As an INSIDER Guide, I’m constantly keeping an eye out for bite-size information that will help you develop and scale better subscription products. Here’s my “Five on Friday” list for October 9th, featuring the five best trends, tips, quotes or stats from my reading this week.

1. What You Can Learn From Why Copyblogger Left Facebook

In this post, Erika Napoletano lays out her entire process for assessing the value of Copyblogger’s Facebook page, and making the decision to shut it down.   Here are some “how to” highlights:

• Understand who you’re trying to reach, and how much time and budget you have to reach them.  Being “everywhere” online may not be necessary, or even beneficial.

• Ferret out fake fans by:

• Comparing your number of fans to your volume of page engagement (number of people who share or like a post).  Low engagement can be a sign of spam fans.

• Comparing all your stats to those of another page you control – even if it’s your personal page.  Do the percentages of friends/fans versus engagement seem logical? 

• Finally, watch this video on Facebook fans and fraud (a word I think might be a bit harsh); it’s only one side of the story, but it’s worth the nine minutes it takes to view it.

2. Successful Pitches are the Key to Gaining Media Attention

Given our business, many of us field more story pitches than we throw.  But it’s worth keeping these fun facts in mind as we look to garner a little press for our own efforts: 

Another post from Copyblogger offers some good insights on the rise of ad blocking, and an uneven list of ways to mitigate its impact on our revenues. I’ve tried to improve the list with “Better” options:

• Subscriptions. No surprise to us, of course, and the suggestion overlooks the fact that many subscription prices are low as a result of supplementary ad revenue. Better? Offer a choice, similar to that of Amazon Prime – you can pay less if you’re willing to view ads. Perhaps even a sliding scale of subscription-to-ad-viewing options.

• Native Ads. These have the added bonus of providing additional real, if self-serving, content of interest to our subscribers. Better? Sponsored articles: the advertiser pays for the publication of an article or issue, without control over the content.

• Affiliations. Recommending the products of others and getting paid for it is one of the easiest ways to drive revenue. Better? It doesn’t get much better than this, but be careful to put your audience first, and pay attention to the legal and ethical issues surrounding paid endorsement.

• Membership. This expands a subscription into an entire media experience for our readers. Better? Get subscribers in on the act with open forums, guest writers, etc.

• Suite of Products. You may be able to offer your content for free if you offer other products like software and consulting. Better? This concept works if you have the bandwidth, talent and inclination to do so, but if not, see “Membership” for a better option.

4. SMB’s Slow to Upgrade Websites to Mobile-Ready

In my very first post on Subscription Insider, I mentioned the changes to Google’s algorithms that would increase the ranking of mobile-optimized sites. Sites not mobile-optimized are dropping below the fold – sometimes off the first several pages – of Google results.  Unfortunately, small businesses are not actively jumping on this bandwagon, as a recent eMarketer survey reveals:

5. Why Is a Mobile Marketing Strategy Important?

And if Google ranking isn’t reason enough to optimize for mobile:

Have a great weekend, everyone.

Diane

Diane Pierson has deep experience in product management and marketing, having delivered results to companies including Dun & Bradstreet, LexisNexis, American Lawyer Media and Copyright Clearance Center. She has built products & services that have delivered over $100 million in revenue and knows what works, and what doesn’t, when executing product plans and strategies. She is also a contributor to Subscription Insider. (Read Diane’s full Bio)