Glossary
A paid promotion that your business sells directly to an advertiser and that generally appears in a newsletter, web post, podcast episode, or other digital platform.
A paid promotion that is sold through a third-party platform and plugged into your content automatically. Like direct advertising, these promotions generally appear in a newsletter, web post, podcast episode, or other digital platform.
The money your business earns from the users who read, watch, or listen to your content. The most common types of audience revenue are subscriptions, memberships, contributions, event tickets, and merchandise.
The most loyal users of your product or service. According to News Consumer Insights, these are the users who visit your website at least 15 times a month — but that number might vary depending on the size of your business and its publication frequency.
A financial donation that users make to support your work, without the expectation that they’ll receive access to specific benefits or content in return.
The price that a news business charges an advertiser for every 1,000 people who see or hear their advertisement. The abbreviation CPM comes from the Latin phrase “cost per mille,” which means “cost per thousand.”
The people, businesses, or other organizations that pay you directly for a product or service.
The first (and often most enthusiastic) users of your news product or service.
Any kind of free publicity that your business gains from other publishers or influencers.
The information challenges that your target users are experiencing in their lives that your news product is designed to solve. For example, wanting to find great local places to eat is a possible job-to-be-done, and a crowdsourced restaurant guide is one possible solution.
A paid audience product that helps users deepen their relationship with your business, connect with the community that has developed around your work, and support a cause they believe in.
The smallest, simplest news product that you can possibly build to test your idea before launching a business.
The amount of revenue your business could realistically expect to earn if you’re able to reach your entire target audience.
The collective set of steps that you expect advertisers and other sales clients to take on their journey to becoming paying customers. A sales funnel often starts with identifying and contacting sales targets and leads toward closing a deal.
A paid promotion or underwriting package that’s sold directly to advertisers — but that generally involves a deeper relationship with the client than traditional advertising.
A paid audience product that allows users to access premium content or services that are not available for free.
The combination of financial health, operational resilience and journalistic impact that allows a news business to achieve long-term success.
The primary group of users whom your product is designed to reach and serve.
The people who engage with your content, regardless of whether or not they pay for it. Collectively, your users make up your audience.
The process of getting people to visit your website and/or engage with your content for the first time and then become repeat users.
The process of getting users or customers to enhance their relationship with your business. This might mean getting users to sign up for an email newsletter or buy a subscription, for example, or it might mean convincing a community partner to become a paid advertising customer.
The collective set of steps that you expect users to take on their journey to becoming brand lovers. The “top of the funnel” generally refers to user acquisition, where users start their journey. The “bottom of the funnel” refers to the ultimate action you want your users to take — whether that’s buying a subscription or membership, making a donation, or sharing your content on social media.
the degree to which your users make a habit of engaging with your content. News Consumers Insights suggests thinking about your audience in three categories, from least to most loyal: casual readers, loyal readers, and brand lovers.
A fictional character that helps personify the target audience that you want your business to serve. In most cases, businesses will develop several user personas, with each one representing a different demographic profile.