Magazine Publishing Insights and Best Practices

Discover why magazine publishers are abandoning fragmented systems for integrated platforms that consolidate ad sales, subscriptions, billing, and production into one unified CRM.

Duplicate work in magazine publishing wastes time, introduces errors, and limits growth. Learn how integrated magazine software eliminates re-entry and saves time.

Discover the best AI tools for publishers across editorial, ad sales, and audience — plus how to roll them out without breaking quality. Read the 2026 guide.

The last few years have seen media consumers rely even more heavily than usual on phones, tablets, and practically any screen they can get their hands…

It’s been just over a year since Apple implemented its much-discussed-about, much-fussed-about Mail Privacy Protection feature,

Despite the many industry and economy concerns, a new report has newspapers of all sizes seeing an increase in subscriptions.

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For the first time in almost a decade, the digital advertising beast known as The Duopoly will bring in less than half of all U.S.

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Recent reports have 2023 starting slow for both direct and programmatic ad sales. However, some media executives see promise in programmatic direct deals…

Teads recently released their latest research on attention metrics and found that 83% of UK marketers said it’s an important factor in reducing…

Marketing Brew has taken a deep-dive look at virtual product placement, including the recent partnership between NBCUniversal and ad-tech firm TripleLift.

More than half of American consumers (55%) have purchased a product as the result of an email they had received in the past year,

This week, I’ve been sharing reports about marketing personalization, the importance of relevance, and the idea that, in online marketing, less can be…

Having personally poked around on ChatGPT and written about its SEO and marketing potential in a number of Magazine Manager blogs, I definitely see…

That global spend rose 7.9% (to

.568 trillion) last year, but is projected to only grow by 5.3% in 2023. In 2022, U.S. spend rose 8.5% (to $622.13…

Our company may have founded Clean Your Lists, but in marketing, verifying emails is only part of a healthy, best email-deliverability practice.

That’s the amount of time the brain takes to process visual content like a digital ad and make a purchasing decision, according to new research by Fractal.

Amid continued and ever-arising challenges in the publishing industry, WAN-IFRA’s report offers some optimism regarding revenue diversification

That’s what dentsu is saying in its recent Generative AI 2023 report, which surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults last month about this technology of tomorrow…

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DoubleVerify has checked back in with advertisers and publishers to see where they are in preparing for the cookieless future.

CMOs have always found a way to do more with less, so Gartner’s latest findings about marketing strategy trends might not come as a surprise to them…

Once you see the benefits of opening up your flatplan to all within an intuitive digital studio, you'll wonder how you ever relied on pen-and-paper alone.

Jitterbit recently took a deep dive into business automation, surveying 167 IT, marketing, and HR professionals about automation applications within…

Last week I wrote about issue resolution and the communication channels that clients prefer using to solve their problems.

More and more, marketers are clicking Like, hitting that Subscribe button, and opening up more of their budgets to influencers.

PwC has released its Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2023-2027, and among its projections is a 25% CAGR growth of OTT/streaming video advertising…

Existing where we are at the intersections of publishing, technology, advertising, and marketing, we’ve consulted and linked to a fair share of Google…

If you were one of the first 100 million people who signed up for Threads in its record-breaking first few days earlier this month...

No sooner had I broken down all the AI tools that publishers could ever want last week than Google went and showed off its own game-changing AI tool...

Whether you love summer blockbusters or industrial-strength air conditioning, there’s no place like a movie theater this time of year.

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Following Twitter’s announcement that it’ll now be known as X, we revisit our blog about what X could become, originally published on 10/31/22

Video-lovers in the ’80s made it known they wanted their MTV, and consumers today also want more videos, according to findings by Idomoo.

Almost two-thirds of agency and brand marketers (65%) who’ve used CTV/OTT advertising in the last few years are increasing their spend in those media…

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42% of B2B marketers say that “targeting the right prospects at scale” is their top challenge, according to a recent study by Anteriad and Advertiser…

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Earlier this week, Magazine Manager looked ahead at global advertising spend, which WARC is forecasting to surpass

trillion next year.

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Two recently released surveys are looking at AI in marketing, with both seeking to get a better grasp on how fearful marketers might be for their jobs.

Bryce Hall, a McKinsey associate partner, recently shared an analogy he heard from a business leader about generative AI..

