That’s one of my favorite sayings, but it begs an interesting question. What does “perfect” mean? “Perfect is the enemy of done” should not mean, “publish that amateurish first draft.” On the other hand, if my kayak is in the middle of a school of fish, the perfect fishing lure is the one I can…
Summary: Speaking clearly goes along with thinking clearly, which is why you should avoid silly lingo and trendy words. I recently read this in a post on LinkedIn. “[M]edia organizations need to establish a relationship and give easy ways for the subscriber to stay connected.” Sorry to break it to you, but nobody in the…
Summary: Smart content recommendations can help your readers find the parts of your site that meet their needs. When you combine high bounce rates and high single-visit rates, most traffic on most sites is from “drive-bys” – i.e., the one-and-done visitor. Getting some of those drive-bys to stay for one more page view can make…
Summary: An ad-supported internet allows free access to content, but it makes that content worse. “Digital transformation” includes several components: business models, content creation, revenue innovation, analytics, new technologies, and a few other things. It’s all fun stuff. But one aspect of digital transformation seems to have been neglected. We have not considerably improved the…
This weekend I was backpacking on the Appalachian Trail with some friends, and — inevitably — while working my way up a rocky path I wondered, “Do I really enjoy this?” I keep going back, so I guess I do. The same applies to your customers. Don’t rely exclusively on what people say they like….
When marketers get too caught up in chasing the “golden record” in a Customer Data Platform, they can allow “identity” to foul up their use cases. My daughter Anne had an experience that illustrates this well. We planned a family trip, and I added her personal email address as a guest on the reservation. But…
As you probably know, GA Universal Analytics will stop collecting data on July 1, 2023. If you want to continue using GA, you’ll need to switch to GA4. You’ll have access to historical data in Universal Analytics for 6 months, then it will be gone. You might want to schedule some downloads. You might not…
In these quick summaries of the latest Krehbiel Letter, I discuss two frameworks for evaluating CDP use cases, I outline a method for getting out of your routine and having a productive day away from the office, I provide a “subscription retention checklist,” and suggest ways to deal with open-ended questions in survey responses.
While everyone is debating remote vs. in-office work, I recommend something that could be far more consequential. Get people out of their routines! Some of the most productive thinking time I’ve had has been on train rides to New York. Here’s the basic schedule. Pick a topic to research, print out relevant white papers and…
Big Tech is your enemy Takeaways: Google and Big Tech have a bias that you do not share. Don’t help them in their mission to destroy your business. “Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” You don’t have to read between the lines. “Universally accessible” means free….
Renewals are crucial to subscription publishing models, and engagement is crucial to renewals. This page lists some questions to ask about your retention efforts, and some ideas about measurement and tools. I’m sure you’re justifiably proud of the good service you provide, but here’s a hard truth: access to your content is not a benefit…
You should examine your use cases from two very different perspectives: first, from the data you can collect from devices, and second, from the perspective of your customers as human beings. For example, “promote my iPad app to visitors” can stop at the device level, while “promote my e-newsletter to people who don’t have it”…
A PDF of the latest Krehbiel Letter is available for view / download.
This podcast summarizes the key takeaways from the Feb 2023 issue of The Krehbiel Letter. The first two articles focus on how artificial intelligence will affect publishers, and what they can do about it. Greg reflects on what publishers can learn from the Pareto principle, how publishers should be wary of conclusions and advice based…
There’s no single answer to this problem because everybody’s needs are different, but here are some general guidelines. 1. Ask if technology is really the answer. Technology is great and allows us to do amazing things. But remember that when your only tool is a hammer, you want to bang on every problem, and when…