How B2B media companies use audience data to increase revenue
Events are one of the best ways to monetize a B2B audience. Sponsors love them and are willing to pay A LOT for events. Media operators can earn a lot of money from them. This is the first part in a two-part series on how to organize events. Mostly metrics CFO dinners CJ Gustafson is the founder of Mostly metrics, a newsletter for finance professionals. A year ago, he launched a dinner series for CFOs.
What if you could sell 10 annual paid subscriptions to your content at once? Matt Brown from Extra Points has done it. Jacob Donnelly from A Media Operator has done it. The trick is getting companies to buy group subscriptions for their employees. Extra Points Matt Brown is the founder of Extra Points, a newsletter covering the business of college sports. When Matt sells group subscriptions, he sells to athletics departments and sports management departments at universities.
Let’s talk about a less common way for B2B publications to monetize. I have multiple clients at Megahit who use this revenue stream to make money beyond ads. Audience data helps them do it. What they have in common: They are B2B newsletters covering specific industries. Pain point: recruiting As those publications grew, they noticed that companies in their industries struggled with recruiting. Companies are only as good as their employees.
Your audience data is your most powerful weapon when talking to advertisers. Nothing else will help you close as many deals as quickly. Kurtis Hanni from SMB FinanceOS used audience data to sell $50,000+ in ads within just a few weeks. CJ Gustafson from Mostly metrics used audience data to double sponsorship rates overnight. CJ’s story Before CJ Gustafson had good audience data, he struggled to sell ads. His content was top-notch.
I know B2B media companies that have made $100,000+ using one technique. It’s so simple—anyone can do it. In B2B media, it delivers amazing results. The technique is based on the following observation: Your readers are your best advertisers. Why are my readers the best advertisers? Let’s imagine one of your readers. Someone who opens your newsletter every time you send it. A true fan. They know the value you deliver.
