Industry News, Industry Voices
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Starting a career is harder than it’s been for decades. As a sector, we want to make sure publishing is a place where talent, not circumstance, determines opportunity.
Industry News, Industry Voices
Industry News, Industry Voices
At this year’s PPA Independent Publisher Conference, business leaders in the sector shared an example of one change in their business that delivered real impact, enabling delegates to come away with concrete ideas to adapt and apply to their operations. Read the key takeaways below.
Tracy De Groose, CEO, William Reed
The foundation of growth starts with why – you need a unifying vision and purpose. Move beyond a finite mindset and identify your “category of one”, the unique strengths that set an organisation apart.
Trust is imperative in bringing people with you, and flexibility and agility in how businesses respond to change is essential.
Ludovica D’Angelo, Director of Publishing Operations, Total Politics Group
Silos exist everywhere; they can sit between teams, desks, and even mindsets. Real change comes from building trust and making collaboration part of everyday work.
People in a company are like neurons in the brain – they only work if you connect them. When empathy, humour, and determination lead the way, resistance turns into innovation, ideas flow, and work becomes easier (and more enjoyable).
Jon Bickley, CEO, Anthem Publishing
Print and the newsstand can be a fundamental USP for publishers. As AI and algorithms threaten to strangle online, Anthem has reasserted print’s place at the heart of the business.
He explained how Anthem now structures itself around two clear divisions: Engagement Brands, covering traditional regular magazine brands rich in print, digital, subs, ads and social, and Retail Brands, which drive the vast majority of income from single copy sales, with a strong emphasis on bookazines.
Bickley also emphasised the ongoing strength of the English language in enabling publishers to reach customers and partners around the world.
Bickley also emphasised the ongoing strength of the English language in enabling publishers to reach customers and partners around the world.
Justice Williams MBE, Co-founder & Editor-in-Chief, Black Business Magazine
We’re in the people business, we’re in the relationship business – what if 80% of your revenue could come from 20% of your clients? Think about the 20% that are the wealth creators in your business – this is where influencers do something that we can learn from.
You see, influencers don’t chase everyone. They build an audience, a reputation, and a relationship with brands and partners who can fund their vision. You all have a personal brand, it’s what people say about you when you’re not in the room, and so are you networking? Are you building your visibility for the brand that you represent?
Stay focused on your vision, and think about what brand partners, who share your values, could potentially fund it.
Louise White, COO, Sift
Cutting costs, selling more, and increasing prices are all levers for growth, yet most leaders only focus on selling more. The quiet advantage comes from creating enough value, trust, and differentiation that price becomes flexible. Create a business model which allows you to raise prices with confidence – by 15% per year. It may seem unglamorous, but it works.
Sustainable profitability often starts with the ability to charge more – because you’ve earned the right to.
Mark Beard, CEO, Prospect
The first truly pivotal move we made in becoming a modern multi-channel media company was to give Prospect a presence on Apple News. And since then, we’ve never looked back. Our journalism is featured regularly and prominently across the platform.
Perhaps the biggest surprise though, was the breadth and the depth of the content that has proved popular. So much of the content that’s popular on the Apple News platform is very different to the types of content that’s popular on our own website.
Before, Prospect had absolutely no readership in the US. They now have a million Americans engaging with Prospect content every month. Apple News has helped grow their ABC audited circulation to 40,273, which is the highest circulation in Prospect’s history.
Starting a career is harder than it’s been for decades. As a sector, we want to make sure publishing is a place where talent, not circumstance, determines opportunity.
Hearst UK has appointed Sarah-Louise Robertson as Editor of the UK’s Digital Spy.
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