Analyzing 1440’s $15M ads copy and strategy

For this issue, I’ll look at 1440’s Google Ads campaigns to see how it’s powering their $15 million revenue.

Plus tech updates from the media industry:

• beehiiv adds new file attachment feature

• TAPInto CMS for hyperlocal newsrooms

• OpenAI’s GPT-4o and a new ChatGPT vs. Google’s Gemini 1.5

• Drupal has announced a new, simple CMS

• Salesforce is going to release a CMS – playing catch up with Hubspot?

• Dotdash Meredith’s cookie alternative leads to a dramatic rise in ad revenue

• Safari’s new native ad-blocker makes ad revenue even more problematic

Let’s get started.

AI x Media Tech

Stack Overflow and Dotdash Meredith will open their content to OpenAI

Stack Overflow and Dotdash Meredith are the latest content-rich media companies sharing their user-generated content with OpenAI. It would be interesting to see how much OpenAI’s coding power will improve after training on Stack Overflow.

OpenAI has released GPT-4o and a new ChatGPT app, but the move seems rushed 

OpenAI’s new GPT-4o model adds real-time voice and video capabilities. This is released together with the new ChatGPT web app, a much sleeker product you can even install on your laptop. Apparently, the new GPT4o model is also smarter than the GPT-4, but it seems the real reason for its release was to not fall behind Google’s updates to Gemini at the I/O. Is it finally OpenAI’s turn to play catch-up?

Publishing Platforms

beehiiv adds file attachment feature

Newsletter platform Beehiiv now lets you attach files to your emails, which is great if you want to offer courses or maybe showcase your portfolio in your newsletter.

TAPInto CMS for hyperlocal newsrooms

TAPinto has launched the Hyperlocal News Network, a content management system (CMS) for media companies to expand their audience and revenue. This CMS allows local newsrooms to easily manage and share content and ads. It includes tools for creating newsletters, customer support, training, and revenue options like sponsored content and site ads. Why the CMS is called a “network” remains unclear!

Drupal is releasing a smart version

Set to launch at the end of this year, the new “Drupal CMS” will run alongside the legacy Drupal Core, hoping to be a simpler solution that attracts less tech-invested publishers. It offers a next-generation “Experience Builder”, a project browser, automatic updates, key contributed modules, easy configuration, and default content. Will this finally get rid of the barriers to using Drupal and make it a real option?

Salesforce is going to release a CMS – following Hubspot?

Salesforce has decided to launch its own dedicated CMS, apparently due to popular demand. It looks like Salesforce is following Hubspot in creating end-to-end tool suites, now expanding its products to content.

AdTech

Dotdash Meredith’s cookie alternative leads to a dramatic rise in ad revenue 

Dotdash Meredith’s ad-targeting tool, D/Cipher, launched in May 2023, has significantly increased their digital ad revenue, with a 13% rise to $209 million in the first quarter of 2024, even though print revenue declined. D/Cipher uses data from Dotdash Meredith’s network and a partnership with Amazon to show relevant ads to users without using cookies. This technology achieves more than double the click-through rates compared to traditional cookie-based targeting. A new partnership with OpenAI will enhance D/Cipher with AI, likely improving ad performance further and strengthening Dotdash Meredith’s position in digital advertising.

Safari’s new native ad-blocker makes ad revenue even more problematic

Apple’s latest Safari update includes ad-blocking features and webpage content summaries, raising concerns among publishers about potential revenue losses and changing online advertising dynamics even more.

Media Company of the Week: 1440’s Paid Ads

1440 has a $15 million revenue, and its model is based on paid traffic. Part of that is how it creates great Google Ads campaigns that capture the attention and explain the value proposition. Let’s take a look at what these ads’ copy and the data from Semrush can teach us.

Ads Copy Analysis

• Value Proposition: “Just the Facts, Unbiased News,” “We Scour 100+ Sources,” “All In A 5-Minute Read.” 

• Call to Action: “Signup To 1440 Newsletter,” “Join Free Today,” “Enter Your Email.”

• Social Proof: Mentions “3.5 Million Daily Readers” and “Over 3 Million Readers.”

Top Keywords

• “newsletters”

• “unbiased news”

• “daily news digest”

• “non-clickbait news”

• “join newsletter”

• “Real news,” “alternative newsletter”

Ad Metrics

• Position: Positions range from 1 to 5, but 40.24% of the ads appear in the first position.

• CPC: Costs range from approximately $3.40 to $4.86.

• Search Volume: Consistent search volume around 9900.

• Traffic: Traffic varies significantly, with peaks indicating more successful ad periods.

Ad Copy Analysis

The ad copy is brilliant in its simple effectiveness. The main value proposition is how unbiased it is, and they have found some very straightforward ways of saying it. 

The choice of keywords in the ads, like “non-clickbait” and “unbiased news,” tells the reader they are not dealing with the usual news sources, a hard thing to accomplish in a saturated market. 1440 does this by staying on point and on message with an almost obsessive focus. If you are fed up with mainstream news media, these keywords are going to appeal to you. People are craving factual, straightforward reporting, and 1440 knows how to show that.

Finally, the ads impress with large numbers, like the social proof of 3.5 million daily readers, or that the editors read hundreds of articles a day to find the best possible news. Scanning a large number of sources taps into the reader’s desire for thoroughness without the hard work that goes into it. The promise of delivering well-rounded, stress-free news that is “without motives” fits in with the needs of readers.