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Future of Search and ConvertKit's Power Play
Could Google get busted soon and ConvertKit fires back at Beehiiv...
Welcome to this week's issue of the Niche Media Publishing Newsletter.
Before getting started, be sure to subscribe to Big Desk Energy one of my '“must reads” for incredible startup entrepreneurs:
Ok, let’s get started with this week’s topics.
Future of Search: Google vs Trust Busters
Google continues to behave like a monopolist and seems to be taking the anti-trust attacks seriously… although not actually changing their core behavior.
Classic late stage monopolist stuff…
Thanks to the ongoing DOJ actions, we are getting an inside look at just how precarious the situation is for Google:
Department of Justice has now posted its hundreds of great slides from closing arguments. I’ll share 13 slides that tell story imho captured by this list.
First, if search defaults don’t matter, why pay approx $30B, 40% of revenue to maintain them? 1/13— Jason Kint (@jason_kint)
6:18 PM • May 5, 2024
This current case doesn’t specifically address the AI question which is top of mind for content creators and media companies. BUT the FTC’s Lina Kahn made some telling comments recently:
Head of FTC Lina Khan said Wednesday that training AI on content from websites, art,
and people’s personal information could be in violation of antitrust laws.I’d be sweating bullets if I were a tech CEO behind changes that just keep dragging the company back into one lawsuit… x.com/i/web/status/1…
— Katie Berry 🤦🏻♀️ (@thatkatieberry)
4:21 PM • May 25, 2024
And then there’s this…
What I also find fascinating is how other search engines like @bing, @brave, @DuckDuckGo, et al are not pulling out all the stops right now to promote their tool and steal as much marketshare from Google as fast as they can...
...Kinda like Apple did to Microsoft back in the… x.com/i/web/status/1…
— Rob Orr (@roborracle)
2:15 PM • Apr 27, 2024
Unfortunately, waiting for government OR competitor action is not a business strategy for publishers. We’ll have to continue mixing and matching traffic sources and tactics to stay afloat.
Matching Tools to Traffic Sources
I am currently knees deep experimenting with all sorts of strategies to generate traffic and found it useful to start matching optimal tools > platforms:
Pinterest > PinGenerator & Blogtopin
Facebook > Strevio
Reddit > Semrush (reverse engineer what’s tranking)
Flipboard > PostPolish
Newsletters > Beehiiv & ConvertKit
Shopify > Bloggle
ConvertKit Takes Fires Back (Newsletter Wars)
ConvertKit fired two big shots across the bow in the ongoing battle to capture the “newsletter” platform market.
First, ConvertKt announced an entirely FREE tier for newsletter publishers with up to 10,000 subs.
This is a well-timed move as Beehiiv recently raised their prices and only supports a free (limited functionality) tier up to 2,500 subs.
Interestingly, ConvertKit also mentions a referral program where at least ONE recommendation spot is controlled by ConvertKit to boost other newsletters in their network. This is a smart tactical move to increase the network effect of maintaining a ConvertKit newsletter.
Second, Raptive (the display ad network for bloggers), just yesterday announced a joint venture with ConvertKit:
This is a smart play by both companies. Ad networks are under threat with the much delayed cookie apocalypse looming and ConvertKit’s newsletters are a natural pivot for many publishers looking to diversify and insulate their business.
Might this also be a shot at Mediavine? I’d be interested to see if they join forces similarly with Beehiiv or another ESP.
I’m also very curious to see if Raptive + ConvertKit deepen their partnership. ConvertKit’s much vaunted email ad network hasn’t lived up to expectations and Raptive has all of the sales infrastructure to expand into “ad networks for email”.
Other Things I Read Recently
These are some articles I enjoyed, but don’t really have anything to add to!
Firecrown Media, led by @FreightAlley, has acquired the railroad and space enthusiast brands of Kalmbach Media. A natural extension of Fuller's obsession with oil-based transportation, this acquisition has expanded the portfolio into trains and space. More in 2nd tweet.
— Jacob Donnelly (@JayCoDon)
2:05 PM • May 1, 2024
And there it is folks... The @nytimes with an embarrassing article on Google's AI Overviews
Expect a public-facing—but largely symbolic—correction from Google in 3...2...
— Cyrus SEO (@CyrusShepard)
9:57 PM • May 24, 2024
The best way to increase your site RPM?
Sell digital products 📚💻
— Siry (@NicheSiteSiry)
12:08 PM • May 11, 2024
Here are some other publications I subscribe to, author, or co-sign.
If you are operating a newsletter (or even just interested), this next one is one of my “must opens” every week:
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We also cover the latest MarTech trends and deep dives with a monthly (soon to be weekly) newsletter for B2B operators:
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OK, that's it for this week...
Please do reply to this email with any feedback or suggestions.
Ewen