Google plans to eliminate third-party cookies by the end of 2023. Apple recently announced that it will block email tracking, so no more Apple Mail open rate data. And as a result of a not-so-subtle iOS update, Facebook and its advertisers can’t as easily reach targeted audiences with paid ads.
Melissa Chowning
“It’s like the three horsemen of the apocalypse,” jokes Melissa Chowning, the CEO and founder of audience development consultancy Twenty-First Digital, in a recent interview with Metro Publisher. Chowning is no stranger to big changes in the digital marketing world. She’s been the head of audience development for publications like Portland Monthly, Seattle Met, D Magazine, and D Custom. And in 2016, she was recognized as one of Folio’s top 100 Most Important People in Magazine Media.
The various policy changes announced by the tech world Goliaths will help protect consumers’ privacy (though they also seem to be a sneaky way for Google and Apple to increase their revenue). But whatever inspired the new guidelines, small publishers who have long relied on the data that these platforms provide will be forced to adapt.
This fall, we spoke with Chowning over the phone to discuss how small magazines can make the most of the new normal. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Metro Publisher: As a result of Apple’s iOS update in April 2020, Facebook was forced (finally!) to ask a large portion of their users for permission to track their data. Many users, understandably, declined the request. So, publishers running ad campaigns on Facebook now have a decreased ability to target specific audiences. From your experience, how is the change affecting small publishers?
Chowning: Twenty-First Digital runs a lot of campaigns for publishers, and we are seeing a decrease in the ability of these campaigns to reach super targeted audiences. We can’t count on lookalike or targeted audiences at all; that’s almost entirely gone. Even with organic posts, people are starting to see much less reach on Facebook. That could be a result of algorithm changes and/or the decreasing popularity of Facebook.
Metro Publisher: How are small publishers responding? Is Facebook still worth the effort?
Chowning: I wish I saw small publishers responding more. This change is a real opportunity for publishers to educate small businesses about the rising costs of paid Facebook ads and about the value of the publisher’s own audience and expertise.
2–3 years ago, publishers were hiring community managers to interact with the publisher’s audience just on Facebook. But now, for example, we have one client who just decided not to promote their content on Facebook at all.
For most publishers right now, Facebook accounts for about 10–15 percent of their traffic. And it’s not a super high quality source of traffic. We are seeing more and more publishers decide that they don’t need to be on Facebook as much as they once were. They use it sparingly and strategically, like when they want to promote an event, for instance. In 2020, the New Zealand publisher Stuff decided to stop posting on Facebook and Instagram and they saw their overall traffic rise. So, is posting on Facebook worth it? I think a lot of publishers are asking this question, especially in light of recent news. They are not sure they really want to align their brand with Facebook at all.
I always say don’t put too many eggs in one basket. And don’t build a house on rented land. Right now, I see email and search as the highest priority for publishers. Of course with search, Google owns the rails and can change the scenario. But search still accounts for at least 50 percent of most publishers’ traffic. Publishers were kind of chasing Facebook for the last ten years, and a lot of people are coming back to search. Publishers are realizing that they have quality content—which is the number one requirement—so they find they can do well. And it’s a better source of traffic. People who come to your site from search are more likely to provide their email address than users who come to your website from social media.
Metro Publisher: Apple recently announced that it will block email tracking, meaning publishers will no longer have access to Apple Mail open rate data. How are small publishers responding? What metrics do you suggest that publishers look to now to determine if their emails are performing well?
Chowning: We’re still in the middle of the Apple changes, but publishers are more attuned to it because open rates are a metric they use regularly. Hopefully, these changes will get publishers to focus on different data. Pageviews and reach used to be the metrics people looked to in order to determine how well their website was doing. But what is the value of knowing your website’s reach if that audience is not really engaging with your content or buying any of your products? I think open rates can be looked at the same way. If the user is not engaging with your content or paying for your products, then the open rate is just a vanity metric anyway.
Right now, we recommend that our clients measure click rate to gauge the effectiveness of their emails. If the click rate of an email campaign is regularly below 2 percent, then we know the email is not performing well. We want the email click rate to be at least 5–10 percent. We are also looking at email replies, conversions, among other things, but the click rate is the metric we’re really paying attention to right now.
Metro Publisher: How do publishers talk to their advertisers about the recent privacy policy changes without scaring them off?
Chowning: One of our clients—417 Magazine—took us up on our recommendation to host an educational webinar for their advertisers. In the webinar, I worked with the 417 staff to explain to their clients the recent data and privacy changes. We talked about these things at a high level. We explained why the advertisers might see their paid ad costs go up, for example. The average marketer is not paying attention to these things. The webinar helped inform and prepare them for the changes, while also establishing 417’s team as an expert in the field.
Another example—when marketing platform Hubspot launched, they created a lot of great educational materials and made them available to anyone. I looked at those guides and videos years before I considered buying into the platform. But when I needed a tool for inbound marketing, I trusted that they knew the space best because of the educational materials they had created. I think publishers will benefit by taking a similar approach. Publishers need to lean into education and convince current and potential advertisers of their expertise. When you establish yourself as an expert, your clients will realize that they are not, and they will gravitate to you.
Metro Publisher: What media companies are you inspired by right now?
Chowning: Vox Media is doing a great job. They are experimenting with audio and doing a lot of educational outreach to small businesses. Axios is also one to watch. They are doing a good job engaging audiences with their local newsletters. As a legacy brand, Harvard Business Review has also done well converting their archival material into audio and video content. I’m really interested in anybody that’s not afraid to experiment.
Metro Publisher: Any software and/or plugins that you often recommend to your clients?
Chowning: Hubspot is always on our list. SEMRush is a great tool that helps publishers improve their SEO strategy. But most of the time, we’re helping our clients get the most out of free but really powerful tools like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, or Google Trends.
