Summary: People are sick of doing business with rapacious companies that put profits above people. This presents an opportunity for honest businesses. I don’t mean human vs. AI (also worth considering). I mean human vs. monster. Here are some depressing statistics about humans. Somewhere between 1-6% of us are narcissists. Machiavellianism is similar, but a…
Summary: Some people have a hard time understanding the relationship between online and offline data in a CDP. Here’s a new way to think about it. A customer data platform is a system that collects, harmonizes, and combines customer data from across your enterprise to create something like a single customer record. The CDP is…
Summary: Leigh Stein’s article “writing vs. content” explores whether Substack is a haven for serious writers or just a platform for monetizing personal musings. The debate highlights the distinction between literary writing and content creation, questioning Substack’s true value for writers. Bo Sacks distributed an article by Leigh Stein called “Writing vs. Content” in which…
Summary: You might not need a CDP if you already have the capabilities in some existing platform, you can’t justify the expense, or you could easily build or buy precisely the functionality you need. I would love to work with you on a customer data platform (CDP), but only if you really need one. You…
Summary: Digital advertising has made it harder for print magazines to simultaneously please advertisers and readers, which is crucial to the print magazine business model. You can’t please everybody, and it may be getting harder for print magazines to please the right people. Bo Sacks posted an article about the challenges facing print magazines, which…
Summary: In what cases should you seek advice about your business, and from whom should you seek such advice? You want “informed advice,” and you need to be cautious about following it. It’s smart to ask for advice, but sometimes dumb to take it. The 21 Hats Podcast had an episode called “Who’s Advice are…
Bo Sacks posted an article today about the fastest-growing news publishers on TikTok. He didn’t attach any judgment to the story, but I will. Publishers – There you go again. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me a hundred times, call me a publisher. Platforms are the ever-evolving, ever-new shiny object. They’re the pot…
Summary: GARM tried to provide a universally “safe” list of places for advertisers, but their selections seem to have had an ideological bent. Musk sued, and now GARM is gone. What comes next? The Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) is an advertising group dedicated to promoting something called “brand safety.” Brand safety means making…
Summary: It’s important for publishers to strive for a more direct relationship with their readers. This article reflects on “direct” and “relationship,” then discusses how technology can help. Note: This article is an expanded version of a story from the August issue of The Krehbiel Letter. An ad in an industry newsletter said, “In the…
Summary: Reduce the cognitive load on your customers by personalizing content and interfaces to their needs. There’s an old book on website design titled Don’t Make Me Think, A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability. It’s a good book, and if you’re involved in design, you should read it. But that basic concept applies to…
Summary: Three steps to make better estimates: (1) break down complicated tasks into components; (2) compare tasks with prior experience; (3) make three estimates — pessimistic, realistic, and optimistic. We’re all bad at estimating the time, cost, and risks associated with a task, and we usually overestimate the benefits. The problem increases with the complexity…
Summary: Transitioning readers from print to digital is challenging due to the distinct moods each medium invokes. Still, some publishers are seeing new uses for print. The Economist found that a print package for their welcome series improved engagement. Publishers take note: print remains a valuable tool, particularly when digital methods are oversaturated. It has…
Summary: It’s not enough to know all the clever business sayings. You have to do them. I’ve been in the publishing business a long time, and it’s rare that I hear something new. When I go to a conference, I’m usually not getting new information. The talks serve to remind me to emphasize things I…
From time to time a publisher will ask me how they can improve their business. I’m first and foremost an operations / tech guy, but I also have ideas about growth and business development. To help a publisher figure out where they can grow, it’s first necessary to find out what they’re doing — good…
Summary: When selling a subscription service, are you trying to sell an honest product, or are you trying to trick people into paying you? If you want to be an honest merchant, follow the consumer-friendly subscription best practices in this article. There’s a reason why people don’t like subscriptions, and I ran into it this…