telegraph

The Telegraph also takes another approach. This is because the London-based publisher attaches particular importance to the number of subscribers in order to measure its own reader engagement. The Telegraph has never publicly explained why exactly they attach so much importance to this one measure. I simply assume that the management of the newspaper finds that the number of subscribers signals how many readers are so satisfied with what the newspaper has to offer that they are willing to pay for it.

Seattle Times

Furthermore, the Seattle Times Another great example of a publisher taking a mixed approach. For example, the publisher measures three different types of metrics: engagement, ad visibility, and length of stay. However, the newspaper goes one step further. It tracks 45 different actions when readers consume its content. Some of these actions include scrolling around the page and mouse movements. Loud Seattle Times Have these key figures led to the publisher having 30,000 dollars in additional income was able to achieve.

Of course, there are also many other KPIs that can be helpful for you. It's best for your team to start with things like time spent (also known as session duration), bounce rate, and returning visitors. Whichever way you choose, the list above is a good start to help you measure reader engagement on your website.

3. Best practices for increasing reader engagement

Maximizing reader engagement also requires a significant amount of smaller experimentation and analysis. Your team should always keep an eye on how your readers are reacting. Then you can put more resources into what works and what doesn't work.

Le Monde

As mentioned above, the first way to increase reader engagement is to publish fewer but high-quality articles. Le Monde provides a good example of this. In 2017, the newspaper began to focus more on engagement. In this context, decided the French publisher, to reduce the number of his articles by 25% and at the same time increase his staff to 500 journalists. In the past, such a decision would probably have caused a lot of shaking, as publishers finally had the goal of maximizing the number of clicks. Due to the lower number of articles, Le Monde However, increase its online audience as well as its printed and digital editions.

Times of London

The same applies to the Times of London. In summer 2019, the British newspaper published in its main digital news section 15% fewer items. This came after she found that articles with additional or exclusive content performed above average compared to articles that did not have such content. By focusing on these types of articles, the newspaper saw a 25% increase in length of stay.

This example shows that a few high-quality articles are better for reader engagement than a high number of less good articles. In addition, you should definitely consider using email frequently. Emails are a crucial component of any engagement strategy because of the relationship they build between the reader and the publisher. Regardless of whether you choose to use onboarding emails, regular newsletters, or something else, building that direct relationship with readers can pay off for you in the biggest way. At this point I would especially like to Les Echos And the New York Times name.

Les Echos & New York Times

Les Echos found, for example, that readers who receive emails are more loyal than those who came to the Les Echos' website via the search engine or social media. Die New York Times also found that the likelihood of newsletter subscribers becoming paying subscribers Twice as high is As with non-newsletter subscribers. Therefore, be sure to think of emails in your efforts to increase your reader engagement.

4. What are the main conclusions?

Increasing reader engagement is worthwhile. In particular, you should keep in mind the following points.

1. First, help build habits and Reward readers who visit your website regularly. The Articles by NiemanLab gives some helpful tips. Building habits goes a long way toward creating sustainable reader engagement.
2. Next, make sure you have your Reach out to email subscribers. In particular, target subscribers who have the highest tendency to unsubscribe. Publishers such as Canada's Globe and Mail have had great success with this tactic.
3. Thirdly, delete the content that no one is reading. They just clutter up your website and don't help anyone. Die Times of London has done this and found that deleting content that doesn't work is a good way to drastically improve the user experience.
4. Fourthly, Surprise your readers with unexpected gifts. This is a way to show your readers that you value them. Just one example: The Atlantic For example, has sent small rewards to all readers — including a personal baby gift for the birth of a particularly deserving reader.
5. Finally, you should think about how you can your Improve reader engagement with new technology Can. Used like this The world, the German news giant, AI-based technologyto automate and optimize article links. This approach significantly increased the length of stay and engagement. In addition, publishers can via text-to-speech technologies such as Amazon Polly think to further increase engagement.

Conclusion

Increasing reader engagement is one of the most productive things your publisher can do. Not only does it make your readers happier, it also leads to higher sales. In other words, it's a win-win for your company and your readers.

So take this task seriously. Make sure you are listening to your readers. Remember that fewer articles are often more. Highlight particularly valuable articles and have the courage to delete poorly performing content. At the same time, make sure you're measuring key KPIs and take advantage of new technologies.

If you'd like to learn more about how to increase reader engagement with AI, check out our free webinar here. Want tips on how to take your reader engagement to the next level with Purple DS? Then contact one of our experts today.

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