Known for its advertising outlooks, Magna is revising its forecasts for U.S. ad growth in 2023 and 2024 following improvements in the economy.

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SurveyMonkey released its “State of Retail Report,” and amongst the variety of retail intel about the ever-increasing importance..

57% of respondents to a recent survey say the CRM is more important for achieving sales and marketing goals compared to just five years ago.

In a world where weather could hypothetically delay the marketing and advertising efforts of online, television, email, and other electrical-based…

Are you someone who prefers the movie over the book, turns to step-by-step cooking tutorials when brainstorming your next meal, or enjoys the vlog content…

Working with less usually means a reliance on what you know best. So it should be no surprise that, with recent widespread reductions in marketing…

For B2B and B2C marketers alike, email marketing remains the top focus, with more increasing their budget for email marketing than in any other direct…

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Most marketers feel their current media agency model either needs to improve or is unfit for the future, according to a new study by the World Federation…

Last week, the Magazine Manager blog wrote about the uncertainty around current media agency models. Now, a new WordStream report is looking closer at…

Much like that old hair-club commercial in which the spokesperson spread the word both as the company president as well as a client, we post helpful media…

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For some reason, that’s the first measurement I thought of when I read the recent study of what Google and Facebook might owe U.S. publishers for…

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To help you prep for those family disagreements bound to bubble up at the table on Thursday, allow me to share some news that will let you practice…

Last week, I wrote about the martech market, with estimates putting its worth at nearly $670 billion globally, accounting for 30% of marketing budgets.

Well, as good as $70+ million a year does sound, it’s as much the thought that Google is even willing to pay for news that’s making publishers worldwide…

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The average programmatic campaign runs on 44,000 websites, which creates risks for advertisers not using high-quality data.

Ad-blocking will cost publishers $54 billion in lost advertising revenue next year, according to new data released by eyeo.

With most B2B sales decided before first contact is made, a unified marketing platform can help make all the difference early on.

Ad prices may be rising on LinkedIn as its annual ad revenue grows an additional 14.1% this year, but so too is marketers’ ROI.

Marketing optimism is high for 2024, with 61% expecting business to improve and 41% expecting a bigger marketing budget than last year.

The most critical advertising investments are performance-driven paid media (61%), measurement & attribution (50%) & brand advertising (47%).

Creepy doesn't work in marketing. Know what data to seek out and prioritize so your email marketing personalization hits a happy balance.

86% of marketers are using AI, with 99% of those saying it’s improved their understanding of customer preferences & behavior.

As cookies are phased out, 48% of consumers are against sharing their email for more targeted ads, and 59% believe targeting a user group of anonymized…

39% of advertising professionals use the generative AI chatbot on the job, according to the recent survey. The truth in advertising, according to a recent…

From personalization to customized services, B2C marketers and consumers often prioritize different aspects of the shopping experience.

New projections have worldwide spending in digital, traditional & total media ad spending all growing faster in 2024 than they did last year.

Visibility, situation, and interaction are the three most important signal-categories in measuring attention in marketing.

As the sports world continues to go digital, it's important that marketers and advertisers keep up with what sports fans want.

As the pressure to create content increases, a new survey of marketers found 69% believe AI can help their companies expand to new markets.

Those on both the sell-side and buy-side say their biggest media challenge is ads delivering alongside risky content. The postmortem on 2023 has shown…

As open exchange continues to shrink, programmatic direct remains the more popular programmatic advertising transaction method.

31% of consumers are likely to decline non-essential cookies when given the option. How does that affect first-party data strategies?

Most marketers say limitations in analytics and reporting are a critical challenge limiting their spending in retail media.

42% of consumers are interested in an extended return policy as an experience-based reward from brands and their loyalty programs.

Generative AI tools have the ability to essentially give you more than just an extra day every year. What will you do with the extra time?

When brands advertise near inappropriate content, 70% of consumers say they trust the brands less & 51% are likely to stop using the products.

Of the many enticements that would lead consumers to buy from a beloved brand’s competitor, 70% could be swayed with a 20%-off coupon.

OpenAI is always in the news, but the last few days have seen some major headlines made over matters beyond mere AI capabilities.

