In the news: Facebook tries to cash in on the Substack newsletter subscription formula.

This week, Facebook launched Bulletin, described by Brian Stelter of CNN Business as “Facebook’s version of Substack: a way to create and distribute both free and paid newsletters.” To get the project up and running, the social media giant is hiring dozens of writers in various categories, Stelter reports.

Bulletin is launching somewhat mysteriously. Stelter says: “Some writers have already been stockpiling columns and ideas for weeks. But they've largely been in the dark about the bigger-picture plan, and some told me they're looking forward to finding out who else is participating.” Read more here.

Also Notable

Do Publishers Need to Revisit Social Media Policies?

“Our creaky social media policies are no match for today’s trolls,” reads the headline of a recent Bill Grueskin piece in the Columbia Journalism Review. Many newsrooms hold their journalists and editors to high levels of neutrality on social media, and some have paid dearly for breaching those rules. Citing recent examples of writers disciplined or fired for their social media posts, Grueskin writes: “The motives for these actions may have been well-intentioned at some point, but they’re a poor fit for this new age of Google-twitchy trolls hunting for pretexts to put newsrooms on the defensive while blowing up reporters’ careers.” Reporters have to navigate a pretty unforgiving, and sometimes confusing, tightrope; while their publishers may encourage them to use social media to engage with readers and develop sources, they don’t want them to express their personal viewpoints. “While most newsrooms understand that their reporters are thinking, sentient human beings, they have a harder time dealing with the idea that those same people want to express their views to the world,” Grueskin says, summing up the dilemma. Read more here.

New Post-Pandemic Perks for Media Employees

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed most workplaces, some irreversibly. Workers far and wide are experiencing profound burnout, and some publishers are responding with benefit boosts to keep them aboard. Sara Guaglione of Digiday.com discusses what some publishers are doing: Some are continuing a long tradition of “summer Fridays,” a shortened workday that gives staffers a somewhat extended weekend. Others are offering additional PTO and flex holidays. At Buzzfeed News, Guaglione says, “staffers have a monthly self-care day available, unlimited sick time and generally flexible work schedules.” Read more about what various publishers are offering here.

Publishers Assess Gen Z Strategy

Younger readers are a vital component of a brand’s success, but publishers have struggled to engage “Generation Z” readers. The challenge, says Kayleigh Barber of Digiday.com, is that publishers have spent years developing strategy geared to Millennial reading habits, but Gen Z is a completely different proposition. Faisal Kalim of WhatsNewinPublishing.com breaks down some of the more important findings in Barber’s article here. Read Barber’s piece here (note: paywalled content).

Staffing Shortages

In a recent piece, Jerry Simpkins of Editor & Publisher discusses some of the promising upswings and some of the challenges ahead for news publishers. “Shelves that were bare over the past year are now starting to fill up again, and advertisers seem to be coming back in both preprints and in ROP advertising,” he says. But publishers are having a hard time filling open positions now that the pandemic is receding. Due to a confluence of factors, including extended pandemic unemployment benefits and the low wages some of the open positions pay, “there is now a significant shortage of qualified workers, and it is affecting our ability to get the job done.” Read more here.

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Survey your readers about the usefulness of your publication, and of your competitors’ publications, and use the results to win over advertisers.

By William Dunkerley

The role of audience research in the advertising sales process is simple: to collect information about your publication that will facilitate closing sales. That may seem obvious. But not all publications have that in focus when they design a research program. They miss the mark.

Hitting the Mark

What is the mark? Actually, there are several marks. Let's look at them one at a time:

1. You need data in order to do a self-assessment. It is important to find out how good your publication is as a vehicle for advertising. Will ads in your publication pay off for the advertisers? Research data may tell you that your publication is in good shape for that, or you may discover deficiencies that will be important to address to increase your attractiveness to advertisers.

2. How well does your publication compete with others in making ads pay off for the advertisers? There are multiple facets to that. You may be running behind in some areas while excelling in others. It is important to have evidence of areas in which you are superior so you can highlight them to your advertiser prospects.

3. Is your publication well received by its audience? How does it fare compared to your competitors? Positive results here can help make your publication look like a better choice among competitors.

To provide practical examples I'll use a fictitious magazine called "Solar Business Insider," a B2B monthly serving those who have various roles in that industry.

SBI has four primary competitors (also fictitious): "All About Solar Business," "Solar Business Success," "Alternative Energy Future," and "Off the Grid Business."

Now let's design a research project for SBI. The subjects of the survey will be readers of SBI. The best mode of questioning readers will depend on the nature of information you have on your readership. If you have postal addresses, sending a questionnaire through the mail is an option. If you have only email addresses, you will have to use that list. The latter approach would provide the fastest results.

It would be desirable for you not to be identified as the conductor of the research to avoid biasing results. The questionnaire should be identified as coming from someone or some firm that is "conducting research in the solar field." A PR company, consultant, or university could collaborate with you on this. Responses from questionnaire recipients should likewise not be directed to you. Request that recipients respond anonymously.

We won't go into questionnaire design here. Instead I'll illustrate a few of the kinds of questions that usually yield useful results.

Questions to Ask

1. What publications have you read for detailed information about solar?

(List each publication, including yours.)

2. Which publication is your first choice for detailed information about solar?

(List each publication, including yours.)

3. When it comes to making solar-related purchases for your business, do you:

--Make the decisions yourself
--Participate in the decision making
--Make recommendations
--Provide input or information
--Play no role

4. Which publication does the best job of giving you information helpful in making your judgments regarding purchasing?

(List each publication, including yours.)

5. Have you ever responded to an ad in ... ?

(List each publication, including yours.)

6. What is your approximate annual solar business volume?

(List five ranges appropriate to your field.)

7. Which publication do you enjoy reading the most?

(List each publication, including yours.)

8. Please rank from 1 to 7 (using each number only once, with 1 being the highest ranking) the type of articles that interest you the most:

--Solar technology
--How to promote or merchandise products or services
--New products
--Industry controversy
--Sales data
--Regulatory issues
--Business trends

9. Which publication is your best source for information about:

--Solar technology
(List each publication, including yours.)

--How to promote or merchandise products or services
(List each publication, including yours.)

--New products
(List each publication, including yours.)

--Industry controversy
(List each publication, including yours.)

--Sales data
(List each publication, including yours.)

--Regulatory issues
(List each publication, including yours.)

--Business trends
(List each publication, including yours.)

The foregoing questions are offered just for illustrative purposes; the questions appropriate for your publication won’t necessarily resemble these. There are many other areas that you could include.

The next step is to consider what to do with your survey results. We'll look into that next time.

William Dunkerley is principal of William Dunkerley Publishing Consultants, www.publishinghelp.com.

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During this time of crisis, we stand ready to answer privately any specific questions our readers may have, time permitting. You can contact us at:

crisis-help@stratnewsletter.com

When the national health crisis subsides, publishers unfortunately should not expect to easily resume business as usual. Economists are predicting tough times ahead. In addition, the impact of the crisis may well result in different expectations of us on the part of our audiences. STRAT is providing a series of articles to help you all through the period of recovery and readjustment.