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This Week in Native Ads

Newsletter #320 – Are we in decline?

A brief thanks to Gustaf, who I collaborate with on the newsletter, this is his last for a while. ?One big thingA story this week was on how advertising was down YOY, notably February (should be) the last ‘normal’ month before the covid declines. My underlying feeling though is, is that the right thing to be watching right now? Well yes, it is factually correct. But is watching advertising spend the best way to understand what is happening with advertising… Continue reading

Ben Young
Ben Young
March 26, 2021
This Week in Native Ads

Newsletter #319 – Ferraris and newsletters

After a week hiatus, we’re back, with a juicy line up of stories. We’ve also started sharing more of our commentary on our website, over here.One big thingThese Google Slides digging into how 7-figure newsletters make money was brilliant. Despite the cheesy title, it shows how you can tell a rich story using Google Slides. Even without a voice over. And the information is useful. It anticipates the questions you might have,… Continue reading

Ben Young
Ben Young
March 19, 2021
Shenanigans in sports sponsorships
Shenanigans in sports sponsorships
Commentary

Shenanigans in sports sponsorships

Formula 1 is the yachting of motorsports, that is it is showy, speedy and intellectual. Many have been introduced or brought back to it through Drive to Survive on Netflix. As I was. Simply it is 20 drivers, racing around a track, in cars that have to adhere to regulations. Otherwise referred to as the Formula, hence Formula 1. There is a whole history around the regulations and the history which is… Continue reading

Ben Young
Ben Young
March 17, 2021
Tech optimism
Tech optimism
Commentary

Should we be optimistic about technology?

The role technology is playing in our lives is ever more present and top of mind. This piece explores optimism around technology, how the bad stuff is wired into us, economic freedom and how do we keep it in check.Should we even be optimistic about technology?Kevin Kelly is a futurist and author of books What Technology Wants and The Inevitable, looking at how technology shapes us. As founding editor of… Continue reading

Ben Young
Ben Young
March 17, 2021
Commentary

The origin of the newsletter

We’re in the middle of a newsletter renaissance, with many writers opting to use paid newsletters as a means to go independent. Most recently, newsletters are associated with marketing, for internal or external purposes. But where did they come from? How long have they been around? This piece digs in to that and what we may expect from the future.To get started, what is a newsletter, The etymology of the word, gives us clues. Continue reading

Ben Young
Ben Young
March 17, 2021
the economics of attention
the economics of attention
Commentary

The economics of attention

This piece highlights the economics of attention across consumer media. This is curious for a few reasons, understanding what we as consumers get for free and what that’s worth, what consumers are willing to pay for content, the potential for up and coming media like TikTok, how scale and personalization impact the economics.We have broken it into two sections, different mediums and different platforms. And the dollar amount per hour the platform earns from our attention.  Revenue per hour (cents)Medium Cable67Linear… Continue reading

Ben Young
Ben Young
March 17, 2021
Commentary

The first time Apple built a Search Engine

Speculation has arisen again about the prospect of Apple launching a search engine. In July Apple updated its Applebot docs and the bot has since been observed crawling the internet more aggressively. So is now the time Apple launches a search engine? On HackerNews, an ex-Apple developer (jd20) shared how the first AppleBot was run. AppleBot being the program that goes out and builds an index of websites, captures metadata like topic,… Continue reading

Ben Young
Ben Young
March 17, 2021
This Week in Native Ads

Newsletter #318 – Crypto Community

One big thingReader David Berkowitz put me on to Rally.io, a way to create tokens for rewarding engagement in your community. The tokens are backed by the website. It’s early days so really what you can do with it is quite open. Users can be gifted tokens or buy/sell them.David mused on some of the things he’s thinking about here, I think if anything this helps community managers get better and more… Continue reading

Ben Young
Ben Young
March 9, 2021
This Week in Native Ads

Newsletter #317 – Creator Economy

This week, I’ve been listening in on a few Clubhouse chats. When there is a good moderator, a clear topic and duration, the experience is pretty good. When there’s not, well, it feels like those panels you leave early. If you’re on there, give me a follow @bwagy, or if you need an invite, I think we have a couple more. One big thing There’s been a bit of discourse on the creator economy, what is it? Why is it… Continue reading

Ben Young
Ben Young
February 26, 2021
How to analyze content using scroll depth
How to analyze content using scroll depth
Analytics

How to analyze content using scroll depth

Scroll depth is a content engagement metric, commonly used by marketers, to analyze what percentage of a page a user has scrolled to before leaving. A few use cases for scroll analytics There are a number of reasons why scroll tracking is useful for content marketers. The biggest reason being, it’s important that your content is seen and consumed, otherwise – why waste time creating it in the first place? Knowing where people drop off on a page helps marketers… Continue reading

Ben Young
Ben Young
February 24, 2021