March 25, 2024
Apple News gives publishers access to new audiences, and the ability to drive traffic back to their own platform. But it takes time and skill to deliver a first-class reading experience that will keep users coming back for more. In this guide, we'll reveal best practices for newspapers and digital magazines on this app - from enhancing clickthrough rates to increasing the time readers spend enjoying content.
The Apple News platform first launched in September 2015 - allowing the publishing industry to reach tech-savvy consumers on iPhone and iPad. As concerns about fake news on social networks grew, Apple's curated feed of quality journalism from trusted publications - and personalised suggestions based on each user's interests - created a free source of relevant news articles that readers can rely on.
Today, the Apple News app is available in the UK, US, Canada and Australia - with an audience of over 145 million monthly active users. Unlike other news aggregators, Apple enables media outlets to publish stories and features directly to Apple devices, and receive revenue from ads and paid subscriptions. But it can be time consuming and expensive for a publication to ensure each story gets the prominence it deserves.
Many major publishers use analytics tools like Chartbeat or Parse.ly to assess where clicks to stories on their own platforms are coming from - including big tech sources like Google Search, Facebook and Reddit. Within Apple's news ecosystem, article views are typically generated by one of the following sources:
FlatPlan's no-code solution - complete with a Smart Content Categorisation feature - helps ensure Apple News understands the topics covered in stories, ensuring they surface into applicable areas of the news app.
The first step to gaining greater visibility on the News app is to focus on publishing all of your content to the Apple platform. Cadence matters.
It's also important to ensure stories are being released at peak times. Apple News tends to attract the most traffic during the morning in UK and US timezones - as well as in the evenings.
When digital magazines and newspapers publish a story that's a result of weeks or months of work, it's understandable that they'll want to gain as many views as possible. News Publisher, a behind-the-scenes tool for newsrooms, enables editors to promote these pieces - ensuring they appear higher in running orders than newer content for up to 48 hours. This is a great way of keeping stories visible on the app across multiple timezones. With FlatPlan your stories can be automatically promoted, too.
In day-to-day operations, there are several strategies that are essential for businesses looking to boost subscribers on their owned-and-operated platforms - or build a bigger audience on Apple News. FlatPlan specialises in helping media companies maximise their reach and ad impressions, and top tips for success include:
Online magazines will already know how an article's presentation can have a huge impact on clickthrough rates and engagement time. The same applies for publishers on Apple News.
Whereas websites tend to focus on SEO-driven titles to attract audiences from search engines, organic headlines tend to perform better on Apple News. This means editors have the chance to put their writing skills to the test - and conjure imaginative, intriguing sells that'll grab the attention of scrolling readers.
Great care also needs to be taken with images, that all-important shop window for news stories. A blend of headshots, vibrant colours and graphics prevent a channel page from feeling monotonous.
Through Apple News Publisher, magazines and news outlets can receive up-to-the-minute insights on their performance through an intuitive dashboard - consisting of unique viewers, average active time, and shares across social networks like Facebook. There's also a comprehensive breakdown of how audience members found stories - such as through the Today feed, via recirculation, or by clicking on a push notification.
Examining the top articles based on total views delivers invaluable intelligence on what's of interest to the audience right now. This data-driven strategy can then be used to make editorial decisions. Publishers may choose to produce explainers and sidebar pieces that look at the topic from a different angle, or proactively publish updated leads when new lines emerge. FlatPlan's Notify service also offers automatic alerts whenever content enjoys a spike in traffic - perhaps because it's been featured by Apple News editors, or given a prominent place within the the app.
Publishers can offer paywalled content to their audience through the Apple News+ subscription service. This is where subscribers pay a flat monthly fee to access premium magazines and newspapers, including The Wall Street Journal and The Times. Money is then shared among publishers based on the time readers spend with their content.
But it's important to note that the Apple News app also supports ad revenue for free content - meaning it's still possible to make money from the service without subscribers. For example, magazines can directly sell advertising space to brands whose products would match their audience's interests. Businesses can also access backfill and pooled ads.
Sponsored content, reader donations, surveys, affiliate marketing and event promotions are just some of the other options available to media companies - and FlatPlan's service offers all of the tools and support needed to execute monetisation successfully.
From local news providers to international media brands like The New Yorker, the Apple News app offers the perfect opportunity to grow traffic. When integrated successfully, a positive feedback loop can emerge. Follow buttons encourage the audience to subscribe for further content, and increased engagement time means they'll be presented with more articles in the future.
No matter what stage you're at in your discovery of Apple News, we'll help you get the information you need to make the right decision for your media business.