When it comes to using data to improve discoverability, almost half of B2B decision-makers say siloed data is the biggest challenge with their current…

A healthy digital publication should constantly consider and reconsider who its audience is. Are your metrics actually helping?

Though global advertising and marketing spend saw decelerated growth last year, PQ Media projects total media spending to grow 7.7% in 2024.

A new report says the average advertiser invested more in cookie alternatives in Q4 2023 and increased their cookie alternative SOV by 9%.

The increase in programmatic ad spend will add up to more than 9 of every 10 digital display ad dollars being spent programmatically.

With data-driven ad spend projected to reach

It takes more than a trending AI prompt for publishers to make amazing SEO-friendly content and engaging social-media-tested content.

With the increased use of gen AI, a new study says "critical thinking and decision making will become ever more important.”

40.4% will start shopping on a marketplace (down more than 11% from last year), while 29.7% start with a search engine (up almost 5%).

With customer acquisition “anywhere between 5 to 25 times more expensive,” a new study says customer retention has more potential for ROI.

After worries that Artifact would be shuttering, the AI-driven personalized news feed might now be just the thing Yahoo needs.

As AI use becomes more ubiquitous, a new study finds that the top challenge facing marketers is having to focus on KPIs.

A new study says 78% of publishers are taking a cookieless future seriously and investing in first-party data solutions.

While more than half of consumers are frustrated when brands send irrelevant content and offers, 85% love when they get it right.

As CA’s Senate waits to hear the California Journalism Preservation Act, Google has taken what some say is an undemocratic measure.

Perplexity’s referrals grew almost 40% month-over-month since January, showing AI’s potential beyond just generating content.

Not only are more marketers integrating images and videos into their content, but more believe video to be the most valuable creative asset.

Almost half of the marketers who switched applications said new and better features were the reason they replaced their software.

Brands will spend $9.29 billion on social media sponsored content in 2025, but that 14.2% YoY growth will be down from 2024’s 16% growth.

One way to optimize an email marketing campaign and reduce opt-outs is discovering some of the factors behind those opt-outs.

Exclusive offers made 56% of Gen Z — and 73% of Gen Z college students — feel more emotionally connected to brands. A new survey looking to shed light…

A recent survey of communications professionals found that they’re more likely to have a favorable view of those who use AI in their work.

The top 3 use-cases of generative AI for B2B marketers are creating recurring customers, automating documentation, and automating marketing.

Marketers say the most effective way to measure email marketing success is by the revenue generated, followed by ROI and engagement metrics.

The confidences marketers are currently feeling are built upon a solid data-strategy foundation and optimism in generative AI.

Recent legislation could help the plight of the publisher and make Big Tech pay for its fair share of news content. The ongoing battle between Big Tech…

New data is highlighting just how steep the decline of Facebook’s referral traffic has gotten for publishers. Last year, in the midst of…

With most marketers believing it's harder to reach customers today than it was 5 years ago, personalized marketing is increasingly important.

Amazon continues to climb into the upper echelon for digital-ad spend, positioning itself behind the Duopoly controlled by Google and Meta.

A recent survey of global publishers found that less than a third (32%) are actively preparing for a cookieless future. The latest stay of execution…

A recent survey of publishing executives found that most are increasing their focus on building subscription revenue. A recent Toolkits survey…

Estimating and demonstrating AI's value is the primary obstacle in adopting the technology, but it's a conquerable hurdle.

Total media usage rose 0.3% to 56.15 hours per week worldwide, and the forecast shows further expansion moving forward. Last month, I shared recent…

A new report is asking global marketers about current AI use and future AI hopes, revealing wishes that, for many, are already here.

A new survey of news consumers shows a majority wanting a label or some disclosure for AI-produced news with human oversight.

A digital news study has found that 52% of Americans are not currently comfortable with AI work overseen by humans in the newsroom.

Now that Google has decided to keep the third-party cookie alive, what does that mean for publishers and advertisers moving forward?

Just because Google changed its mind on cookies doesn’t mean publishers should throw away their work seeking out cookie alternatives.

A survey of B2B leaders found that trade media coverage directly impacts purchases, brand positioning, and other decisions.

For those paying attention to the AI Search revolution, 29% say that they use traditional search engines less because of AI platforms.

A new report on digital publishing's future is showing more success engaging with young audiences through apps than through sites.

