How do you make sure your content website’s design aligns with your business objectives?

Is it optimized to drive visitors to subscribe, or does it just generate a few cents by serving distracting ads that drive readers away?

💹 This week, we’re going back to basics to learn how to align your media website’s design with your goals to meet your KPIs.

Also in this issue:
📍 beehiiv releases an AI-powered audio update
📍 Sailthru adds an interesting filter to its Audience Builder
📍 Reddit acquires Memorable AI to improve its adtech
📍 Media Company of the Week: KCRW
📌Back to Basics #3 - How to Make Sure Your Content Website Actually Supports Your Business

Let’s start!

Beehiiv releases an AI-powered audio update

Newsletter platform beehiiv released a major new feature that makes newsletters more accessible. Content creators can now use one of five AI-generated voices to narrate their content out loud. I used it for Media Tech Review’s beehiiv newsletter—let me know what you think.

The email service provider also introduced a new webhook feature, which lets premium users automate workflows for important events like new sign-ups.

Sailthru adds an interesting filter to its Audience Builder

The enterprise email platform has added a new filter to its audience segmentation tool. Now, Marigold's Sailthru analytics can differentiate between push notification users and in-app notification users. That can help publishers with apps discover which type of messaging drives more conversion.

Side note: the differences between push notifications and in-app messages has been on my radar recently. Check out this article on push notifications in news media to learn more.

Reddit acquires AI adtech to offer better ads performance

Reddit, Inc. has acquired Memorable AI , an award-winning AI adtech product. This will add new AI capabilities to Reddit's ad services, offering advertisers better tools for optimizing campaign performance.

Media Company of the Week: KCRW

KCRW is an LA radio station that extends its content offerings with its own website and app. The website lets you listen to the radio’s live program and serves up written content as well. It is already a great media company and has considerable growth potential.

Back to Basics #3 - How to Make Sure Your Content Website Actually Supports Your Business

Welcome back to Media Tech Report’s Back to Basics series, where every week we review one easy-to-accomplish solution to an extremely common problem—and highlight the brands doing it best.

Media web and product design can be the difference between meeting business objectives and not. A lot of media companies don’t regularly assess their headers, navigation, homepage, and article template designs to make sure they’re actively supporting their up-to-date business objectives.

Yes, new design can refresh enthusiasm for a brand, but it also can also directly bolster Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), including lifting conversion rates. Here’s how you do it.

Define your business goals

Start by pinpointing exactly what results you want to achieve. Do you plan to increase pageviews per session? Improve ad viewability, enhance data collection, or boost engagement from particular reader segments? Is your aim to drive more traffic to sponsored content, or make it more appealing to sponsors? Once you establish your KPIs, you can start restructuring your site to meet targets.

Place your calls-to-action front and center

Don't be afraid to bend your site's architecture to your business objectives. If increasing newsletter subscriptions is your first priority, consider placing the subscription invite prominently—above the fold on the homepage or as a persistent footer on every page—like Punchbowl News does, as seen below.

In the same way, if product sales are vital, integrate product showcases or recommendations into article templates and category page templates. For example, Consumer Reports adds product recommendations and premium membership opportunities prominently on several different pages.

Many media sites have existing momentum around display advertising, and are thus afraid to try something new in those premium 970x250 and 728x90 placements. Depending on your business model, you may want to consider using that real estate to test net-new blocks that promote newsletter sign-ups, premium membership subscriptions, or the purchase of products from your ecommerce shop.

Who does it best?

Consumer Reports is a fantastic example, but so is Scott Galloway's No Mercy / No Malice marketing newsletter and podcast website. The main subscription box above the fold grabs visitors' attention immediately. The header is sticky, keeping the most important options (Sponsor, Listen, and Subscribe) in the user's view. Another sticky element is the sidebar on the home page that lets users search for content while reminding them to check out the podcast as well as the content on the website.

Consider Incentives

Clearly communicate the benefits your readers will get from signing up or making a purchase. What exactly are they going to get by converting? Morning Brew, for example, promises "quick and insightful updates about the business world every day of the week." This is where having a clear vision of your unique value proposition is critical.

Sometimes offering an incentive like a free ebook or industry report, can significantly boost conversion rates and nudge readers deeper into the funnel.

Evaluate Content

Next, dive into your analytics. Identify which articles are driving the most sign-ups, generating the most ad revenue, or leading to the highest product sales. You will need to set up some analytics tools like GA4 and Google Tag Manager to track all metrics correctly. For expert help in optimizing your analytics setup and ensuring your website is designed for maximum conversion rates, you can reach out to Refact. We specialize in offering bespoke solutions to help media companies grow in a competitive environment.

Don't overlook your email metrics, either. Examine which subject lines and links result in the best click-through rates. Also important (though a bit painful): which subject lines cause the most unsubscribes? This data is invaluable as it guides you on what content resonates best with your audience and what might need adjustment.

Embrace Continuous Testing

Finally, take advantage of A/B testing—and actually analyze the results. Experiment with different templates, block placements, phrasing, colors, and imagery. Even a modest conversion rate increase of 1% can make a considerable difference for most news and media companies.

Let's recap. Aligning your website with your business goals is key to boosting conversions. How to do it: Clarify goals, display goal-supporting components prominently, analyze content, offer incentives, and test strategies to continually optimize your site.

Remember to subscribe to the Media Tech Report for next week's Back to Basics guide for improving your media operation.