Even as CTRs fall, email continues to be vital for communicating, engaging, and converting in the subscription industry and beyond.

The deal between California and Google will bring an influx of money to newsrooms ... but does it let the tech company off easy?

Digital media continues to distance itself from traditional media in terms of how much time is spent with each by the average American adult.

As writers continue to work out the best uses for AI in publishing, a new study is warning against a larger creative toll.

A new report shows advertisers are trusting AI for both optimization and, on an ad sales management level, content worthy of being near.

Readers find newsletters to be their preferred news source ... and that built-in trust means they’re more receptive to sponsored content.

A new report finds that generative AI reached usage rates in two years that it took PCs and the Internet more than five years to reach.

Carbon footprints of media campaigns could be reduced by as much as a third by incorporating certain sustainability measures.

Meta has seen a few headlines recently, touching upon declines in audience engagement as well as tradeoffs in audience opportunities.

The premium programmatic market saw a reported 47% growth YoY through August 2024, with a projected share of 50% by year’s end.

Listeners not only find podcast ads to be more relevant, but nine in 10 have taken action because of an ad. On the heels of what the Poynter Institute…

A recent study says readers find journalist-crafted news articles more comprehensible than articles produced with AI automation.

As content creators and digital publishers become more important in the "information ecosystem," fact-based information is essential.

In a recent study of TV viewers, 68% said ads from national companies are more relevant when they have local messages. Digital advertising may not be…

77% of creatives expect their production volume to increase in 2025, highlighting the need for the right digital management software.

U.S. programmatic advertising sales are projected to rise to

72% of advertisers and marketers are planning on increasing their programmatic advertising investment this year, up from 62% last year.

Nearly half of local media saw an increase in total digital revenue in 2024, with 67.9% increasing their digital revenue budget for 2025.

A new study on paywalls can show publishers what they should and shouldn't include to attract subscribers for audience development.

The New York Times recently revealed hopes of internal AI tools helping to create social copy, SEO headlines, and coding.

A recent report on AI in journalism shows significant rises in acceptance percentages when the AI use is disclosed. The New York Times recently announced…

Most publishers agree that exploring how to leverage audience engagement to increase advertiser revenues is part of their strategy focus.

A new report found a 3-fold increase in the average number of registrations driven from personalized landing pages. Last week I wrote about blogs…

New research on AI's attribution of publishers found that generative search tools were all generally bad at citing news.

A new study on AI prompts and whether politeness matters found no universal value to “particular prompting formulas or approaches.”

54% of Americans are creeped out by personalized ads, with 44% of those creeped out taking action by running an ad blocker at all times.

Hundreds of news publishers have launched an ad campaign asking Washington to make Big Tech pay for its AI-building content.

A new study on AI collaboration shows teams utilizing AI were almost 10% more likely to produce work that was considered a top 10% solution.

A recent report showed almost 15% revenue growth in digital advertising last year, behind what was called the “transformative force” of AI.

According to a recent study, click-through rates for top-ranking pages are averaging 34.5% less where an AI Overview is present.

75% worry about AI generating false info that’s taken seriously and 67% worry about AI becoming uncontrollable without human oversight.

A recent search advertising study found the average click-through and conversion rates were up YoY, as were cost per click and cost per lead.

As programmatic advertising spend increases, a new report shows programmatic impressions are landing much more effectively as well.

Industries using AI have 3x higher growth in revenue generated per worker, and workers with AI skills are commanding a 56% wage premium.

Only 16% of email budgets will see an increase of more than 50% this year, down 3% YoY, all while 54% are cutting ad spending.

A recent survey of creators and publishers found that 43% say AI tools are helping them streamline their workflows. Publishers have always come in all…

34% of Americans have used ChatGPT, with the percentage of those who've used it for work up to 28% from only 20% last year.

81% of UK decision makers in senior leadership positions are using AI tools like ChatGPT and Google Gemini for their news and current events.

A recent survey found that 46% of C-suite executives said a top concern of theirs is pressure to show ROI on AI investments.

77% of journalists use AI tools like ChatGPT in 2025. Explore how AI is reshaping newsrooms and the future of publishing.

Pew finds Google AI Overviews lower click-through rates, with only 8% clicking links. What does this mean for publishers?

Even as more than half of journalists use genAI tools, 83% worry it might contribute to an erosion of trust in journalism.

ChatGPT triples usage as Google’s dominance slips. Discover what this shift means for AI search trends and SEO in 2025. How much ground has ChatGPT made…

ChatGPT is reshaping search traffic, favoring Reddit and Wikipedia. Learn how publishers can adapt with answer-first content strategies.

New research reveals AI search traffic is rising fast but delivering near-zero conversions compared to organic search. Learn why.

New research reveals audiences trust human content far more than AI. Learn how publishers can adapt with the best of both worlds.

LLM crawler traffic has quadrupled, yet 61% of sites remain unprotected. See why publishers face the biggest risk & how to protect content.

New research shows 60% of top UK news sites have lost Google visibility this year … but AI isn’t the reason for the drop.

New research shows AI-generated articles have plateaued as creators shift toward human-led editing for better search performance.

Recent advertising forecasts reveal stabilizing global media inflation, rising digital prices, and renewed U.S. ad market momentum.

New research finds nearly 1 in 10 news articles contain AI-generated content, especially opinion pieces, with transparency still an issue.

Programmatic ad sales can seem daunting, but the first step is understanding the language of programmatic advertising software.

For reps looking to get programmatic advertising explained quickly, here's a beginner’s guide to how to sell programmatic advertising.

AI-driven traffic is growing faster than other channels — and converting far better. New data shows why LLM referrals matter now.

AI adoption in newsrooms is growing fast. See how journalists use AI today — and which skills will define the future of journalism.

New ANA data reveals programmatic advertising is safer than ever, yet fewer than half of ad buys drive positive brand sentiment.

Discover how AI-powered data analysis can help publishers provide advertisers with better insights on personalization and performance.

Search-driven, passive AI usage is growing three times faster than standalone genAI tools, according to a recent forecast.

AI-assisted headlines deliver higher CTR, but research shows experimentation is what truly drives engagement. The temptation to copy-and-paste entire AI…

New data reveals how news and magazine media reach valued audiences and deliver brand-safe results for advertisers. The more niche the publisher, the more…

New research shows blocking AI bots can cut publisher traffic by up to 23%, risking visibility in AI-powered search and discovery.

New data reveals a growing confidence gap in 2026, with AI disrupting traffic models as newsroom trust wanes. Confidence can be a complicated thing…

AI-driven research is reshaping the consumer journey, revealing hidden publisher influence missed by traditional attribution models.

ChatGPT advertising will reportedly reach NFL-level premium costs. Discover why OpenAI is betting big on its AI ads. We’re just a few days from Sunday’s…

Marketers and advertisers are seeing the biggest performance improvements with a number of clear programmatic behaviors.

With most publishers seeing digital revenue growth in 2025, discover the advertising, newsletter, and AI trends reshaping local media.

AI search tools like ChatGPT & AI Overviews rarely give consistent brand answers. Here's what new research reveals. We may never know exactly how the AI…

New research reveals AI Overviews rely more on fan-out queries than SERPs. Discover what's the new SEO priority for AI visibility.

New data reveals a widening perception gap on AI ads. Learn how advertisers and brands can close the divides. I recently wrote about a study pitting…

82% of journalists are now using AI tools, per a recent report — but concerns over unregulated AI are rising fast. As far as a consensus goes, four out…

New research shows a massive AI optimism gap between experts and the public on everything from jobs & the economy to education & healthcare.

Only 15% of users trust AI search results. Learn why transparency and source links are critical to closing the AI trust gap.

As skepticism becomes as important as simply following the news, discover the habits AI tools and publishers must respect.

New data shows how journalists really use AI — for brainstorming and research — and why human touches still matter. Whoever believes journalists are stuck…

New Q2 2026 research from ANA shows programmatic advertising quality hit a record 45.1% TrueAdSpend. See what's driving the efficiency gains.

No single revenue stream sustains a digital publication. A look at ad sales, sponsored content, subscriptions, memberships, events, affiliates and more.

How The Cut, Vanity Fair, Bon Appétit, Gold Coast Magazine and Travel + Leisure grow their readership on Instagram, and what other publishers can borrow.

Discover proven SEO strategies for publishers in 2026. Build topical authority, survive AI overviews, and tie search performance to real revenue.